Fuzzy Logic Modelling for Microwave Heat Treatment of Aluminium Sheet

Abstract

Microwave energy heating is one of the methods to improve product quality, faster processing, eco-friendliness, and cost and energy savings. The unique heating ability leads to explore this heat treatment method by exploiting its process parameters to improve its effectiveness. This research aimed to predict the effect of microwave heat treatment on aluminium alloy 6063-T6 sheets using fuzzy logic. Microwave heat-treatment trials are designed using the Design of Experiment (DOE) method. The input parameters are heating time, susceptor, and insulator. The non-heated and heated aluminium 'specimen's mechanical properties have been tested using a hardness and tensile testing machine. The experimental results are used to develop a Mamdani fuzzy logic model system. The results indicate that the mechanical properties in terms of tensile Load, and hardness of the specimen have improved after being microwave heat-treated for a short time. The susceptor material and insulator can assist in the microwave processing of materials. The percentage difference between the experimental and simulation values are 0.27 and 6.31%, respectively, for tensile Load and hardness. The experimental and predicted results are still compatible with a small percentage of errors. The fuzzy model can be used to predict the parameters.