EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF MACHINING PARAMETERS IN WEDM OF ZrO2 AND SEASHELL POWDER-REINFORCED BIODEGRADABLE AZ31 Mg ALLOY COMPOSITE

In the current scenario, many researchers aspire to develop biodegradable material for biomedical implant applications. Magnesium (Mg)-based alloys are most promising materials since they have mechanical properties similar to human bone. In this study, Mg alloy AZ31 matrix was reinforced with a seashell powder (2[Formula: see text]wt.%) and zirconium dioxide (10[Formula: see text]wt.%) using bottom pouring stir casting furnace. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) images confirms the proper distribution of reinforcement throughout the matrix. This study analyzed the influence of WEDM process parameters for the material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR) of the proposed composite. According to Taguchi’s L 9 (3[Formula: see text] orthogonal array the machining was performed to investigate the ideal machining parameters with a range of pulse current (I[Formula: see text] 6–8 amps, pulse-on time ([Formula: see text]) 5–15[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]s and pulse-off time ([Formula: see text] 10–30[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]s, respectively. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) result confirms that [Formula: see text] (45.86%) has the most influencing parameter affecting the MRR and SR, followed by [Formula: see text] (25.10%) and [Formula: see text] (17.19%), respectively. Furthermore, Technique for Order Preference by Similar Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and desirability approach was employed to find the optimal parameter combinations to attain the best combined output responses.