Affiliations: School of Mechanical Engineering, SASTRA University, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: M.P. Jenarthanan, School of Mechanical Engineering, SASTRA University, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India. E-mail:jenarthanan@mech.sastra.edu
Abstract: Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics (GFRP) composite is considered to be an
economic alternative to various heavy exotic materials. It is widely used in
a variety of applications from aircraft to machine tools due to their light
weight, high modulus, specific strength and high fracture toughness. The
machining of composite is different from the conventional machining of metal
due to the composite's anisotropic and non-homogeneous nature. This paper
discusses the application of the Taguchi method with fuzzy logic to optimize
the machining parameters for machining of GFRP composites with multiple
characteristics. A multi-response performance index (MRPI) was used for
optimization. The machining parameters viz., Tool geometry (helix angle of
the end mill cutter), spindle speed, feed rate, depth of cut and work piece
(fiber orientation), were Optimized with consideration of multiple
performance characteristics viz., machining force, delamination, surface
roughness and material removal rate. The results from confirmation runs
indicated that the determined optimal combination of machining parameters
improved the performance of the machining process.
