No abstract

Titanium (Ti) and its alloys have gained immense popularity as biomaterials in recent years. Their excellent specific strength makes them outstanding materials for orthopaedic applications. However, in the orthopaedic application, precise micro-drilling (i.e. implants inserts) is required, which is very challenging for these materials. To overcome this issue, the present research proposes an experimental study corroborated with a multi-objective optimization by simulating the drilling under electric discharge machining of Ti-6Al-4V. Taguchi’s methodology–based L9 orthogonal array was used for the experimental study. Voltage, current, pulse on and pulse off were used as the input parameters for the experimental investigation. In order to achieve suitable precise drilling, the material removal rate and surface finish were used as response parameters. Here, by optimizing parameters of the precise drilling, it is possible to obtain high material removal rate and better surface finish simultaneously. The Grey relational analysis was adopted to analyse the output quality characteristics. The optimized results generated through the Grey relational analysis are highly accurate with respect to the experimental outcomes.

The absence of scalable and economically viable alternatives for managing residues coupled with shorter planting window and growing labour shortages and energy prices requires a sustainable solution for the crop residue management in northern India. As per “Need of the Hour”, the present research work focused on physical, mechanical, and morphological characterizations of wheat, which will help in further design of the low-cost straw combine. For this purpose, two varieties of wheat (HD-2967 and WH-1105) were used for the present study, as these are the prevalent varieties of Haryana state. The straw specimens were collected at harvesting period from a farmer’s field, which is located at a longitude of 75.64 and latitude of 29.15. The physical characterization of the crops was conducted on the basis of diameter, length, and thickness of nodes of straws. In contrast, the mechanical characterizations was performed by calculating the tensile and shear strength of the straws. The morphological analysis was performed by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The energy dispersive spectroscopy was performed to analyse the presence of constituting elements of straw. The statistical analysis showed that moisture content in the straw had a significant effect on tensile strength and shear strength.

Polymer-based fibrous composites are gaining popularity in marine and sports industries because of their prominent features like easy to process, better strength to weight ratio, durability and cost-effectiveness. Still, erosive behavior of composites under cyclic abrasive impact is a significant concern for the research fraternity. In this paper, the S type woven glass fibers reinforced polymer matrix composites (PMC s ) are used to analyze the bonding behavior of reinforcement and matrix against the natural abrasive slurry. The response surface methodology is adopted to analyze the effect of various erosion parameters on the erosion resistance. The slurry pressure, impingement angle and nozzle diameter, were used as erosion parameters whereas erosion loss, i.e., weight loss during an erosion phenomenon was considered as a response parameter. The artificial neural network model was used to validate the attained outcomes for an optimum solution. The comparative analysis of response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) models shows good agreement with the erosion behavior of glass fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites. outer structure faces surface erosion because of the existence of highly abrasive particles in the air [8,9]. The erosion of fibrous composites depends upon various process parameters such as impacting particles, angle of impingement, velocity, etc. Tewari et al. [10] reported that erosion of fibrous composites is significantly influenced by fiber orientation because unidirectional fiber orientation exhibits semi ductile erosion behavior. Pool et al. [11] reported that polymer composite shows brittle erosion behavior whereas permanent aramid fiber epoxy shows quasi ductile behavior. The increase in weight fraction of glass fiber as reinforcement can convert ductile erosion behavior into brittle behavior [12]. The effect of particle size during erosion is also analyzed and reported that erosion rate of the composite surface is directly proportional to the size of impacting particle and sometimes becomes zero by using particle size of the range of 2 µm [13]. Miyazaki et al. [14] revealed that fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) having treated fibers exhibits better resistance against erosion than non-treated fibers because of higher interfacial strength between matrix and reinforcement. The angle of impingement significantly affects the erosion rate of the composite surface. Rajesh et al. [15] revealed that the impact of an abrasive particle at an oblique angle (30 • ) is much more influencing than the normal impact angle (90 • ). The optimization of process parameters for tribological behavior has been performed by various scientists using several techniques like the Taguchi's methodology [16], response surface methodology [17], artificial neural network [18], genetic algorithm [19], etc. Response surface methodology (RSM) is employed as an optimization tool for the modeling and optimization of single as well as multi-objective optimization [20]. In recent times, several r...

In this study, an experiment was conducted to investigate the optimum lateral spacing and irrigation frequency for subsurface drip irrigated okra in the semi-arid region of Haryana (India). Two lateral spacings (45 cm and 60 cm) and four irrigation frequencies (daily, after 1, 2 and 3 days) were selected to grow okra in the Kharif season of 2019 and 2020. The effect on soil water dynamics, growth parameters, efficiency and yield were assessed using equal amounts of water under all the treatments on the basis of pan evaporation. The results from the study depict that the overall soil moisture decreased laterally, but increased vertically downward with the increase in the irrigation interval. On the basis of soil water dynamics, plant growth parameters, efficiency and yield of okra, it was concluded that subsurface drip irrigation with daily irrigation at 45 cm lateral spacing gives better performance than all other treatments in sandy loam soil. The present study highlights the significance of proper irrigation frequency and lateral spacing for maximum production of okra. Using these guidelines, the income of okra growers/farmers in the semi-arid region may be increased by choosing the best frequency and lateral spacing of subsurface drip irrigation.