Open Access
Experimental and FEM analysis of wear behaviour in AA5083 ultrafine-grained cams
(MDPI, 2020) Luis Pérez, Carmelo Javier; Luri Irigoyen, Rodrigo; Fuertes Bonel, Juan Pablo; León Iriarte, Javier; Salcedo Pérez, Daniel; Puertas Arbizu, Ignacio; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza
Severe plastic deformation (SPD) processes have attracted a great deal of both scientific and technological interest over the last few years as a consequence of the improvements that are possible to obtain in the microstructure and mechanical properties of the materials manufactured through the use of these kind of processes. However, the practical applications of such materials to obtain mechanical components are significantly fewer. As a direct consequence, the same thing has been observed in the development of studies that show the in-service behaviour of the mechanical components developed in this way. Since one of the industrial objectives of these SPD processes is to obtain functional parts, it is necessary to carry out studies to fill this gap. Therefore, in this study, an analysis of the wear that cams undergo when manufactured from an AA5083 aluminium-magnesium alloy is carried out. The cams were isothermally-forged from materials with and without previous SPD processing by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). Subsequently, the wear behaviour of these cams was analysed by using specific equipment, which may have been considered to have a block-on-ring configuration, developed for testing in-service wear behaviour of mechanical parts. From this comparative wear study with cams, it is shown that previously-processed materials by ECAP have a better wear performance. Moreover, finite element modelling (FEM) simulations were also included to predict wear in the cams processed in this way. A good agreement between FEM and experimental results was obtained. It is this aspect of performing the wear tests on functional and real mechanical components, and not on laboratory samples, which makes this present research work novel.
Open Access
Analysis of AM parameters on surface roughness obtained in PLA parts printed with FFF technology
(MDPI, 2021) Buj Corral, Irene; Sánchez Casas, Xabier; Luis Pérez, Carmelo Javier; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza
Fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing technology allows very complex parts to be obtained at a relatively low cost and in reduced manufacturing times. In the present work, the effect of main 3D printing parameters on roughness obtained in curved surfaces is addressed. Polylactic acid (PLA) hemispherical cups were printed with a shape similar to that of the acetabular part of the hip prostheses. Different experiments were performed according to a factorial design of experiments, with nozzle diameter, temperature, layer height, print speed and extrusion multiplier as variables. Different roughness parameters were measured—Ra, Rz, Rku, Rsk—both on the outer surface and on the inner surface of the parts. Arithmetical mean roughness value Ra and greatest height of the roughness profile Rz are usually employed to compare the surface finish among different manufacturing processes. However, they do not provide information about the shape of the roughness profile. For this purpose, in the present work kurtosis Rku and skewness Rsk were used. If the height distribution in a roughness profile follows a normal law, the Rku parameter will take a value of 3. If the profile distribution is symmetrical, the Rsk parameter will take a value of 0. Adaptive neural fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) models were obtained for each response. Such models are often employed to model different manufacturing processes, but their use has not yet been extended to 3D printing processes. All roughness parameters studied depended mainly on layer height, followed by nozzle diameter. In the present work, as a general trend, Rsk was close to but lower than 0, while Rku was slightly lower than 3. This corresponds to slightly higher valleys than peaks, with a rounded height distribution to some degree.
Open Access
Analysis on the manufacturing of an AA5083 straight blade previously ECAE processed
(Hindawi, 2013) Salcedo Pérez, Daniel; Luis Pérez, Carmelo Javier; Puertas Arbizu, Ignacio; León Iriarte, Javier; Fuertes Bonel, Juan Pablo; Luri Irigoyen, Rodrigo; Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de Materiales; Mekanika, Energetika eta Materialen Ingeniaritza
Over these past few years, there have been a large number of technical papers published related to the problem of improving the mechanical properties of materials obtained through severe plastic deformation. Nevertheless, the number of technical papers dealing with improvement in the mechanical properties of mechanical components manufactured from submicrometric grain size material has not been so proficient. Therefore, in this present research work, a straight blade has been manufactured starting from AA-5083 previously processed by ECAE twice (N2) with route C.This material will be manipulated so as to be isothermally forged at different temperature values.This present research work shows the results that are inherent in an improvement in themechanical properties and the microstructure achieved in the thus obtained components, compared with the starting material. In addition, the optimum forging temperature to achieve these components will be determined. As shown in this research work, it is possible to obtain submicrometric grain size mechanical components with a higher mechanical strength than those obtained in nonultrafine grained materials. The originality of this research work lies in the manufacturing of actual mechanical components from ECAE processed material and the analysis of their properties.
Open Access
Analysis of tribological properties in disks of AA-5754 and AA-5083 aluminium alloys previously processed by equal channel angular pressing and isothermally forged
(MDPI, 2020) Luis Pérez, Carmelo Javier; Luri Irigoyen, Rodrigo; Puertas Arbizu, Ignacio; Salcedo Pérez, Daniel; León Iriarte, Javier; Fuertes Bonel, Juan Pablo; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza
In the present study, the wear behaviour of two aluminium alloys (AA‐5754 and AA‐5083) is analysed where these have been previously processed by severe plastic deformation (SPD) with equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). In order to achieve the objectives of this study, several disks made of these alloys are manufactured by isothermal forging from different initial states. The microstructures of the initial materials analysed in this study have different accumulated deformation levels. In order to compare the properties of the nanostructured materials with those which have not been ECAP‐processed, several disks with a height of 6 mm and a diameter of 35 mm are manufactured from both aluminium alloys (that is, AA‐5754 and AA‐5083) isothermally forged at temperatures of 150 and 200 °C, respectively. These thus‐manufactured disks are tested under a load of 0.6 kN, which is equivalent to a stress mean value of 18 MPa, and at a rotational speed of 200 rpm. In order to determine the wear values, the disks are weighed at the beginning, at 10,000 revolutions, at 50,000 revolutions and at 100,000 revolutions, and then the volume‐loss values are calculated. This study was carried out using specific equipment, which may be considered to have a block‐on‐ring configuration, developed for testing in‐service wear behaviour of mechanical components. From this, the wear coefficients for the two materials at different initial states are obtained. In addition, a comparison is made between the behaviour of the previously ECAP-processed aluminium alloys and those that are non‐ECAP‐processed. A methodology is proposed to determine wear coefficients for the aluminium alloys under consideration, which may be used to predict the wear behaviour. It is demonstrated that AA‐5754 and AA‐5083 aluminium alloys improve wear behaviour after the ECAP process compared to that obtained in non‐ECAP‐processed materials.
Open Access
Modeling of surface roughness in honing processes by using fuzzy artificial neural networks
(MDPI, 2023) Buj Corral, Irene; Sender, Piotr; Luis Pérez, Carmelo Javier; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza
Honing processes are abrasive machining processes which are commonly employed to improve the surface of manufactured parts such as hydraulic or combustion engine cylinders. These processes can be employed to obtain a cross-hatched pattern on the internal surfaces of cylinders. In this present study, fuzzy artificial neural networks are employed for modeling surface roughness parameters obtained in finishing honing operations. As a general trend, main factors influencing roughness parameters are grain size and pressure. Mean spacing between profile peaks at the mean line parameter, on the contrary, depends mainly on tangential and linear velocity. Grain Size of 30 and pressure of 600 N/cm2 lead to the highest values of core roughness (Rk) and reduced valley depth (Rvk), which were 1.741 µm and 0.884 µm, respectively. On the other hand, the maximum peak-to-valley roughness parameter (Rz) so obtained was 4.44 µm, which is close to the maximum value of 4.47 µm. On the other hand, values of the grain size equal to 14 and density equal to 20, along with pressure 600 N/cm2 and both tangential and linear speed of 20 m/min and 40 m/min, respectively, lead to the minimum values of core roughness, reduced peak height (Rpk), reduced valley depth and maximum peak-to-valley height of the profile within a sampling length, which were, respectively, 0.141 µm, 0.065 µm, 0.142 µm, and 0.584 µm.
Open Access
EDM machinability and surface roughness analysis of INCONEL 600 using graphite electrodes
(Springer, 2016) Torres Salcedo, Alexia; Puertas Arbizu, Ignacio; Luis Pérez, Carmelo Javier; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza
Open Access
Study of spacing surface roughness parameters and proposal of a wear behaviour criterion in die-sinking EDM of cobalt-bonded tungsten carbide
(Springer, 2025-07-16) Puertas Arbizu, Ignacio; Salvide-González, Unai; Luis Pérez, Carmelo Javier; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa, PRO-UPNA12514
Surface roughness analysis is crucial for assessing machining quality, with most studies emphasizing amplitude parameters due to their industrial relevance. However, spacing roughness parameters, such as Sm (mean spacing of profile irregularities) and Pc (peak count), provide complementary insights into the horizontal distribution of surface features, which are often overlooked. This study investigates the effect of current intensity (I) and pulse time (ti) on Sm and Pc during the die-sinking EDM of cobalt-bonded tungsten carbide (94WC-6Co), a material widely used in wear-intensive applications due to its exceptional hardness. A multilevel design of experiments (DOE) was performed, varying I from 2 to 6 A and ti from 10 to 100 µs. Results demonstrated a strong relationship between machining conditions and both parameters, with higher current intensities increasing feature spacing (Sm) and reducing peak number (Pc). The optimal surface quality, defined by Sm = 30 µm and Pc = 337 cm⁻1, was achieved at I = 2 A and ti = 10 µs. Polynomial regression models provided predictive insights for process optimization. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis validated these results, revealing distinct surface morphology variations associated with the machining parameters. Finally, an attempt to define a criterion for predicting wear behaviour under the experimental conditions considered in this study will be made, where this will be based on Pc and two additional surface roughness parameters such as Rsk (skewness) and Rku (kurtosis).
Open Access
Surface roughness analysis on the dry turning of an Al-Cu alloy
(Elsevier, 2015) Torres Salcedo, Alexia; Puertas Arbizu, Ignacio; Luis Pérez, Carmelo Javier; Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de Materiales; Mekanika, Energetika eta Materialen Ingeniaritza
Nowadays, surface finish has become an important indicator of quality and precision in manufacturing processes and it is considered one of the most important parameter in Industry. In this present study, the influence of different machining parameters on surface roughness has been analyzed. All these parameters have been studied in terms of depth of cut (ap), feed rate (F), cutting speed (Vc) and tool radius (R). A 2030-T4 aluminium alloy has been selected. Moreover, Design of Experiments (DOE) techniques have been used to predict the surface quality in advance and to select the optimal turning conditions. The experimental results revealed that for dry turning operations and for the amplitude parameters, the most significant factor was the interaction effect between the depth of cut and the feed rate. In addition, for facing operations, the feed rate turned out to be the most statistically influential factor of all the surface roughness parameters.
Open Access
Optimization and modeling of ZrB2 ceramic processing by EDM for high-performance industrial applications
(Elsevier, 2025-04-11) Luis Pérez, Carmelo Javier; Torres Salcedo, Alexia; Puertas Arbizu, Ignacio; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2
This study investigates the Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) of zirconium diboride (ZrB2), a novel conductive ceramic with exceptional properties, including high temperature resistance, excellent thermal conductivity, and remarkable hardness. These properties make ZrB2 highly suitable for extreme environments, such as aerospace and nuclear applications. To the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive studies have addressed the manufacturing of ZrB2 parts by EDM, positioning this research as a cutting-edge contribution. Two electrode materials, graphite (C) and copper-graphite (Cu–C), were used to analyze the material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (Ra) as functions of current intensity (I), pulse time (ti), and duty cycle (η). Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) were used to model the response variables. While MLR was effective for MRR (R2 > 0.9), ANN outperformed it in predicting Ra, especially for Cu–C electrodes (R2 = 0.9366 vs. 0.3847 for MLR). Current intensity was the most influential parameter for MRR, while pulse time significantly affected Ra. Residual analysis confirmed ANN superior accuracy for Ra, with residuals below ±1 vs. ±2 for MLR. The study culminated in the successful EDM manufacture of a ZrB2 hexagonal nut, employing optimized parameters (I = 6 A, ti = 50 μs, η = 0.3, for the C electrode) derived using ANN models and particle swarm optimization. This result demonstrates the EDM process ability to produce high-precision components with complex geometries, showcasing its versatility and industrial potential. Therefore, this study broadens the understanding of ZrB2 machinability and expands its applications in advanced technologies.
Open Access
Design, optimization, and mechanical property analysis of a submicrometric aluminium alloy connecting rod
(Hindawi, 2015) Fuertes Bonel, Juan Pablo; León Iriarte, Javier; Luis Pérez, Carmelo Javier; Salcedo Pérez, Daniel; Puertas Arbizu, Ignacio; Luri Irigoyen, Rodrigo; Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de Materiales; Mekanika, Energetika eta Materialen Ingeniaritza
Ultrafine grained materials have a great deal of both scientific and technological interest because they allow outstanding properties to be obtained. An improvement in the mechanical strength and in the ductility and a better fatigue behaviour are properties to be expected with these materials. However, in spite of the great number of scientific publications that deals with the mechanical property improvement, the number of practical applications of these materials is scant. In this present research work, equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) is used as a severe plastic deformation process (SPD) to obtain billets which are subsequently isothermally forged to obtain a connecting rod with submicrometric grain size. The optimization of the design process is shown as well as the die design. The objective variables to be fulfilled are the correct filling of the die and the required force to obtain the part. Moreover, a comparison is also included between the mechanical properties thus obtained and those obtained with traditional methods. Moreover, optical and SEM micrographs are also included in this research work.