K. KARUPPASAMY, B. RANGANATHAN: INVESTIGATION OF THE SURFACE QUALITY OF AA6082-ZrO2-Gr MMCs ...
19–26
INVESTIGATION OF THE SURFACE QUALITY OF
AA6082-ZrO
2
-Gr MMCs USING ABRASIVE WATERJET
MACHINING
RAZISKAVA KAKOVOSTI POVR[INE KOMPOZITA NA OSNOVI
AA6082-ZrO
2
-Gr ZARADI NJEGOVE ABRAZIVNE MEHANSKE
OBDELAVE Z VODNIM CURKOM
Kannapiran Karuppasamy
*
, Baskaran Ranganathan
Anna University, College of Engineering Guindy, Department of Industrial Engineering, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
Prejem rokopisa – received: 2022-08-26; sprejem za objavo – accepted for publication: 2022-12-05
doi:10.17222/mit.2022.602
Aluminium metal matrix composites have wide applications in the aerospace and automotive industries due to their excellent
physical properties like hardness, tensile strength, etc. The reinforcement of ZrO2 hard ceramic particles and soft solid lubricant
graphite on AA6082 produces a high-strength composite. This research aims to fabricate AA6082-ZrO2-Gr MMCs with differ-
ent compositions and evaluate the abrasive-waterjet-machining (AWJM) parameters in the machining of the fabricated compos-
ites, which eliminates the thermal distortion and damage to the work material. The experiments were conducted by varying the
dominant process parameters such as water pressure, traverse speed, abrasive flow rate and mesh size. The kerf taper angle was
affected by the traverse speed and water pressure, while the surface roughness was affected by the abrasive flow rate, mesh size
and water pressure. The abrasive mesh size of 120 provided the best surface finish.
Keywords: abrasive waterjet, composite, surface roughness, kerf angle
Kompoziti z matrico na osnovi aluminijevih zlitin se mno`i~no uporabljajo v letalski in avtomobilski industriji zaradi svojih
odli~nih fizikalnih lastnosti, kot so trdnost, trdota, natezna trdnost itd. Oja~itev kovinske osnove oziroma zlitine AA6082 s
trdimi kerami~nimi delci ZrO2 in mehkim trdnim grafitnim mazivom omogo~a izdelavo kompozita z visoko trdnostjo. V ~lanku
je opisana raziskava izdelave kompozitov vrste AA6082-ZrO2-Gr z razli~no sestavo in njihovo ovrednotenje zaradi abrazivne
obdelave z vodnim curkom (AWJM; angl.: abrasive waterjet machining) pri razli~nih procesnih parametrih. Namen raziskave je
bil optimiranje oziroma termi~ni vpliv na krivljenje in po{kodbe izdelkov iz kompozitov. Preizkusi so bili izvedeni pri razli~nih
vplivnih parametrih procesa, kot so tlak vode, hitrost vodnega curka, hitrost pretoka vode z dodatkom abrazivnega sredstva in
njegove velikosti delcev. Na kot reza vplivata hitrost potovanja vodnega curka in tlak vode. Na povr{insko hrapavost reza
vplivajo hitrost pretoka in velikost delcev abrazivnega sredstva ter tlak vode. Pri uporabi abrazivnega sredstva razreda #120 je
bila dose`ena najmanj{a povr{inska hrapavost.
Klju~ne besede: abrazivni vodni curek, kompozit, povr{inska hrapavost, kot odreza
1 INTRODUCTION
Composite materials include many combinations of
metals with desirable mechanical properties. They are
widely used in many industries and main parts like gears,
turbine blades, dies, etc., whose performance is en-
hanced due to composite materials.
1
It has been demon-
strated that metal matrix composites (MMC) have better
properties, such as higher strength, wear resistance, abra-
sion resistance, creep resistance, corrosion resistance,
thermal conductivity and dimensional stability.
2
The
most common metal matrix composites are aluminium,
titanium, magnesium and copper alloys. Aluminium and
its alloys are the most commonly used metal matrix com-
posites.
3
The primary advantages of aluminium-based
metal matrix composites (AMMCs) over unreinforced
materials are their high strength, good stiffness, low den-
sity (weight), controlled thermal expansion coefficient,
thermal/heat management, enhanced and customized
electrical performance, improved abrasion and wear
resistance, control of mass (especially in reciprocating
applications) and enhanced damping capabilities.
4
The
commonly found reinforcements in AMMCs are SiC,
TiB
2
, TiC, Al
2
O
3
, WC and rice husk. Mechanical proper-
ties such as tensile strength and density were increased
with an increase in the proportion of reinforcement and
the distribution of reinforced particles was inspected us-
ing a SEM analysis.
5
The reinforcement of nano-sized
particles in an aluminium matrix has demonstrated their
potential superiority in increasing mechanical character-
istics and microstructural properties with a higher
strength-to-weight ratio. In this investigation, zirconia
(ZrO
2
) reinforces the AA6082 matrix, widely used in au-
tomobile, aerospace and marine industries. The rein-
forcement of ZrO
2
is desirable as it exhibits a density of
5.68 g/cm
3
, melting point of 2715 °C, ultimate tensile
strength of 425 MPa, Vickers hardness of 150 HV and
Young’s modulus of 98 GPa. In addition, the nano-ZrO
2
particles provide a higher impact toughness. The impact
strengths of the composites with nano-ZrO
2
are higher
Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 57 (2023) 1, 19–26 19
UDK 681.7.042 ISSN 1580-2949
Original scientific article/Izvirni znanstveni ~lanek MTAEC9, 57(1)19(2023)
*Corresponding author's e-mail:
srikanna.piran@gmail.com (Kannapiran Karuppasamy)

than those of the other nanoparticles. Particles of ZrO
2
enhance the tensile strength and hardness while margin-
ally decreasing the ductility. ZrO
2
reinforcement parti-
cles change the fracture surface mode from brittle to a
ductile intergranular mode.
6,7
The lamellar structure of graphite, a self-lubricant re-
inforcement, enhances the anti-friction characteristics. A
solid lubricant creates a coating on the contact surface to
reduce friction. Graphite is considered as one of the most
frequently used self-lubricants due to its excellent lubri-
cating properties and low cost. The reinforcement and in-
terfacial strength between the matrix and reinforcement
elements increase the strength of the prepared MMCs.
The addition of graphite improves the machinability.
8
Adding graphite particles to Al alloys allows a new ap-
proach to producing tribological materials more resistant
to wear and tear. The composites reinforced with high-
strength ceramic and graphite particles exhibit more ex-
cellent tribological properties than those reinforced with
mono-particulate materials, according to a new study.
9
The machinability has been increased by7%inv olume,
and the tool life has also been increased by 130 % when
graphite particles are added to Al/SiC/Gr composites.
10
There are many techniques for fabricating AMMCs,
such as mechanical alloying, ball milling, squeeze cast-
ing, stir casting and powder metallurgy.
11
Among them,
the stir-casting process is well known for its easy prepa-
ration and low cost. It minimizes the damage of the rein-
forcing particles even in a large-scale production.
12
The
stirring action provides for a uniform dispersion in the
matrix, making the process promising. Mechanical prop-
erties are increased with a rigid reinforcement, while ma-
chining of such a hybrid composite is difficult with tradi-
tional machining processes. It also has been observed
that many difficulties in the selection of machining pa-
rameters and correct tool type are experienced.
13
Among
the generally used non-conventional machining tech-
niques, the AWJM outperforms other processes because
of its quick set-up, excellent component precision, high
machining versatility, small cutting forces, great flexibil-
ity and low heat generation during the process.
14,15
AWJM was first used in quarry companies to replace
conventional diamond-coated saws for cutting stones.
Then metals were cut by a high-velocity narrow stream
of water with abrasive particles, proving that any mate-
rial could be cut using AWJM. However, the control
parameters such as water pressure, traverse speed, abra-
sive flow rate and mesh size can all affect the cut surface
quality and kerf taper angle.
16
This research investigates
the effect of cutting parameters of abrasive waterjet ma-
chining on machining AA6082-ZrO
2
-Gr hybrid metal
matrix composites with different compositions.
2 EXPERIMENTAL PART
2.1 Fabrication of hybrid composites
Different volume proportions of zirconia ((5, 10 and
15) % volume) and5%v olume ( /%) of self-lubricant
graphite were used to reinforce an aluminium matrix.
Particles of ZrO
2
(100–150 μm) and graphite (5 μm)
were used as the reinforcement as shown on the FE-SEM
images from Figure 1. The compositions of the compos-
ites are shown in Table 1. First, AA6082 billets were
placed in a crucible and heated using an electric furnace.
The melting process was continued until the temperature
reached 800 °C. Next, the molten material was actively
stirred using a metal stirrer. Then, the preheated zirconia
and graphite were added to the molten material, stirred at
the revolutions of 120 min
–1
, and heated for 15 min.
Then, the molten material was poured into a mild steel
die for casting. Three samples were fabricated, each with
dimensions of (100 × 100 × 10) mm and used for testing
and machining. SEM images of AHC5, AHC10 and
AHC15 are seen in Figures 1a, 1b and 1c, respectively.
Table 1: Composites and their properties
Compos-
ites
ZrO
2
( /%)
Graphite
( /%)
Alu-
minium
( /%)
Tensile
strength
(MPa)
Vickers
hardness
(HV)
AHC5 5 5 90 132 84
AHC10 10 5 85 157 112
AHC15 15 5 80 180 128
2.2 Testing of mechanical properties
A Vickers hardness tester was utilized to evaluate the
extent of the hardness of the material that was fabricated.
The indentation load of 20 kgf for 10 s was measured ac-
K. KARUPPASAMY, B. RANGANATHAN: INVESTIGATION OF THE SURFACE QUALITY OF AA6082-ZrO2-Gr MMCs ...
20 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 57 (2023) 1, 19–26
Figure 1: SEM images of fabricated composites: a) AHC5, b) AHC10, c) AHC15

cording to the ASTM E92-16 standard. The tensile
strength of the material was determined using a universal
testing machine according to the ASTM A370 standard.
The hardness of the composite was increased with an in-
crement in the proportion of the reinforcement. The ma-
trix gained strength due to the addition of ZrO
2
particu-
lates. The combination of ZrO
2
and graphite increased
the composite tensile strength. In addition, an excellent
interfacial binding was formed with an increase in the
volume percentage of the reinforcing particles, increas-
ing the tensile strength. Table 1 shows the tensile
strength and hardness of the prepared samples with dif-
ferent zirconia amounts.
2.3 Abrasive waterjet machining of the composites
The fabricated composites were machined using an
abrasive waterjet machine (OMAX Corporation Model:
2626). The predominant process parameters were the
water pressure (125, 200 and 275) MPa, traverse speed
(60, 90 and 120) mm/min, abrasive mass flow rate (240,
340 and 440) g/min and mesh size 80, 100 and 120 were
varied during the experimentation. The least contributing
parameters, such as the stand-off distance of 1.5 mm and
the angle of jet strike against the workpiece of 90° were
set as fixed parameters. The controllable parameter lev-
els were varied during the experimentation, while the
other parameters were set to the middle level. Three rep-
lications were made for each trial and the average value
of observations was considered for further analysis. Ta-
ble 2 shows the AWJM parameters and the range of op-
erations used in composite machining. A non-contact
type optical-interferometry profiling system (model:
Bruker, Contour GT-K, USA) was employed for measur-
ing the surface roughness. A video measuring system
(model: 2010F) was used to measure the kerf angles of
the machined samples. The top and bottom kerf widths
of the machined samples were measured using VMS and
the kerf angles were calculated.
17
The photographic im-
ages of the tensile strength and surface roughness tester
are shown in Figure 2. The dimensions of the machined
sample are shown in Figure 3.
Table 2: AWJM parameters
Process parameters Range
Orifice diameter (mm) 0.25
Nozzle diameter (mm) 0.75
Focusing tube length (mm) 75
Focusing tube diameter (mm) 1
Impinging angle 90°
Abrasive type Garnet
Mesh size (M) 80, 100, 120
Abrasive flow rate (g/min) 240, 340, 440
Water pressure (MPa) 125, 200, 275
Traverse speed (mm/min) 60, 90, 120
Stand-off distance (mm) 1.5
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Impact of the water pressure
Kerf taper angles of the machined composites formed
by different water pressures are shown in Figure 4a. The
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Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 57 (2023) 1, 19–26 21
Figure 2: Equipment used: a) tensile testing machine, b) surface roughness tester, c) video measuring system
Figure 3: Sample machined with AWJM

kerf taper gradually reduces when the waterjet pressure
is increased. A higher water pressure leads to highly lo-
calized machining, which results in a deeper cut; hence,
the kerf taper is low. In combination with the other vari-
ables like the traverse speed and abrasive flow rate, a
lower water pressure results in a higher kerf taper an-
gle.
17
The hard nature of ZrO
2
makes the machining rate
low because the unmachined ceramic particles escape the
collision of mesh particles under a low water pressure.
The abrasive particles are carried, with a large amount of
energy, by the waterjet with the increased kinetic energy
due to the increased water pressure. The hard reinforced
particles lose energy and velocity during deeper machin-
ing, resulting in a reduced material removal at the bottom
surface. Hence, a low kerf width is formed at the bottom,
and a less tapered slot occurs.
The strength and interface of the reinforcement of the
particles affect the kerf taper angle. An increase in
graphite particles influences the cutting quality by in-
creasing the kerf taper angle. As illustrated in Figure 4b,
an increased water pressure reduces the surface rough-
ness of the machined composite. A higher water pressure
and lower traverse speed do not significantly impact the
reinforced matrix. In contrast, a higher traverse speed
can dislodge the ceramic particles from the ductile alu-
minium matrix, resulting in a finer surface quality. The
cutting ability is harmed at a low pressure due to an erro-
neous coordinative impact on the traverse speed, result-
ing in micro-cutting and rough patches, as seen in Fig-
ure 5a. The inability of the jet at a lower water pressure
creates voids, cracks and craters on the surface that lead
to a poor surface finish of the machined composite. In-
creasing the reinforcement particles causes machining
difficulties and affects the surface roughness of the ma-
chined composite. Constant erosion dislodges reinforc-
ing particles, causing cracks and tears on the composite
surface, as illustrated in Figure 5a, whereas a smoother
surface texture is observed in Figure 5b. The 10  /%
ZrO
2
composite has a low surface roughness due to the
prior machining around the reinforcement particles as
well as the graphite particles, whereas the other two
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22 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 56 (2022) 6, 19–26
Figure 5: SEM images of AWJ machined surface: a) 125 MPa and b) 275 MPa
Figure 4: Water pressure: a) vs kerf taper angle and b) vs surface roughness

composites exhibit a bit higher surface roughness be-
cause of the lower order of machining.
3.2 Impact of the traverse speed
The traverse speed has a significant impact on the
kerf taper angle. The jet energy momentum causes a re-
duction in its kinetic energy. When the jet traverse speed
is increased, the kerf taper angle is also increased. The
quality of the material cutting is also reduced due to the
high speed.
18
The top has a broader kerf, while the bot-
tom has a narrower kerf. The kerf taper angle is lower for
AHC15 due to an even breakage of the reinforcement
particles (Figure 6a). This shows that a low traverse
speed improves the cutting quality.
The traverse speed has an impact on the surface
roughness. Figure 6b shows that a high traverse speed
increases the surface roughness. Huge voids are formed
on the surface when the erosion made by the self-lubri-
cant is significant, making the reinforcement particles
unstable. The garnet particles are also washed away due
to the high traverse speed. Figure 7 shows SEM images
of the surface AWJ machined at different transverse
speeds.
3.3 Impact of the abrasive flow rate
The material property determines the range of abra-
sive flow rate. Other factors that influence the abrasive
flow rate are jet nozzle and jet speed. The abrasive flow
rate determines the cutting speed and machining time. A
rise in the abrasive flow rate increases the kerf taper an-
gle due to the expansion of its diameter. Figure 8a
shows that a lower kerf taper angle is observed with a
lower abrasive flow rate. A minimum number of abrasive
particles requires a material removal at a lower level of
the abrasive flow rate. Hence, the interaction of the abra-
sive particles with reinforcements (ZrO
2
and graphite) is
minimum at a lower abrasive flow rate. A minimum kerf
taper angle can be achieved with the nominal abrasive
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Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 57 (2023) 1, 19–26 23
Figure 7: SEM images of the AWJ machined surface: a) 60 mm/min and b) 120 mm/min
Figure 6: Traverse speed: a) vs kerf taper angle, b) vs surface roughness

flow rate without any further abrasion. A higher abrasive
flow rate causes the garnet particles to be destroyed, re-
sulting in a higher kerf taper angle.
18
Due to an intense
contact, the reinforcement particles are ejected from the
composite surface, resulting in a higher kerf taper angle.
The effect of the abrasive flow rate on the surface
roughness for the three different composites is shown in
Figure 8b. The surface roughness is decreased when the
abrasive flow rate is increased. At lower abrasive flow
rates, erosion occurs due to the separation of the garnet
particles and reinforcement in the composite. The sur-
face finish becomes poor due to further erosion. When
the grooved line developed as a result of the cutting wear
mechanism is removed, an increased abrasive flow rate
leads to more garnet particles being involved in the cut-
ting, as shown in Figure 9a. When the abrasive flow rate
is increased, more garnet particles are involved in the
cutting process, resulting in a smoother machining sur-
face and lower surface roughness. However, in the com-
posites with a higher proportion of reinforced particles,
the interaction between the garnet particles and rein-
forcement particles restrain the erosion of the aluminium
matrix around the reinforced particles. As a result, as
shown in Figure 9b, extruded zirconium dioxide parti-
cles are exposed on the surface, and a void formed by
soft graphite particles is pushed away from the cutting
surface.
3.4 Impact of the mesh size
Figure 10a shows the effect of the mesh size on the
kerf taper angle. There is a decrease in the kerf taper an-
gle when there is an increase in the mesh size. The rein-
forcement particles on the surface are not damaged, and
perfect machining is performed due to finer garnet parti-
cles. It also increases the surface quality. The cutting
depth and quality are decreased because of the smaller
grit particles. The formation of craters on the machine
surface is restricted, and smooth machining is obtained
with the 120 mesh size and smaller grit particles. The
cutting quality decreases when the reinforcement parti-
cles are increased in the composite. It is observed that as
the amount of reinforcement particles increases, the kerf
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24 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 57 (2023) 1, 19–26
Figure 9: SEM images of the AWJ machined surface: a) 240 g/min and b) 440 g/min
Figure 8: Abrasive flow rate: a) vs kerf taper angle and b) vs surface roughness

taper angle increases. AHC 5 produced a smaller kerf
taper angle due to larger garnet particles and smaller re-
inforcement particles. The cutting quality is increased
with finer grain particles. Due to the reduced mesh size
of AHC 15, a smaller path is created between the garnet
particles, resulting in a higher kerf taper angle. The gar-
net particles restrict the machining due to their impact on
zirconia. The composite is efficiently machined at a
higher mesh or smaller garnet particles.
Figure 10b shows the impact of the mesh size on the
machined composite. The surface roughness is decreased
when the mesh size of the abrasive particle is increased
due to a large size of plaguing marks. The finer grain
particles removed the material with a minimal strain.
Figure 11a shows how finer garnet particles erode the
machining surface, resulting in precise cutting, visible
cutting marks, and a decrease in the surface roughness.
When the mesh size is constant and the reinforcement is
increased, the surface roughness is also increased. The
abrasive particles allowed smooth cutting. The surface
roughness was further intensified by the interaction of
the garnet particles with graphite particles, which re-
sulted in a loss of graphite particles, as shown in Fig-
ure 11b, exhibiting an abrasion surface.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Aluminium-based MMCs (AA6082-ZrO
2
-Gr) with
different volume proportions of zirconia (5, 10 and
15) /% and 5 /% of self-lubricant graphite were fabri-
cated. The fabricated hybrid composites were machined
using the abrasive waterjet machining process by varying
their parameters to produce a better surface cutting qual-
ity characterized by surface roughness and kerf angle. In
addition, the influences of individual parameters were
studied and the following conclusions were made:
Gradually increasing the reinforcement increased the
hardness of the hybrid composites and provided superior
strength. In addition, the solid lubricant improved its
anti-frictional quality, observed on soft cutting zones.
A higher waterjet pressure made an in-depth cut and
kept the kerf low throughout the cutting without a taper.
At the same time, a higher waterjet pressure provided a
lower surface roughness due to its excellent dislodging
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Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 57 (2023) 1, 19–26 25
Figure 11: SEM images of the AWJ machined surface: a) mesh size
80 and b) mesh size 120
Figure 10: Mesh size: a) vs kerf taper angle and b) vs surface roughness

role in removing hard reinforced particles through the
ductile aluminium matrix.
A lower traverse speed resulted in a lower kerf taper
angle because of its steady cutting ability with consistent
kinetic energy. In addition, the lower traverse speed al-
lowed more abrasive particles to remove the material, in-
creasing the smooth cutting zone. Hence, a lower surface
roughness was observed at the minimum traverse speed.
A decrease in the abrasive flow rate created a lower
kerf taper angle and did not allow more garnets to inter-
act with the MMC particles. On the other hand, an in-
creased abrasive flow rate allowed a lower surface
roughness because of the excessive machining interac-
tions between the garnets and particles, which resulted in
a heavy disintegration and a smooth cut.
A decrease in the mesh size decreased the kerf taper
angle because the particle size was not effective enough
for dismantling the hard particles but the particles had
enough energy to go through soft ductile matrix areas.
Conversely, an increase in the mesh size drastically de-
creased the surface roughness due to the fine removal of
the hard reinforced particles with their large-size garnets,
resulting in clean machining and a smoother surface.
The research findings will provide the required
guidelines and database for machining an AA6082-
ZrO
2
-Gr hybrid composite, enabling industries to meet
the standards for the abrasive waterjet machining pro-
cess.
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