A Tribological Parametric Analysis of Laser Textured Microgrooves on Si3N4
S. Dixit, D. Panigrahi, S. Rout, S. Panda and D. Dhupal
Precise machining of ceramics like Si3N4 is an emerging need for a long run in the field of surface demonstration of engineering materials. These materials, however, often escorted with assorted frailty which are lead to either poor quality or residual worsening of surface; due to their hardness and brittleness properties. In this aspect, the current work used the application of a microsecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser arrangement for the surface grooving on Si3N4 ceramic towards an enhancement of its tribological properties, which were subsequently characterized. A design of experiments (DOE) has been adopted to devise the experimental layout and response surface methodology (RSM) has been employed to establish quadratic models of input variables like current, frequency and scanning speed for the responses akin to groove width, heat affected zone (HAZ) and surface roughness of the featured profile.
Keywords: Nd:YAG laser, silicon nitride, Si3N4, laser surface texturing, microgrooving, heat affected zone (HAZ), surface roughness, tribological properties, response surface methodology (RSM)