Optimization of erosion parameters of coated SS316L using Taguchi method

Iron-based alloys which pose better strength and good mechanical properties as compared to other metal alloys find their application in many sectors. This paper focuses on the impact of parameters of three different compositions Fe43Mn15Cr12Ni10B7WC13, Fe43Mn15Cr12Ni10B11WC9 and Fe43Mn15Cr12Ni10B15WC5on coated SS316L substrate. Four parameters impact velocity, impingement angle, sand particle feed rate and sand particle size are selected for the L16 orthogonal array to optimize the erosion wear rate. The erosion rate is predicted using an artificial neural network (ANN). The impact velocity and sand particle feed rate are found to have a major role in erosion rate. In this study, the Taguchi method applied that give the optimum parameter for all three compositions being used in the present work. For the first composition, the optimal parameters are velocity 10 m/sec, angle 30 degrees, sand particle feed rate 160 gm/min and particle size 195 mu m. For composition Fe43Mn15Cr12Ni10B11WC9, the optimum parameter is having velocity 10 m/sec, angle 75 degrees, sand particle feed rate 265 gm/min and particle size 375 mu m and for composition Fe43Mn15Cr12Ni10B15WC5, the optimized parameters are having velocity 40 m/s, angle 75 degrees, sand particle feed rate 160 gm/min and sand particle size 300 mu m. ANN anticipates the erosion rate with 93% accuracy.