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Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 3582–3589 www.materialstoday.com/proceedings

ICMPC-2019

Optimization of cutting parameters of turning for hardness of AISI

4140 alloy steel
Gyanesh Sharana,Rabindra Kumar Patelb*
a
Assistant professor,Madhav Institute of technology and Science,Gwalior-474005,India
b
Associate professor,Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology,Allahabad-211004,India

Abstract

In the present work AISI 4140 alloy steel has been taken as the work piece material. Its Brinell hardness is 197.AISI 4140 steel is
chromium, molybdenum and manganese containing low alloy steel. It has high fatigue strength, superior toughness, good
ductility, abrasion and impact resistance and torsional strength that’s why it is used to make drive shafts, pump shafts, connecting
rods, lathe spindles etc. For machining of work piece the insert chosen is carbide insert. Speed, feed and depth of cut were the
three factors taken at low, medium and high levels. 9 runs of experiment were performed using L9 orthogonal design. The output
response is Rockwell hardness of the material. This output response was analysed by SN ratio, analysis of variance and response
table. The criteria chosen is Larger is better for hardness and Taguchi method is applied for Optimization. The experimental
result shows that depth of cut most significantly influences hardness followed by speed of revolution and feed.

© 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the 9th International Conference of Materials Processing and Characterization, ICMPC-2019

Keywords:AISI 4140 alloy steel, Turning Process, Taguchi Method, Rockwell hardness

1. Introduction

In the present era Industries aim at reducing cost and maximizing their profit by improving their technology. So
processes with better efficiency and at the same time better output responses is always a subject of concern. For this
purpose they use various manufacturing processes which focus on feature of tools, mechanical properties of material,

* Corresponding author. Tel .:+ 9113302132, fax: +91-532-24455101

E-mail address: gyaneshsharan@mitsgwalior.in

2214-7853© 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the 9th International Conference of Materials Processing and Characterization, ICMPC-2019
 G. Sharan and R.K. Patel/ Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 3582–3589 3583

Nomenclature

A MRR Material Removal Rate

B D.O.C. Depth of Cut
C Rev Revolution
D S/N Signal to Noise Ratio
E ANOVA Analysis of Variance
F RSM Response Surface Methodology
G DOE Design of Experiments
H DF Degree of Freedom
I SS Sum of Squares
J MS Mean Square
K F F ratio
L P P value

material composition and machine parameter settings which influence the process efficiency. Metal cutting is one
of those processes. In this process we can improve process efficiency by optimization of process parameters in
which critical process control factors leading to desired responses ensuring a lower manufacturing cost can be easily
identified.
For better performance of any machining process it should have higher machining rate and better output response
for example material hardness. To achieve optimum process parameters there is a need of comprehensive and
qualitative analysis of hardness of material. Also analytical models for hardness of material need to be developed.
For this purpose various analytical models for hardness of the material are studied for different types of
manufacturing processes.

2. Literature review

Dilbag Singh and P.Venkateswar Rao et al [1] investigated the effect of cutting condition and tool geometry on
surface roughness in bearing steel (AISI 52100) steel using by using mixed Ceramic inserts made from Aluminium
oxide and Titanium carbonitride. K. Adarsh kumar et al [2] used multiple regression analysis and ANOVA to
investigate the effect of spindle speed, feed, depth of cut on surface finish of EN-8 using cemented carbide insert.
Das et al [3] concluded that depth of cut (51.1%) was the most significant parameter followed by feed (25.5%) on
material removal rate while analyzing optimization method in dry turning of AISI D2 steel to achieve, minimum
tool wear, low work piece surface temperature and maximum material removal rate. For machining turning and
milling of Al-alloy Ghan et al [4] used multi regression analysis to develop prediction model for SR and MRR. High
temperature hardness data was studied by Merchant et al [5] for 37 metals. He concluded that melting temperature
of the metal directly affects the apparent activation energy for indentation and softening parameter of hardening is
inversely related with it.

2.1. Identification of research gap

The following gaps have been identified from the literature review.
 It is evident from the literature review that most of the research work in the area of turning were focused on
machining of metals, aluminum based alloys and various grades of steel like AISI 1020 steel, AISI 52100 steel
etc. very few work has been done on machining of particular grade of steel namely AISI 4140 steel. So this is the
untouched area found from this review.
 The effect of various process parameters on turning of AISI 4140 steel is also another untouched area.
 Optimization of various process parameters on turning of AISI 4140 steel is also another untouched area.
 3584 G. Sharan and R.K. Patel/ Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 3582–3589

 From the previous studies it is evident that although researchers have tried to investigate the relation of surface
roughness with different process parameters of different machining operations like drilling, milling etc. but there
is a gap in determining of the exact effect of speed, feed and depth of cut on hardness of work piece material in
turning. Therefore this aspect has been selected in this research.

2.2 Objective of present study

The present thesis includes the experimental study, Prediction of input & output parameters on AISI 4140 steel
& its optimization. The objectives of this research are:

 Designing the experiment & performing with turning process parameter combination.
 Taking hardness as the response.
 Studying the effect of turning process parameters the speed of revolution, feed & depth of cut on the response.
 Optimizing the process parameter with respect to the response.
 Finding the most dominant parameter and its effect

3. Work piece material and cutting tool used

The work piece material used for the study was AISI 4140 alloy steel with diameter 25 mm & length 80 mm.

Table1. Chemical composition of AISI 4140 alloy steel

Element Carbon Chromium Iron Mangnese Molybdenum Phosphorus Silicon Sulphur
% 0.43 1.1 96.78 1 0.25 0.035 0.3 0.04

Fig.1. – Work piece Material

Cutting tool material used in this experiment was High Speed Steel.
High Speed Steel (HSS):
This high content carbon steel consists of alloying elements such as tungsten, chromium, cobalt, vanadium,
molybdenum in a high proportion and its hardness is 75 HRC. The hardest carbides are produced by vanadium. It
can sustain up to 500 degree centigrade temperature. Higher toughness, higher hardness, higher wear resistance and
higher hot hardness is possessed by HSS which are produced by powder metallurgy process as shown in below Fig
2(a-c).
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a b

Fig.2. (a) Lathe machine NH 22; (b) Lathe machine with work piece; (c) Hardness tester HP 250
Equipments used in this experiment were Lathe machine, hardness testing machine HP 250.

4. Experimental details
4.1 Experimental procedure:
The rough work piece of AISI 4140 steel brought from Sanghvi Steel Corporation ltd., Delhi was first turned to
clear the rough skin & final diameter of the work piece was made 25 mm. Final length of the work piece was made
80 mm. This experiment aims at finding the effect of speed of revolution, feed & depth of cut on the response
surface hardness of the work piece material. For this purpose 9 cuts were made on the work piece as shown in fig 1.
3levels of speed, feed & depth of cut each were selected which is given in table and 9 experiments were performed
according to L9 orthogonal array. After each experiment for the set values of the 3 turning parameters work piece
was allowed to cool and Rockwell hardness of the work piece in machining was measured with the help of hardness
testing machine on B scale as shown in below Table (1-7).
Table1. Levels of turning process parameters
Levels Speed in rpm Feed in mm/rev D.O.C. in mm
Low 325 0.08 0.35
Medium 550 0.16 0.5

High 840 0.32 0.75

3586 G. Sharan and R.K. Patel/ Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 3582–3589

For the calculation of Rockwell hardness the following equation has been used
Rockwell Hardness number= [Initial reading –Final reading] (1)
Initial reading= N×130+ (130- )
N= No. of rotations made by smaller needle on the scale
=Reading shown by larger needle while applying load
Final reading= N× 130 +
N=No. of rotations made by smaller needle on scale
=Reading shown by larger needle after releasing load

4.2 Experimental tables for readings and results

Table2. Initial Experimental readings

Feed(F) in Depth of Speed of

S.No. Hardness(hrb) SNRA1 MEAN1
mm/rev cut(D) in mm rev(S) in rpm

1 0.08 0.35 325 63 35.9868 63

2 0.08 0.50 550 82 38.2763 82

3 0.08 0.75 840 158 43.9731 158

4 0.16 0.35 550 64 36.1236 64

5 0.16 0.50 840 120 41.5836 120

6 0.16 0.75 325 119 41.5109 119

7 0.32 0.35 840 117 41.3637 117

8 0.32 0.50 550 76 37.6163 76

9 0.32 0.75 325 132 42.4115 132

Larger-is-the-better(maximize): S/ = -10 log ( ∑ ) (2)

n is no. of observation, y is observed data
On the basis of above experimental readings in Taguchi method for optimization the regression equation obtained
based on the above readings are

Hardness = -29.9 + 32.7 F + 141 D + 0.0908 S (3)

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F: Feed, D: Depth of cut, S: Speed of revolut

Table 3.Anova (Raw data : hardness)
Source DF Seq SS Adj SS Adj MS F P
F 2 107.6 107.6 53.8 1.39 0.419
D 2 5060.2 5060.2 2530.1 65.25 0.015
S 2 3650.9 3650.9 1825.4 47.07 0.021
Error 2 77.6 77.6 38.8
Total 8 8896.2
SS: Sum of squares, DF : Degree of freedom, MS : Mean of squares
Significant at 95 % confidence level
S = 6.22718 R-Sq = 99.13 % R-Sq (adj) = 96.51%

Table 4. Anova (SN data : hardness)

Source DF Seq SS Adj SS Adj MS F P
F 2 1.738 1.738 0.869 0.85 0.540
D 2 36.951 36.951 18.475 18.14 0.052
S 2 27.163 27.163 13.582 13.33 0.070
Error 2 2.037 2.037 1.019
Total 8 67.889
Significant at 95 % confidence level
S = 1.00923 R-Sq = 97.00 % R-Sq (adj) = 88.00 %

Based on the regression equation (3) the remaining 18 readings can be completed to create the following L27
orthogonal array
Table5. Final experimental readings
Run Feed in Depth of Speed in Hardness in S/N ratio
No. mm/rev cut in rpm hrb
mm
1 0.08 0.35 325 63.0 35.9868
2 0.08 0.35 550 72.0 37.1466
3 0.08 0.35 840 98.3 39.8511
4 0.08 0.50 325 72.7 37.2307
5 0.08 0.50 550 82.0 38.2763
6 0.08 0.50 840 119.5 41.5474
7 0.08 0.75 325 108.0 40.6685
8 0.08 0.75 550 128.4 42.1713
9 0.08 0.75 840 158.0 43.9731
10 0.16 0.35 325 54.2 34.6800
11 0.16 0.35 550 64.0 36.1236
12 0.16 0.35 840 101.0 40.0864
13 0.16 0.50 325 75.3 37.5359
14 0.16 0.50 550 95.8 39.6273
15 0.16 0.50 840 120.0 41.5836
16 0.16 0.75 325 119.0 41.5109
17 0.16 0.75 550 131.0 42.3454
18 0.16 0.75 840 157.4 43.9401
19 0.32 0.35 325 59.4 35.4757
20 0.32 0.35 550 79.9 38.0509
21 0.32 0.35 840 117 41.3637
22 0.32 0.50 325 76.0 37.6163
23 0.32 0.50 550 101.0 40.0864
24 0.32 0.50 840 127.3 42.0966
25 0.32 0.75 325 115.8 41.2742
26 0.32 0.75 550 132.0 42.4115
27 0.32 0.75 840 162.6 44.2224
3588 G. Sharan and R.K. Patel/ Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 3582–3589

4.3 Results

Main Effects Plot for Means Main Effects Plot for SN ratios
Data Means Data Means

Feed Depth Of Cut Feed Depth Of Cut

140
42

120 41
40

Mean of SN ratios
100 39
Mean of Means

38
80
0.08 0.16 0.32 0.35 0.50 0.75
0.08 0.16 0.32 0.35 0.50 0.75
Speed
Speed
140 42
41
120
40
100 39
38
80
325 550 840
325 550 840
Signal-to-noise: Larger is better

(a) (b)
Fig.3.(a) Effect of process parameters on hardness (raw data);(b)Effect of process parameters on hardness (S/N data)
4.4 Theoretical Analysis of hardness in turning
All hardening effects are due to crystal lattice defects that act as barriers to dislocation slip
Martensitic Transformation ( Hardening mechanism specific to steel)
During turning a lot of heat is generated so phase of steel changes from ferrite (BCC) to austenite (FCC).In
austenitic form, steel can dissolve a lot more carbon. Upon being cooled the steel tries to return to low temperature
(BCC) structure during this process crystals become distorted and the crystal lattice become BCT ( Body Centered
Tetragonal) called as martensite phase which resist slip dislocation and hense the hardness is changed. The hardness
generally increases .

Table 6.Response table for means of hardness

Level feed Depth of cut speed
1 100.21 78.76 82.60
2 101.97 96.62 98.46
3 107.89 134.69 129.01
delta 7.68 55.93 46.41
Rank 3 1 2

Table7. Response table for S/N ratios of hardness

Level feed Depth of cut speed
1 39.65 37.64 38.00
2 39.71 39.51 39.58
3 40.29 42.50 42.07
delta 0.64 4.86 4.08
rank 3 1 2

5.Conclusions

(a)From the delta value of table 6 and table 7 it can be concluded that hardness is significantly affected by
depth of cut followed by speed of revolution and feed.
(b)From figure 3(a) and 3(b) as depth of cut increases the mean of means and mean of S/N ratios (larger is
better) increases. Similar is the case for speed. So increase in depth of cut and speed gives good hardness. But with
increase in feed mean of means and S/N ratios increases negligibly. So feed has negligible effect on hardness.
(c)Optimal setting of various turning parameters for optimum hardness are feed=0.32 mm/rev, depth of cut=
0.75 mm and speed of revolution 840 rpm.
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References

[1] Dilbag Singh and P.Venkateswara Rao “A surface roughness prediction model for hard turning process” int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol (2007)
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[2] K. Adarsh Kumar et al. “ Optimisation of surface roughness in face turning operation in machining of EN-8” International Journal of
Engineering Science and emerging technology Vol 2, issue-4, July-Aug 2012807-812.
[3]Das, S.R., Nayak R.P., and Dhupal D., “Optimization of cutting parameters on tool wear, work piece surface temperature and material removal
rate during turning of AISI D2 steel, International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology, “vol.1, issue 5,2012, pp. 1-10.
[4] Ghan, H. R., and Ambekar, S. D., “Optimization of cutting parameter for Surface Roughness, Material Removal rate and Machining Time of
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[5] H. D. Merchant, G.S. Murty, S.N. Bahadur, L.T. Dwivedi and Y. Mehrotra, 1973, “Hardness-temperature relationships in metals”, Journal of
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