Investigations on Electrochemical Micro Drilling of Nickel Alloy using Taguchi based Grey Approach

Abstract

Inconel 600 is the nickel based super alloy which is employed in numerous engineering applications like gas turbine blades, turbochargers and heat exchangers etc. However, it is very difficult to machine due to its high strength and poor thermal diffusion. Conventional machining methods of these materials may result in decreased life time. An electrochemical machining is an advanced non-traditional technique which is suitable for machining hard material, strenuous materials and Intricate shapes. In this paper, electrochemical micro drilling (ECMD) on Inconel 600 material is investigated. The experiments are devised and analyzed using Taguchi’s L₁₈ orthogonal array and Grey relational analysis (GRA). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been implemented to find out the significance of electrochemical micro drilling parameters on the performance characteristics.