Investigations on performance characteristics of hybrid peripheral surface grinding on Al/Al2O3p/B4Cp hybrid metal matrix composite

In the present work, an attempt was made to investigate performance characteristics of electrical discharge diamond peripheral surface grinding (EDDPSG) on a challenging hybrid metal matrix composite namely Al/Al(2)O(3)p/B4Cp using self-developed experimental setup. EDDPSG is an innovative configuration of electrical discharge diamond grinding process applicable for machining flat surfaces of poor machinability materials. Performance parameters are material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (R-a), experimentally studied under influence of the process parameters (gap current, on-time, off-time, grit-number, wheel-speed, and table-speed). Promising potential capability was observed for removing non-conductive ceramic-reinforcements together with soft and ductile matrix material producing higher MRR and surface-finish. Gap current is the most significant process parameter affecting MRR and R-a by 361% and 61% respectively. Very thin re-solidified layers and small streaks on machined surface were observed using scanning electron microscopy which, demonstrate potential applicability and suitability of the process for machining of such complex hybrid composites.