Advances in Engineering Materials

Table of Contents

1. Frontmatter

2. Challenges and Opportunities in Synthesis of Hybrid Cu-Al2O3-C and Cu-ZrO2-C Composites Through Stir Casting Route

   Prateek Mittal, Shailesh Singh Sengar, Sorabh, Mani Kant Paswan, Jimmy Mehta, Dinesh Chawla, Pallav Gupta

   Abstract

   Composites have been used by mankind from ages in producing different tools and equipment. Metal matrix composites became popular due to their better mechanical and thermo-physical properties as compared to pure metals and alloys. The aim of the present study is to highlight the key challenges in the synthesis of copper matrix-based hybrid Cu-Al2O3-C and Cu-ZrO2-C composites through stir casting route. The reinforcement varied in composition from 1 wt to 4 wt%. Stir casting as a process for synthesis of metal matrix composites (MMCs) has gained popularity due to its cost effectiveness and simplicity. Stir casting involves the mixing of reinforcement with the molten metal matrix through stirring in a furnace and then pouring it in a die for solidification. This liquid metal process requires careful execution and control over the parameters in order to produce the high quality MMCs. Stir casting process has some limitations associated with it such as nonuniform dispersion, agglomeration of reinforcement particles, formation of oxides and intermediate phases, porosity and cracks. This paper brings to the fore these limitations and suggests the ways to improve the process so that desired properties can be obtained in the composite. This work also generates the opportunities for the development of new and innovative alternatives to overcome the challenges associated with stir casting in synthesis of MMCs.

3. Mechanical Characterization of a Fly Ash and Glass Fibers Reinforced Hybrid Epoxy Composite

   Sandeep Kumar, Monika Singh

   Abstract

   Epoxy has versatile industrial applications due to its brilliant characteristics, but on the other hand due to the delamination, brittleness, low toughness of epoxy limited its usage. These constraints of epoxy can get over by inclusion with the help of reinforcement before their industrial and aerospace application. In recent days, glass fiber reinforced composites are in demand as structural materials as well as aerospace parts due to low density. Authors have presented the last ten years review articles on different glass fiber composites. The interest of the present study is the focus on the mechanical properties of epoxy hybrid composite, made up of glass fibers, and reinforced with fly ash. Experimental data has been shown by picking various ratios of glass fiber (E-300, MAT form) with epoxy resins and with different composition of fly ash reinforced that fly ash significantly increases hardness as well as compressive strength in epoxy composite.

4. Correlation Assessment of Weld Bead Geometry and Temperature Circulation by Online Measurement in Nd: YAG Laser Welding

   Rajesh V. Patil, Y. P. Reddy

   Abstract

   Laser beam welding is popular in microsystems technology by its specific parameters. Mostly, it is categorized by momentary nature and really short period of the method. The laser beam is concentrated on the materials to be welded, and therefore, the process is usually autogenous, does not require any additional filler material. Due to, laser welding could be a fast-growing application area for industrial lasers. Many authors conducted experiments on measurement of penetration depth using large thickness of sheet by varying process parameters and developed thermal model referring to temperature distribution within work piece. The present work selected less than 1 mm stainless steel sheet and trials taken by varying combination of power, speed, and sheet thickness to predict weld bead geometry and validated by image processing technique. Furthermore, the experimental setup is developed to measure online bottom surface temperature of work piece during welding by temperature data logger. Finally, found that the net measured temperature by data logger has shown sensitive indicator of penetration depth and measured value of depth of penetration by experimentation, optimization, and image processing technique satisfactorily.

5. Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Flat Plate Solar Water Heater

   R. B. Chadge, Neeraj Sunheriya, Chetan Mahatme, Jayant P. Giri

   Abstract

   As the world is developing, energy consumption is also increasing very rapidly. Conventional energy sources are able to fulfill todays energy demand, but they have their own disadvantages. Main conventional sources for energy production are the fossil fuels till now. But these fuels are available in limited quantity as well as the environmental issues make the world think for the renewable energy sources. The weaknesses of conventional sources can be eliminated by renewable energy sources. Among the available renewable energy sources, solar is one of the most promising areas nowadays, in which solar-operated water heating system is most widely used in thermal applications. Solar water heater is not only eco-friendly, but also it requires less maintenance and operational cost. This paper aims to modify the simple solar water heater with V-trough reflectors and compare the experimental results with ANSYS software. The results obtained through the experimentation are quite good to promote the inclusion of V-trough reflector with SSWH. The efficiencies are 79.5%, 91%, and 84% while using V-trough reflector at an inclination of 65, 70, and 75 degrees with absorber plate compared to the 78% efficiency of SSWH during typical days of experimentation.

6. Experimental Study of Thermal Contact Conductance of Tool-Sample Interface After Heat Treatment

   Mohammad Asif, Mohd Atif Ahad

   Abstract

   Heat transfer across the metallic interface plays a vital role in metal forming processes for the better design of tools, dies, and other components. Thermal contact conductance (TCC) is the parameter which relates the interfacial heat transfer and interface temperature. Heat treatment is the process commonly employed to improve the thermo-mechanical properties of a material. Thus, the effect of heat treatment on the tool-sample contacts is the main objective of this work. Here, experiments are performed to investigate the thermal properties at the tool steel–mild steel contacts with and without heat treatments. Experiments have been performed on a simple experimental setup which is based on axial heat flow method. The experiments have been conducted under atmospheric environment and varying loading and heat flux conditions so as to study the contact heat transfer for a range of contact pressure and interface temperatures. Steady-state methodology is employed for estimating thermal contact conductance at the joint of two specimens. Heat treatment of tool steel and mild steel specimens has been carried out using normalizing process. Eventually, the combined effect of hardness and thermal conductivity of the tool steel and mild steel on thermal contact conductance has been presented with varying contact pressure and temperature conditions. Moreover, results of TCC have been presented in normalized form to study the combined effect of different parameters and comparing with the pertinent literatures.

7. Artificial Neural Network Analysis for Carbon Nanotubes-Based Nanofluid Flow Over Exponentially Stretching Sheet

   Srishti Singh, Rajnish Kumar

   Abstract

   The concern of our present investigation is to develop and validate multilayer feed-forward neural network model to forecast local Nusselt number and skin friction number for convective heat transfer of electrical magneto hydrodynamics (EMHD) flow of water-based nanofluid over an exponentially stretching sheet involving single-walled carbon nanotubes with an impact of thermal radiation. The artificial neural network model developed is a function of various pertinent parameters. The volume fraction of nanoparticle has been varied gradually from 0.0 to 0.20. The weights and bias of the constructed neuromorphic model have been adjusted by Levenberg–Marquardt learning algorithm using datasets obtained from solving the governing equations by implementing finite difference scheme. The bvp4c function of MATLAB has been utilized for this purpose. Statistical accuracy analysis validated that the consequences obtained from the postulated backpropagation neural network model are in remarkable agreement with the numerical results.

8. Strengthening of Metal Matrix Composites

   Vineet Tirth, Parul Gupta

   Abstract

   This article presents the physical and metallurgical parameters, which affect the distribution of the discontinuous reinforcements in the matrix of metals or alloys fabricated by liquid state processing. The metal matrix composites (MMC) were developed using stir casting at a speed of 800 rpm, the temperature of 750 °C using a pitched blade stirrer. The strengthening mechanisms have been predicted using the classical continuum model and the factors affecting the load and stress distribution are discussed explicitly. For the prediction of elastic properties, two simple limiting models of the rule of mixtures are generally used. The rule of the mixture has been found most appropriate for the composites with continuous reinforcements. The iso-stress condition has given lesser error in the elastic modulus. In presence of the deformable particles, the composite may undergo extensive plastic deformation. The mathematical models and the empirical relationships suggested in this article will help the researchers and industries to design the discontinuously reinforced composite materials and to control the reinforcement distribution and matrix strengthening.

9. Experimental Analysis of Hydrocarbon Refrigerant and CuO Nano-Particles Based Vapour Compression System

   Rajneesh Kaushik, Rajeev Kamal Sharma, Mohit Kalsia, Kundan Lal

   Abstract

   An experimental study has been carried out to investigate the performance characteristics of a nano-refrigerant in a vapor compression refrigeration system. Experiments are conducted for two different fluids: (i) pure hydrocarbon (HC) refrigerant and (ii) nano-refrigerant. In this study, different concentrations of CuO nanoparticles (0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 g) were added in the base refrigerant. In order to conduct the experiments, some of the parameters were varied such as (i) heat supplied from 25 ~ 26 ^°C, (ii) heat supplied from 35 ~ 36 °C. A significant enhancement in coefficient of performance (COP) is observed which is maximum with nanoparticles concentration of 0.4 g. The cooling speed becomes relatively higher compared to the base refrigerant and is found to be increasing with rise in nanoparticles concentration. In addition, this study also identifies the difficulties and scope for future research. These results may be also used in commercial refrigerators.

10. Composite Coating on Aluminum-Based Alloys Through Ni-P Electroless Plating Route

    Naghma Jamal, Shalini Mohanty, Sanu Raj, Alok Kumar Das

    Abstract

    The present study deals with the deposition of a layer of Ni-P and Ni-MoS₂-Al₂O₃ composite coating by using different compositions of Al₂O₃ and MoS₂ powders in the electroless (EL) plating bath on Al-alloy substrate. The results are then compared to that of the samples coated without powders in the EL bath. The samples prepared with the addition of powders in the electroless bath show improved surface properties post coating. Various characterizations of the samples are done such as micro-hardness, coating thickness, compositional analysis through EDS and XRD, and surface morphology is seen through FESEM images. The micro-hardness of the powder-coated samples varies in the range of 122.56 HV to 202.42 HV whereas that of the substrate is 110.74 HV at 0.2 kgf loading condition. XRD results indicate the presence of MoS₂, Al₂O₃, Ni, NiAl, SiO₂, and NiO phases that contribute toward the improvement of both hardness and lubricating properties on the Al-substrate post coating.

11. Fabrication and Experimental Study of Mechanical Behavior of Hollow Glass Fiber-Based Self-healing Polymer Composite

    Anuj Kumar Jain, Rajeev Kumar, Pikesh Bansal

    Abstract

    Self-healing property is now being pursued worldwide with avid interest as an alternative process in checking damages in materials. Incorporating self-repair elements inside hollow fibers is one such approach which is considered here along with study of damage occurrence and restoration of mechanical strength. In present work, hollow glass fiber reinforced self-healing polymer is fabricated, and mechanical response to tensile loading is studied. In our approach, hollow glass fibers of 200–300 micron inner diameter are fabricated and further utilized as fiber reinforcement for self-healing polymer composite. During curing process, initial setup consists of Bisphenol-A-based resin as material for matrix. Hollow glass fiber, which is filled with self-healing agents, is embedded uniformly within the matrix. Further, the material is tested for its tensile strength in the presence of healing agent. The result demonstrates weak fracture toughness of hollow glass fiber with regards to Bisphenol-A epoxy resin. This may be attributed to higher hollowness percentage of glass fiber.

12. Influence of Spindle Rotational Speeds on Pure Mg and 0.1GNP-3Al-Mg Alloy-Nanocomposite in Wire Electrical Discharge Turning Process

    Pravir Kumar, Biplab Kumar Roy, Amitava Mandal, Ashis Mallick, Manoj Gupta

    Abstract

    In the present study, pure bulk Mg and 0.1GNP-3Al-Mg alloy-nanocomposite were synthesized through powder metallurgy followed by hot extrusion. The synthesized materials were characterized by XRD and EDX area mapping. The room temperature, micro-hardness, tensile, and compressive behavior of the pure Mg and the nanocomposite were studied and compared. The Vicker’s hardness, ultimate tensile strength, and ultimate compressive strength of the 0.1GNP-3Al-Mg alloy-nanocomposite were observed improved by 46.15%, 17.6%, and 20.56%, respectively, corresponding to the pure Mg. The cylindrical specimens developed were then turned using wire electrical discharge turning (WEDT) process. The effect of spindle rotational speeds on various output parameters like material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (R_a, R_q, R_z) was studied and compared for the two materials. The MRR of the developed nanocomposite shows a lower MRR in comparison with the pure Mg at the same spindle rotational speed. However, the roughness values of both the pure Mg and the mg alloy-nanocomposite are close. Finally, FESEM images were taken, and detailed surface characteristics were discussed. It was observed that the Mg-3Al/0.1GNP nanocomposite contained lots of voids and micro-cracks and that the surface of pure Mg was relatively smoother.

13. Investigation of Laser-MIG Hybrid Welding Performances in al Alloys with Influence of Ar–He–Ne Mix Shielding

    Kamal Lochan Sahu, Nehal Kumar, Alok Singh, Naveen Anand Daniel, Umesh Kumar Vates

    Abstract

    During the laser welding process, there is a drastic laser power wastage and keyhole fluctuation due to the shielding effect of dense plasma. Similarly, in the case of MIG welding, occurrence of porosity defects and burn-through defects are too common. Combining these two methods of welding can result in minimizing the defects. This study has shown that using the mixture of Ar–He–Ne shielding gas and selecting certain parameters in a range provides us with a good welded specimen with good strength and smooth surface finish. The study will be analysed, and the result concluded from this experiment will be compared with conventional welding processes. This experiment is emphasized to increase the knowledge regarding hybrid welding and foresee its future application based on the outcome.

14. Regression and Taguchi Analysis of TiO2, MnO and CaF2 on Brinell Hardness Number of Submerged Arc Welding Flux Using Red Mud

    Shyam Sunder Sharma, Rishi Dewangan, Ashish Goyal, Anurag Joshi

    Abstract

    After applying the Bayer process, aluminium residue is generated which is called as “Red Mud”. Globally, approximately 250 million tons red mud is produced every year during aluminium production. It persists some industrial compounds like: Fe₂O₃, TiO₂, MnO, CaO, SiO₂, Al₂O₃, etc. These compounds are important ingredient for developing submerged arc welding flux with other elements (CaF₂, CaO, TiO₂ and water glass as binder). In this paper, Brinell hardness is calculated on weld bead using develop flux. This process is optimized through regression and Taguchi analysis on numerous parameters, i.e. TiO₂, MnO and CaF₂. We have simulated the practical performance in computational environments using open source Python programming. The results are meeting at 95% of confidence level, and this can be further utilized for developing solution regarding experimentation of submerged arc welding flux.

15. Chemical Treatment of Reinforced Fibers Used for Bio Composite: A Review

    Shubhanshu Mishra, Vijay Chaudhary

    Abstract

    Natural fibers reinforced polymer composites are extensively used to maintain ecological balance due to their bio-degradable nature. Natural fibers have lower weight, high strength, and biodegradable nature. Various chemical treatments are performed on natural fibers before reinforcement in composite to enhance their properties. Surface characteristics of natural fiber are playing the important role to obtained maximum adhesion between natural fiber and polymer matrix. When the natural fiber’s surface holds substantial wax content, impurities, and other oily content, then it will have a poor level of adhesion with the matrix. Due to lacking of dryness and roughness of natural fibers, it losses the adhesion forces. While the natural fiber’s surface is clean, non-oily, dry, and rough surface, it will positively have better adhesion property with the polymer matrix. Tensile properties of fiber improve due to brittle and ductile behaviors of fibers and reinforcements of natural fibers. Various chemical treatments are alkali treatment, silane treatment, acetylation, benzoylation, acylation, maleated coupling agents, isocyanates, permanganate, sodium bicarbonate treatment, sodium chlorite treatment, enzyme peroxide treatment, ozone treatment, etc. This paper discussed in depth knowledge on chemical treatment of natural fibers and the effect of chemical treatment on properties of developed natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites.

16. Parametric Appraisal for EDM of Inconel 825 Superalloy Using Cu and Cu–Ni Electrodes

    Soni Kumari, Gobinda Chandra Behera, Santosh Kumar Sahu, Saurav Datta, Goutam Nandi, Pradip Kumar Pal

    Abstract

    Effects of tool electrode on electro-discharge machining (EDM) performance of ‘difficult-to-cut’ aerospace superalloy Inconel 825 is studied in this paper. Electrodes used are copper and copper–nickel alloy (90% Cu and 10% Ni). Experiments are conducted at varied peak discharge current with constant settings of pulse-on/off duration, gap voltage, electrode gap distance, and flushing pressure. EDM performance is evaluated in purview of material removal efficiency, and electrode wear rate. In addition, morphology, and topographical features of the machined surface are carried out. Later includes study of surface roughness, surface crack density, and white layer thickness.

17. Aerodynamically Generated Noise Investigation Using Hybrid Approach

    Sunil V. Hangargekar, S. Ravikumar

    Abstract

    This work reports to study and analyze the noise generated by turbulent flow though duct by numerical simulation. Experimental work is already done in the previous publications. This paper majorly focused on correct methodology development in Actran solver to correlate the simulation and experimental results. Numerical simulations are done considering the compressible Navier–Stokes code and Lighthills analogy. First, computational fluid dynamics simulations are done using Navier–Stokes equations and exported the fluctuating components of velocity to acoustic solver for calculation of noise source generation and propagation using Lighthills analogy. This approach is called as hybrid approach. Numerical results compared with experimental work are already done in the previous publication. This work also shows new hybrid approach presented in detail to study any aeroacoustics problems early in the design phase of products.

18. Characterization Techniques and Evolution of Natural Polymer Nanofiber Composites (NPNFCs): An Extensive Study

    H. Jeevan Rao, S. Singh, P. Janaki Ramulu, Basant K. Agarwal

    Abstract

    The twenty-first century witnessed the emergence of renewable resources—the application of composites in aerospace industry enhanced with carbon, glass, kevlar, etc. However, these materials are not biodegradable and environment-friendly. To solve this issue, studies were being carried out on natural composites which are biodegradable. The intent of this study is to present a comprehensive review of the biodegradable composites and matrix materials used in the aerospace industry. Since an aerospace vehicle has to operate under critical weather conditions at variable altitudes, the main problems with the existing materials are related to crash resistance, crack propagation rate growth, self-healing properties, and mechanical properties along with the additional problem of environmental pollution. The alternatives to synthetic fibers, thermoplastics, and thermosetting resins are biopolymers, natural fibers and natural fiber nanocomposites (NFNCs). NFNCs are already implemented in the automotive and aerospace industry because of their biodegradability. However, the type of reinforcement can predominantly alter the dynamic behavior of natural cellulose fiber—nanoparticle-embedded composites (NFNRCs). Similarly, the reinforcement surface-area-to-volume ratio is a key parameter for aerospace applications. Based on the type of reinforcement, nanofiller-based natural composites can display various effective enhancements in desirable properties (like an impact tolerance, fatigue strength, tensile and flexural strength), rheological properties, electrical conductive properties, optical properties, enhanced material durability, energy absorption rate, and shock/impact resistance that make these materials crucial for aerospace application. Based on this, a comprehensive study has been studied on NFNRCs.