Published Online:August 2026
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJME010526
DOI:10.71329/IUPJMECH/2026.19.3.7-18
Author Name:T Akashyakumar, D Gowtham, V Jeevagan, S Santhosh and S Saravanan
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Engineering
Download Format:PDF
Pages:IJME010726
The study investigates the machinability of AZ31 magnesium alloy using wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM), with emphasis on optimizing two critical machining responses: kerf width and surface roughness (Ra). Taguchi L16 orthogonal array was employed to investigate the influence of four important WEDM process parameters, namely, pulse on time (Ton), pulse off time (Toff), peak current (Ip), and wire feed (Wf) rate. Multi-response optimization was carried out using gray relational analysis (GRA), while signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to determine the significance of machining parameters. The experimental results revealed that Ton and Ip significantly affected both kerf width and Ra. Lower discharge energy conditions produced improved machining performance with reduced thermal damage and enhanced dimensional accuracy. A confirmatory experiment validated the predicted results and confirmed the reliability of the optimization approach. The study establishes an effective process window for WEDM of AZ31 magnesium alloy and provides valuable insights for precision machining of reactive lightweight materials used in advanced engineering applications.
The growing demand for lightweight and high-performance materials in modern engineering applications has led to the widespread use of magnesium alloys in aerospace, automotive, biomedical, and electronic industries (Kumar et al., 2015).