Influence of abrasive water jet machining parameter on performance characteristics of AA7075-ZrSiO₄-hBN hybrid metal matrix composites

In this experimental investigation, Aluminium Metal Matrix Composites (AMMC) were reinforced by ZrSiO 4 (5, 10 and 15 Vol%) and solid lubricant hBN (5 Vol%) particles using a stir casting technique. However those hard reinforced AMMC subjected to the machining difficulty. Hence, AMMC can be machined by non-traditional approaches like abrasive water jet machining. This research article deals with the influence of abrasive water jet machining process parameters on the newly fabricated AMMC. Reinforcement particles implicitly affected the surface characteristics of the fabricated composite. The responses like kerf taper angle and surface roughness were largely influenced by the traverse speed and it is found to be the most dominant parameters than the other process parameters. Surface characteristics by SEM shows increase in the reinforcement severely affected the surface integrity of the machined composites.