Experimental investigation of the machinability of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steels using magnetic abrasives

In this study, the inner surfaces of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel pipes were machined by magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) method. In the experiments, the effects of SiC abrasive rate, grain size of magnetic Fe particles and machining time parameters on the average surface roughness (Ra), material removal rate (MRR), geometric tolerances (cylindricity, position and circularity) and corrosion resistance were experimentally investigated. In the experiments, the Taguchi L9 orthogonal array was used. Ra values and structures of machined surfaces were examined with the help of 3D surface topography measurement and imaging technique. Pre- and post-machining properties of the used abrasive and magnetic powders were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD) techniques. The corrosion resistance of the samples was measured using 3.5 wt% NaCl solution in a typical three-electrode electrochemical cell. After the experiments, analysis of variance (ANOVA) method was applied to determine the statistical effects of each factor on the machinability. As a result, it has been determined that the MAI technique provides significant improvements compared to the turning method in terms of corrosion resistance, surface quality, material removal rate and geometric tolerances of the samples, depending on the processing conditions. In the first chapter of this study, the subject is introduced and some examples from research and academic studies on the subject are given. In the second chapter, frequently used advanced manufacturing methods and MAI method are emphasized. In the third section, the parameters affecting the MAI method are given. In the fourth section, the method is introduced. In the fifth chapter, the findings obtained from the experiments are given and the experimental results are discussed in depth. In the sixth and final chapter, general conclusions of the study are given.