Alexandria Engineering Journal 84 (2023) 285–300

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Alexandria Engineering Journal

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/aej

Original Article

Predicting crystallite size of Mg-Ti-SiC nanocomposites using an adaptive

neuro-fuzzy inference system model modified by termite life
cycle optimizer
Hossein Ahmadian a, Tianfeng Zhou a, Mohamed Abd Elaziz b, c, d, Mohammed Azmi Al-Betar c,
A.M. Sadoun e, I.M.R Najjar e, *, A.W. Abdallah f, A. Fathy f, g, Qian Yu a, *
a
School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China
b
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
c
Artificial Intelligence Research Center (AIRC), College of Engineering and Information Technology, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
d
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Lebanese American University, Byblos 13-5053, Lebanon
e
Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 80204, Saudi Arabia
f
Department of Mechanical Design and Production Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Zagazig University, P.O. Box 44519, Egypt
g
Mechanical Department, Higher Technological Institute, Tenth of Ramadan City, Egypt

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In this study, Mg-Ti-SiC composite powders with varied micron and nano silicon carbide (SiC) particle sizes were
Machine learning fabricated utilizing the ball milling technology at various milling times. The effect of reinforcement particles
Termite Life Cycle Optimizer (TLCO) sizes and milling time on the morphology and microstructure of the magnesium composite powders was char­
Magnesium composite
acterized. Then, we developed a machine-learning model based on Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference System
Silicon carbide
(ANFIS) modified with termite life cycle optimizer to predict the crystallite size of the produced composites. The
Crystallite size
Ball milling average particles size in all composites including micron SiC (µSiC) and nano SiC (nSiC) always decreased with
Particle size increasing milling time and SiC content, and the most optimal reduction in particle size was achieved after 16 h
of milling for both configurations, which were 5.12 µm and 1.96 µm, respectively. Changing reinforcement
particle size from micron to nano caused the peak intensities of Mg and Ti more decreased and phases Ti5Si3 and
TiC were observed after milling for 16 h in ND composite powder. With increasing milling time in Mg-25 wt% Ti-
5 wt% µSiC, the crystallite size decreased from 31 nm to 13.62 nm after 1 h and 32 h milled, respectively. The
most optimum reduction in crystallite size occurred in the composite powders including nSiC, in which crystallite
size decreased to 13.35 nm. The developed Machine learning model was able to predict the evolution of the
crystallite size of the produce d composites with very good accuracy.

1. Introduction
In recent years, there has been a rise in the development of magne­
sium (Mg) based materials in response to the growing need for light­
weight structural materials. For performance-critical applications, the
aerospace, automotive, electronic, bioimplant, and consumer product
sectors have been looking for Mg-based structural materials [1–3]. Its
weak flexibility and low strength when compared to other structural
materials have limited their widespread use. Much work has been put
into creating Mg metal matrix composites (Mg-MMCs) in an effort to
enhance the mechanical characteristics of magnesium [4–7]. They have
high particular mechanical qualities, such as strength, stiffness, and
creep resistance, while also being low-density materials [3,4,8].
Therefore, micron particles and fibers can use as reinforcements in

Abbreviations: ANFIS, Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference System; ANFIS-WOA, ANFIS based on whale optimization algorithm; AI, Artificial intelligence; ANN,
Artificial Neural Networks; R2, Coefficient of determination; CS, Crystallite size; FESEM, Field emission scan electron microscope; FIS, Fuzzy Inference Systems;
HMDRs, Hybrid micron discontinuous reinforcements; HMSDRs, Hybrid multi-scale discontinuous reinforcements; HNDRs, Hybrid Nano discontinuous re­
inforcements; ML, Machine learning; Mg, Magnesium; MAE, Mean absolute error; Mg-MMCs, Mg metal matrix composites; µSiC, Micron SiC; nSiC, Nano SiC; PCA,
Process control agent; RMSE, Root Mean Square Error; SiC, Silicon Carbide; TLCO, Termite Life Cycle Optimizer; XRD, X-Ray diffraction.
* Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: inajjar@kau.edu.sa (I.M.R Najjar), kevin_yuqian@163.com (Q. Yu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2023.11.009
Received 4 April 2023; Received in revised form 25 September 2023; Accepted 3 November 2023
1110-0168/© 2023 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier BV on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. This is an open access article under the
CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
H. Ahmadian et al. Alexandria Engineering Journal 84 (2023) 285–300

Table 1
Information of all composite powders.
Categories Group Name Composite Name Milling Time Parameters Crystallite Size (nm)

Ti (wt%) SiC (wt%) Mg (wt%)

Simple Composites Pure Mg [12] P1 1 0 0 100 29.44

P2 2 27.38
P4 4 25.11
P8 8 22.53
P16 16 22.39
P32 32 17.23
Mg-Ti [12] A1 1 30 0 70 29.43
A2 2 30.76
A4 4 28.00
A8 8 26.96
A16 16 19.97
A32 32 18.25
HMDRs Mg-Ti-µSiC MB1 1 25 5 70 31.00
MB2 2 29.89
MB4 4 29.23
MB8 8 20.11
MB16 16 15.87
MB32 32 13.63
MC1 1 20 10 70 30.59
MC2 2 25.03
MC4 4 25.99
MC8 8 19.90
MC16 16 15.43
MC32 32 13.63
MD1 1 15 15 70 26.24
MD2 2 25.46
MD4 4 24.88
MD8 8 17.22
MD16 16 15.91
MD32 32 14.79
HMSDRs Mg-Ti-nSiC NB1 1 25 5 70 28.48
NB2 2 24.14
NB4 4 23.33
NB8 8 16.75
NB16 16 13.35
NB32 32 13.79
NC1 1 20 10 70 25.67
NC2 2 22.80
NC4 4 20.11
NC8 8 20.05
NC16 16 15.34
NC32 32 20.85
ND1 1 15 15 70 23.56
ND2 2 22.80
ND4 4 21.17
ND8 8 20.06
ND16 16 23.62
ND32 32 –

Mg-MMCs to improve strength and elastic modulus with high content
[9,10]. Still, by increase the volume of content of reinforcements in
micron size causes some properties like ductility and toughness to
decrease significantly [11,12]. In addition, many researches have shown
the mechanical properties of Mg-MMCs can improve by nano size re­
inforcements with less effect on ductility and toughness [13,14].
Nevertheless, homogeneous dispersion is a main problem is nano size
reinforcements in metal matrix composites due to strong van der Waals’
force and intrinsic incompatibility between matrix and reinforcements
of composites [10]. Consequently, there is a limit to the usage of nano
size reinforcements in high content, which can have an impact on the
enhancement of mechanical properties. Contrary, several researchers
have made an attempt to use novel approaches to resolve this issue [15].
One of the cutting-edge techniques for creating MMCs with various re­
inforcements incorporated into the metal matrix is hybrid reinforcing
[12]. It is noteworthy that the hybrid reinforcements approach can be
used to combine mechanical properties, strong wear resistance, thermal
properties and electric conductivity of reinforcements to create MMCs
[15,16]. Therefore, materials are divided into two types continuous
reinforcements and discontinuous reinforcements according to their
structure and characteristics, and discontinuous reinforcements are also
classified into three groups according to the size of the particles which
are (I) Hybrid micron discontinuous reinforcements (HMDRs), (II)
Hybrid nano discontinuous reinforcements (HNDRs), and (III) Hybrid
multi-scale discontinuous reinforcements (HMSDRs) [10,12].
The manufacturing technique is another factor that can influence the
properties of the hybrid Mg-MMCs because homogeneous dispersion of
hybrid reinforcements and good interfacial bonding between matrix and
reinforcements are the main challenging that can change the properties
of composites [17–19]. There are different techniques to manufacture
hybrid MMCs, but in general, the fabrication process of classified into
two types (I) ex-situ processing routes, and (II) in-situ processing routes
[5,10,20]. The main distinction between these two approaches is the
fact that the reinforcements are produced during the processing by an in-
situ reaction. The majority of ex-situ processing methods are therefore
compatible with in-situ processing methods [3,11,12]. In addition, it can
be said that the most popular and widely used method belongs to the ex-
situ group and is known as powder metallurgy [21–23]. Therefore, due
to its flexibility, simplicity and comparability, the powder metallurgy
method is used in the production of hybrid MMCs, the steps of which are:

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(1) dispersion of the hybrid reinforcements, (2) compaction and (3)
sintering. In other hand, another problem in powder metallurgy is uni­
form dispersion of reinforcements in matrix of composites, which ball
milling process can improve this issue [7,10,24–27].
Moreover, the collision of the balls improves the dispersion and finer
of the particles in simultaneous. Powder properties such as aggregate
dissociation, particle shape, and surface features can all be altered via
ball milling [28–30]. The plastic deformation, cold welding, and frac­
ture of the deformed powder particles are all caused by the repetitive
collisions of the balls with each other and the vial wall [25,31,32].
Crystallite size (CS) is important properties in powder particles, which it
is clear that the strengthening of grain boundaries correlates with a
material’s CS [33]. The sintering behavior and physical characteristics
of the generated MMCs are also significantly influenced by CS. Smaller
CS powder particles have greater surface energy and sintering rates that
are higher than those with larger CS [34]. It is thought that smaller CS,
as opposed to larger CS, increases sintering ability and may even lower
sintering temperature [35]. As mentioned in an earlier study [12], the
ball milling process is complex and various parameters such as milling
time, milling speed, ball size, etc. can effect on properties of the com­
posite. The ball milling parameters first change the microstructure of the
composite, and finally, these changes can effect on properties of the
composite. For instance, in Ref. [36], the CS of magnesium with
increasing ball milling time deceased, and this study indicated
increasing SiC content in composite Mg-SiC caused the CS to decrease.
The authors reported CS of Mg-30 wt% SiC after 20 h ball milling
reduced by about 43 %, but CS for Mg-10 wt% SiC after 20 h decreased
by almost 22 %. In another research has been done by Haiping Zhou
et al. [37], at the same time, increasing the content of Ti as reinforce­
ment in Mg-MMC, as well as increasing the ball mill time, caused a
further decrease in CS. They indicated CS refined to 109 nm, 86 nm, and
66 nm in Mg composites reinforced by 9 wt%, 18 wt%, and 27 wt% Ti
after 110 h, respectively.
More research is necessary into how reinforcements affect the CS of
MMCs. Also, it takes a lot of time and money to do this research for all
MMCs states. As a result, employing modeling and experimentation to
assess the link between CS and milling parameters is important. Artifi­
cial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) approaches are meth­
odologies to utilize in this field to predict the CS behavior of various
materials according to ball milling parameters [33]. These techniques
consider a number of applications, including milling time, milling speed,
ball size, and particle size. Moreover, no studies have been conducted
utilizing ML techniques to comprehend the CS behavior of Mg-MMC
composites.
In previous study [12], we investigated prediction of particle size of
Mg, Mg − 30 wt% Ti, and Mg − 20 wt% Ti − 10 wt%SiC composites by
conceptual dynamic model. By comparing the particle size given by the
model with the experimental data, it was found that the prediction
model was trustworthy since it was close to the experimental data. The
primary aim of this study is to describe how the addition of different
reinforcements particles sizes with varying weight percentages, as well
as by the variable milling time procedure, affect the microstructure and
morphology of the Mg matrix composite. In the secondary aim of this
study, machine learning was used to predict CS for different Mg com­
posites with diverse condition of reinforcements and ball milling. The
ML model aims to improve the performance of the Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy
Inference System (ANFIS) model utilizing the Termite Life Cycle Opti­
mizer (TLCO). This can be done by determining the best ANFIS model
configuration.
2. Materials and methods
The matrix material was magnesium powder (<100 μm average
particle size, 99.5 purity %). The reinforcements powder were titanium
powder (<45 μm average particle size, 99.5 purity %), µm silicon car­
bide powder (1500 mesh average particle size, 99.5 purity %), and nano
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Alexandria Engineering Journal 84 (2023) 285–300
silicon carbide powder (45–65 nm average particle size, 99.5 purity %).
The Mg and Ti powder supplied by Sigma Aldrich, and SiC in micron and
nano size supplied by US Research Nanomaterials. We utilized the
PM400 model of ball milling machine, manufactured by Retsch Com­
pany, for planetary ball milling with vials and balls made of stainless
steel to manufacture the hybrid composites, and according to Table 1,
adding different weight percentages of Ti (0, 30, 25, 20, and 15 wt%),
nSiC (5, 10, and 15 wt%), and µSiC (5, 10, and 15 wt%) to Mg matrix
composites. The diameter of balls and volume of vial was 15 mm and
250 ml, respectively. The speed of vial rotational speed was 300 rpm,
and ball-to-powder ratio was 10:1 [32]. Similar to the previous study
[12], all samples in this experiment were milled for 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32
h. Stearic acid was added to the composition of the powders at a rate of
3 wt% as a process control agent (PCA) to prevent powder particles from
cold welding. Also, 10 min of breaks were taken into consideration after
every hour to help minimize the heat of the powder and thermal energy
loss. To prevent oxidation reactions, all composite mixtures underwent
handling within a glove box containing a high purity argon atmosphere.
Using a field emission scan electron microscope (FESEM) and an
automated Philips PW1730 diffractometer (Cu, K; = 1.54056), the
morphology and microstructure of the generated powder were studied.
A mapping and EDX unit coupled to the FESEM unit was used to examine
the elemental analysis of the produced samples. Using Image J software,
it was possible to determine the particle size from the examined FE-SEM
micrographs of the milled powder. Using X-Ray diffraction (XRD)
technology, inspection range two theta = 20–80◦ , step size 0.05◦ , and
scanning rate 1.0 deg/min, the nanostructure and crystallinity of the
milled powder were studied. The peak characteristics of the collected
XRD data were used to calculate the CS of the milled powders using the
William-Hall Eq. (1) as [38]:
2Δθcosθ 0.9 2∊sinθ
− = (1)
λ D λ
Where 2Δθ is the full width at half maximum, D is the crystallite size,
λ is the X-Ray wavelength, θ is the peak position, and ε is microstrain.
3. Machine learning model
3.1. Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS)
Jang introduced the Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS)
in 1993 [39], which combines two different methodologies of Artificial
Neural Networks (ANN) and Fuzzy Inference Systems (FIS). ANFIS re­
solves issues of overfitting and dependence on the definition of mem­
bership functions that are common to ANN and FIS. ANFIS training
typically involves the use of Sugeno-type FIS, which employs a robust
learning algorithm for determining model parameters. The standard
ANFIS architecture comprises five layers, each serving a unique purpose.
A commonly used framework for ANFIS is the five-layer architecture,
where each layer serves a distinct purpose. The 1st layer involves
applying the generalized Gaussian membership function μ on the inputs
x and y, resulting in a new output, Out1i , that can be represented using
Eq. (2)
Out1i = μAi (x), i = {1, 2}
Out1i = μBi− 2 (y), i = {3, 4} (2)
In which Ai and Bi are the membership values of the function μ which
can be calculated using Eq. (2)
( ( ) )2
Pi
− x σi
μ(x) = e (3)
Where Pi and σ i are the hypothesis parameters’ set.
In the 2nd layer, the output of the x and y inputs are multiplied and
calculated as shown in Eq. (3)
H. Ahmadian et al. Alexandria Engineering Journal 84 (2023) 285–300

Fig. 1. Schematic representation of the TLCO process.

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Out2i = μAi (x)*μBi− 2 (y) (4) 3.2.2. Initialization phase: The self-improvement of TLCO procedure
TLCO is founded on a population-based approach and stochastic al­
Then Out2i is normalized in the 3rd layer using Eq. (5)
gorithm. At the outset, a set of initial populations is established and
Out3i = Wi = ∑2
ωi
(5) designated as shown in Eq. (10)
ωi → ̅→ ̅→ ̅→ ̅→
(10)
i=1
P = { P1 , P2 , P3 , ..., PN }
Following this, Out 3i undergoes processing through the adaptive
→
node located in the fourth layer, which is illustrated in Eq. (6) Where in each Pi = {pi1 , pi2 , pi3 , ..., piD } ∈ R1×D , (i = 1, 2, 3, ..., N) de­
notes an individual population with D dimensions. TLCO’s self-
Out4i = wi fi = wi (pi x + qi y + ri ) (6)
improvement is achieved by simulating population movement towards
in which the parameters p, q, and r correspond to the consequent areas with a high probability of finding new global best values in each
values of the ith node. iteration. This simulation involves updating the positions of three
Then, the final output of the model is obtained by computing the Eq. groups, namely the workers, soldiers, and reproducers, following the
(7) natural life cycle of termites. The primary objective is to identify the best
∑ solutions within each group, and the Greedy selection strategy is used to
Out5i = wi fi (7) →
i
compare these solutions with Pi for improving the initial population.
After a sufficient number of iterations, the algorithm will converge at an
acceptable rate. Algorithm 1 presents the described self-improvement
3.2. Termite life cycle Optimizer (TLCO) of TLCO procedure.

A new optimization algorithm called Termite Life Cycle Optimizer Algorithm 1. (The self-improvement procedure over several iterations in
(TLCO) that simulates the life cycle of the termite is recently proposed TLCO’s initial population.)
[39]. TLCO involves three castes: workers, soldiers, and reproductive
For k = 1 to Kmax
termites. Workers are responsible for most of the tasks within the colony, For each group (workers, soldiers, and reproductive)
while soldiers protect the colony and reproductive termites are ̅̅̅→ ̅̅̅→ ̅̅̅→
Update their positions (Ti,w , Ti,s , Ti,r )
(k+1) (k+1) (k+1)
responsible for egg production and establishing new colonies. The ̅̅̅→ ̅̅̅→ ̅̅̅→
movement strategies of each caste are used to simulate exploration, Compute their fitness value (f obj (Ti,w ), f obj (Ti,s ), f obj (Ti,r ))
(k+1) (k+1) (k+1)

exploitation, and the ability to escape local optima. TLCO has success­ ̅̅̅→
(k+1)
̅ →
if f obj (Ti,w ) < f obj (Pi )
(k)

fully balanced exploration and exploitation abilities and can escape from ̅̅̅→ ̅̅̅→
Pi = Ti,w
(k+1) (k+1)
local optima. Fig. 1 presents the flowchart of the TLCO algorithm, and ( ̅̅̅→ ) ( ̅̅̅→ )
the following sections detail the optimization process of the TLCO. f obj Pi
(k+1)
= f obj Ti,w
(k+1)

End
3.2.1. General movement of the TLCO ̅̅̅→ ̅→
if f obj (Ti,s ) < f obj (Pi )
(k+1) (k)
Suppose that the location representing a high-quality search area is ̅̅̅→ ̅̅̅→
̅→ Pi = Ti,s
(k+1) (k+1)
̅̅→
marked as X* . In order to move from the current position (Xcurr ) to a ( ̅̅̅→ ) ( ̅̅̅→ )
f obj Pi = f obj Ti,s
(k+1) (k+1)
̅̅→
new position (Xnew ) in a 2D space, we typically refer to Eq. (8) for
guidance on movement strategy. End
̅̅̅→ ̅→
if f obj (Ti,r ) < f obj (Pi )
(k+1) (k)
̅̅→ ̅̅→ ̅→ ̅̅→
Xnew = w1 Xcurr + w2 (w3 X * − w4 Xcurr ) (8) ̅̅̅→ ̅̅̅→
Pi =T
(k+1) (k+1)
( ̅̅̅→i,r) ( ̅̅̅→ )
where the influence of the orientation of each individual vector on f obj Pi
(k+1)
= f obj Ti,r
(k+1)
̅̅→
the movement to Xnew is taken into consideration by using either a End
positive scalar vector or a scalar number having a random distribution, End
represented by w1 , w2 , w3 , and w4 . End
Eq. (8) affects the search space for transitioning to a new position,
with w = {w1, w2, w3, w4} vector set extending the search area from the
̅̅→ ̅→
Xcurr to X* . However, constraining the search space may result in local
optimization challenges, thereby complicating the solution of problems 3.2.3. Exploration phase: Termite worker’s movement strategy
with multiple local optima. To address the issue of limited search space Suppose the initial population of a termite colony has N individuals,
and challenges associated with local optimization, a novel technique has and the workers constitute 70 % of the total population. As such, the
been proposed that expands the search area by considering changes in ̅→
position of termite workers is represented by Ti,w , where
orientation movement. This involves replacing the second part of Eq. (8)
with its absolute value and introducing a new set of vectors to replace 1⩽i⩽0.7N.
̅→
the old set. The proposed movement strategy is presented in Eq. (9). By modifying Eq. (9) to be representing Ti,w and to increase the
⃒ ̅→ ⃒ movement speed from the current termite worker to the best termite
̅̅→ ̅̅→ ⃒ ̅̅→⃒
Xnew = ω1 Xcurr + ω2 ⃒ω3 X * − ω4 Xcurr ⃒ (9) ̅̅→
worker (Tbest ) the values of ω1, ω3, ω4 are setted to one. Thus, the pro­
(k)

The above equation employs ω1, ω2, ω3, ω4 as either vectors or cess of updating the position of kth iteration to the next iteration is
scalar numbers to govern the expandable search area. These parameters represented in Eq. (11) as follows:
are chosen flexibly to attain an optimal balance between the expansion ̅̅ ̅→ ̅→ ⃒ ̅̅→ ̅→⃒
⃒ (k) ⃒
of search space and convergence rate.
(k+1)
Ti,w (k)
= Ti,w + ω2⃒⃒Tbest (k) ⃒
− Ti,w ⃒ (11)
The basis of the general movement strategy for TLCO will be formed ⃒ ̅̅→ ̅→⃒
using Eq. (9), and the self-improvement process of TLCO will involve ⃒ (k) ⃒
When the distribution of ⃒⃒Tbest − Ti,w ⃒ becomes more disorderly, there
(k) ⃒
selecting an optimal set of parameters ω1, ω2, ω3, ω4 that promote a
rapid convergence rate and accurate results. The selection of these pa­ is an increase in the capacity to explore. In order to increase the range of
rameters will be guided by the natural laws governing termite life cycle. diversity, TLCO suggests the use of a scalar number ξ, which can take on

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H. Ahmadian et al. Alexandria Engineering Journal 84 (2023) 285–300

values between − 1 and 1. This approach results in two distinct move­ ⎧

ment strategies: movement in one direction is guaranteed if ξ is greater ⎪
⎪ ω1 = 2 × rand(0, 1)
⎪
than zero, while movement in the opposite direction is ensured if ξ is less ⎪
⎪
⎪
⎨ ω2 = − 1 + 2 × rand(0, 1)
than zero. Based on that Eq. (11) can be rewritten as follows: (20)
⃒ ̅̅→ ̅→⃒ ⎪
⎪ ω3 = 1
̅̅ ̅→ ̅→ ⃒ (k) ⃒ ⎪
⎪ ̅̅̅→
⎪
(k+1)
Ti,w (k)
= Ti,w + ξ × dS*(k+1) ⨂⃒⃒Tbest (k) ⃒
− Ti,w ⃒ (12) ⎪
⎩ ω4 = S(k+1)
*

(
dS*(k+1) = S*(k+1) + rand(1, D)
) Just like the exploration phase with the termite workers, the
parameter β is also utilized to govern the search space control for each
where the value of S(k+1) is determined by adjusting the step length ̅̅ ̅→
* termite soldier Ti,s in the (k + 1)th iteration, and the random scalers
(k+1)
and taking into account the number of dimensions in the search space, ̅̅→
which is represented by D in Eq. (13) allow a the variety of search space around Tbest .
(k)

U
S*(k+1) = (13) 3.2.5. Termite reproductive’s movement strategy
|V|1/β
Reproductive termites are responsible for establishing a new colony
In which the Lévy distribution index, denoted by β, has a restricted and taking the place of termite workers and soldiers. To represent this
lower and upper bound of β are altered from [1,2] to [1.5,2] and can be process in a mathematical model, the performance of individual termite
expressed in Eq. (14) ̅→ ̅→
workers Ti,w and termite soldiers Ti,s can be assessed across iterations.
0.5k Termites’ movement patterns, as expressed in Eqs. (19) and (20),
β = 1.5 + (14) demonstrate a balance between exploiting known resources and
Kmax
exploring new ones. Interestingly, both worker and soldier termites
in which the k and Kmax are the current iteration and the maximum ̅̅̅→
utilize a modified step length in the form of a random scalar vector S*
(k+1)
number or iterations, respectively.
In Eq. (13), U and V are selected from normal distributions using Eq. to achieve faster convergence rates. However, narrowing the search
(15) space using the parameter β may lead to suboptimal solutions when the
best solution lies outside the narrowed range. To address this issue, a
U ≈ (0, σ 2u ), V ≈ (0, σ2v ) (15) new search space can be established by tracking worker and soldier
where the standard deviation of the U and V, σ u andσ v , respectively, termite visits over time. This involves identifying poor search spaces by
can be obtained using the below Eq. (16) monitoring non-improvements to initiate the emergence of reproductive
̅→
{ }1/β termites Ti,r , (1 ≤ i ≤ N). Algorithm 2 details this process.
Γ(1 + β)sin(π β/2)
σu = , σv = 1 (16) Algorithm 2. (The recording of the unfavorable search procedure for each
Γ[(1 + β)/2]β2β− 1/2 ̅→ ̅→
Ti,w and Ti,s i n colony over several iterations.)
and Eq. (17) below presents the expression for the Gamma function Γ
when z is an integer, as referred to in Eq. (16) ̅→ ̅→
For each Ti,w and Ti,s
∫∞ ̅̅̅→ ̅̅̅→
if f obj (Ti,w ) > f obj (Pi
(k+1) (k+1)
)
Γ(z) = tz− 1 e− t dt (17) ̅̅̅̅̅̅→
Triali,w = Triali,w + 1
(k+1) (k)
0
End
Thus, Eq. (18) can be simplified as follows: ̅̅̅→ ̅̅̅→
if f obj (Ti,s ) > f obj (Pi
(k+1) (k+1)
⃒ ̅̅→ ̅→⃒( ̅̅̅→ )
̅̅ ̅→ ̅→ ⃒ (k) ⃒ (k+1) ) ̅̅̅̅̅̅→
(k+1)
Ti,w (k)
= Ti,w + ξ⃒⃒Tbest (k) ⃒
− Ti,w ⃒ S* + rand(1, D) (18) Triali,s
(k+1)
= Triali,s + 1
(k)

End
As shown in the above equation, TLCO expands the search space End
̅→ ̅̅→
from the current position of each termite worker Ti,w
(k)
to Tbest
(k)
by utilizing
( ̅̅̅→ ) TLCO utilizes two equations, presented as Eqs. (21) and (22), to
S*
(k+1)
+rand(1, D) as a basis. determine the timeframe in which reproductive termites will emerge.
Both equations depend on a constant number σ which can be calculated
3.2.4. Exploitation phase: Termite soldier’s movement strategy using Eq. (23).
According to TLCO, as approximately 70 % of the insects in a termite
1
colony are workers, thus the remaining 30 % are soldiers. The position of λw (k) = 1 − ( ) (21)
1 + e− σ(k− 0.5Kmax )
̅→
termite workers is represented by Ti,s , where 0.7N < i⩽N. The need
for safeguarding their colony prohibits termites from venturing too far 1
λs (k) = (22)
from it, and this concept will be harnessed as an exploitable feature in 1 + e− σ (k− 0.5Kmax )
̅̅→
TLCO. Suppose that we have discovered Tbest during the kth iteration, and
(k)
1
̅→ σ= (23)
the means by which Ti,s is exploited is outlined in Eq. (19) 0.1Kmax
⃒ ⃒
̅̅ ̅→ ̅̅→ ⃒ ̅→ ̅̅→ ⃒ Using two prescribed functions and subject to the conditions outlined
(k+1)
Ti,s (k)
= ω1 Tbest + ω2 ⃒⃒ω3 Ti,s
(k) (k) ⃒
− ω4 Tbest (19) ̅→
⃒ in Eqs. (24) and (25), the reproductive termites Ti,r will migrate to a new
potential area to establish a fresh colony and replace the worker and
where ω1 , ω2 , ω3 , and ω4 are a scaler numbers, and they used to ̅→ ̅→
̅̅→ soldier termites (Ti,w and Ti,s ).
adjust the bound of the search space around Tbest
(k)
. They can be calculated
as follows: Trial(k)
(24)
i,w
If ( ) ≥ λw (k)
Kmax

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H. Ahmadian et al. Alexandria Engineering Journal 84 (2023) 285–300

Trial(k) and r2 are distinct from each other. There are instances where the global
(25)
i,s
If ( ) ≥ λs (k) ̅→ ̅→
Kmax optimum may be located far away from Pr1 and Pr2 , thereby limiting the
efficacy of Eq. (26) to expand the search space. Consequently, TLCO may
i,w and Triali,s are a pre-determined number.
where Trial(k) (k)
be susceptible to the local optimal problem. To mitigate this issue, Eq.
A shown in Algorithm 1, the self-improvement approach in TLCO (27) is employed to refresh the search spaces.
→
pertains to the starting solution P rather than the search agents them­ ̅̅ ̅→ → ̅→
̅→ →
→ (27)
(k+1) (k+1) (k)
selves. Consequently, each unique search space P can be regarded as a Ti,r = Lb + rand(1, D)( Ub − Lb )iffobj (Ti,r ) < fobj (Pi )
viable area to explore. This attribute enables Eq. (26) to model the In which the upper bound and the lower bound vectors are repre­
migration of reproductive termites. ̅→ →
sented by Ub and Lb , respectively.
̅̅ ̅→ ̅→ ( ̅→ ̅→ ) ( ̅→ ) ( ̅→ ) ̅→
(k+1)
Ti,r = P(k) P(k) (k)
Iffobj P(k) < fobj P(k) (26) The emergent process of Ti,r during multiple iterations (k) is pre­
r1 + rand(1, D) ⊗ r2 − Pr1 r2 r1
sented by Algorithm 3.
( ̅→ ̅→ ) ̅→
̅̅ ̅→ ̅→
(k+1)
Algorithm 3. (The emergent process of Ti,r during multiple iterations (k) is
Ti,r = P(k)
r1 + rand(1, D) ⊗ P(k) (k)
r1 − Pr2 else presented)

In which fobj is the objective function and the random indexes r1 and
r2 are chosen from a running index i with values (1,2,...,N), such that r1

For k = 1 to Kmax
̅→
For each Ti,w in colony
Triali,w
(k+1)
if ( ) ≥λw (k + 1)
Kmax
Triali,w =0
(k+1)

̅̅̅→ ̅→ ( ̅→ ̅→ ) ( ̅→ ) ( ̅→ )
Ti,r = Pr1 + rand(1, D) ⊗ Pr2 − Pr1 Iffobj Pr2 < fobj Pr1
(k+1) (k) (k) (k) (k) (k)

̅̅̅→ ̅→ ( ̅→ ̅→ )
Ti,r = Pr1 + rand(1, D) ⊗ Pr1 − Pr2 else
(k+1) (k) (k) (k)

̅̅̅→
Compute f obj (Ti,r )
(k+1)
( ̅̅̅→ ) ( ̅→ )
if f obj Ti,r <f obj Pi
(k+1) (k)

→
Pi = Ti,r
(k+1)
( ̅→ ) ( ̅̅̅→ )
f obj Pi = f obj Ti,r
(k) (k+1)

̅̅→ ( ̅̅→)
Update Tbest and f obj Tbest
else
̅̅̅→ → ̅→ →
Ti,r = Lb + rand(1, D) ⊗ ( Ub − Lb )
(k+1)

End
̅̅̅→ ̅̅̅→
Ti,w =Ti,r
(k+1) (k+1)

End
End
%———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
̅→
For each Ti,s in colony
Triali,s
(k+1)
if ( ) ≥λs (k + 1)
Kmax
Triali,s =0
(k+1)

̅̅̅→ ̅→ ( ̅→ ̅→ ) ( ̅→ ) ( ̅→ )
Ti,r = Pr1 + rand(1, D) ⊗ Pr2 − Pr1 Iffobj Pr2 < fobj Pr1
(k+1) (k) (k) (k) (k) (k)

̅̅̅→ ̅→ ( ̅→ ̅→ )
Ti,r = Pr1 + rand(1, D) ⊗ Pr1 − Pr2 else
(k+1) (k) (k) (k)

̅̅̅→
Compute f obj (Ti,r )
(k+1)
( ̅̅̅→ ) ( ̅→ )
if f obj Ti,r <f obj Pi
(k+1) (k)

̅̅̅̅ ̅→ ̅̅̅→
Pi =Ti,r
(k+1) (k+1)
( ̅→ ) ( ̅̅̅→ )
f obj Pi = f obj Ti,r
(k) (k+1)

̅̅→ ( ̅̅→)
Update Tbest and f obj Tbest
else
̅̅̅→ → ̅→ →
Ti,r = Lb + rand(1, D) ⊗ ( Ub − Lb )
(k+1)

End
̅̅̅→ ̅̅̅→
Ti,s =Ti,r
(k+1) (k+1)

End
End
End

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H. Ahmadian et al. Alexandria Engineering Journal 84 (2023) 285–300

3.2.6. Schematic illustration of TLCO
In summary, TLCO is an optimization algorithm that differs from
others in that it focuses on the self-improvement of each agent, which
can lead to local optimization problems. However, TLCO secures the
search process by improving an initial population according to Algo­
rithm 1. TLCO also modulates the step length S* to cover long and short
distances during different iterations. It includes a mix of termite workers
and soldiers to explore and exploit new search spaces, respectively,
controlled by the step length S* and two parameters ξ and ω2 . The al­
gorithm has an advantage in exploring new search spaces, achieved
through proposed functions that bias the appearance of reproductive
termites towards exploration during the early iterations and reset the
movement direction of termite workers in later iterations, enabling the
algorithm to escape local optimal problems.
TLCO’s movement strategies for termite workers, termite soldiers,
and reproductive termites are defined in Algorithm 4, which is a
combination of Algorithm 1, Algorithm 2, and Algorithm 3.
Algorithm 4. (The schematic illustration of TLCO)
assigned such as the number of iterations. number of solutions, and the
dimension of each solution (number of parameters of ANFIS). In general,
we set number of iterations to become 10, and the number of solutions is
the 15 since there are few parameters of ANFIS need to be determined. In
addition, increasing the value of these two parameters doesn’t have high
influence on increase the efficiency of the output. The dataset is then
randomly split into training and testing sets. The ANFIS- TLCO method
proceeds by generating a random population, where each solution rep­
resents a configuration of the ANFIS model’s parameters.
The training set is then used to train the ANFIS network using the
current solution’s parameter values. After the ANFIS model has been
learned, the testing set is utilized to evaluate the current configuration’s
performance. The ANFIS-TLCO method employs a fitness function to
assess the accuracy of the ANFIS network on the testing set.
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
√
√1 ∑ N ( )2
Fit = √ Y− Y ̃ (28)
N i=1
In Eq. (9), N stands for the size of training set. The value of Y
̃ and Y

% Initialization Phase———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
→ ̅→ ̅→ ̅→ ̅→
Initialize initial solution: P = P1 , P2 , P3 , ⋯, PN
̅→ ̅→
Initialize population size of Ti,w , (1⩽i⩽0.7N) and Ti,s , (0.7N < i⩽N)
̅→ ̅→
Compute f obj (Ti,w )andf obj ( Ti,s )
% Main loop———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
For k = 1 to Kmax
% Exploration phase———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
̅→
For each Ti,w in colony
Update the position at the next k using Eq. (11)
( ̅̅̅→ )
Compute f obj Ti,w
(k+1)

→
Update P based on Algorithm 1
Record the unfavorable search based on Algorithm 2
Triali,w
(k+1)
if ( ) ≥λw (k + 1)
Kmax
̅→
Generate the emergent of Ti,r based on Algorithm 3
end
End
% Exploitation phase ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
̅→
For each Ti,s in colony
Update the position at the next k using Eq. (12)
( ̅̅̅→ )
Compute f obj Ti,s
(k+1)

→
Update P based on Algorithm 1
Record the unfavorable search based on Algorithm 2
Triali,s
(k+1)
if ( ) ≥λs (k + 1)
Kmax
̅→
Generate the emergent of Ti,r based on Algorithm 3
end
End
Output the best result
End

3.3. Proposed method
The proposed ANFIS-TLCO method is a promising approach to
enhance the prediction performance of the crystallite size of Mg-Ti-SiC
nanocomposites. The integration of the ANFIS model with the termite
life cycle optimizer (TLCO) enables the optimization of the ANFIS net­
work’s parameters for improved accuracy and efficiency.
To begin, the ANFIS-TLCO method constructs an ANFIS network
with five layers, similar to traditional ANFIS. The parameter of TLCO is
denotes the predicted crystallite size of Mg-Ti-SiC nanocomposites and
its original value, respectively.
After evaluating the fitness function for each solution in the popu­
lation, the ANFIS-TLCO method selects the configuration with the
smallest fitness function value, denoted as Fitb which represents the best
configuration. The TLCO algorithm’s operators, outlined in section 3.2,
are then used to update the population.
The ANFIS- TLCO method repeats the previous steps of training the
ANFIS network, evaluating the fitness function, and updating the

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H. Ahmadian et al.
Fig. 2. Step of ANFIS-TLCO model to predict the crystallite size of Mg-Ti-SiC.
population until the terminal conditions are met, as illustrated in Fig. 2.
These terminal conditions may include a maximum number of iterations
or a desired level of accuracy in the predictions. By iteratively selecting
and optimizing the best configuration using the TLCO algorithm, the
ANFIS-TLCO method can achieve superior prediction performance
compared to traditional ANFIS methods.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Morphological changes
Fig. 3 shows SEM images of MB group (Mg − 25 wt% Ti − 5 wt%
µSiC) at different milling time. The particles morphology changed to
plate shape after 1 h, and the clod welding phenomenon did not observe.
However, increasing the milling time to 2 h was caused of formation
cold welding between particles, and this phenomenon affected particle
size, and the average particle size from 22.16 µm in MB1 reached 25.50
µm in MB2. In addition, in previous research [12], we observed the
particle size after 2 h was increased, and this caused cold welding be­
tween the particles because the composite powders became trapped
between the balls and the inner surface vial [27,40]. This issue was also
seen with the composite powders Mg − 30 wt% Ti − 5 wt% µSiC.
Moreover, according to the particle fracture phenomenon, increasing
the milling time to 4 and 8 h affected on reduce particle size, and
average particle size was reduced to 17.42 µm and 17.76 µm in MB4 and
MB8, respectively. Also, the morphology of the particles composite
powder MB16 changed to an irregular shape with increasing ball milling
duration, and the average particle size noticeably decreased to 5.26 µm;
this is what causes the fracture process and plastic deformation of the
particles. The average particle size of composite powder MB32 increased
compared to composite powder MB16, and the morphology of MB32
exhibits the well-known process (cold welding, fracture, and re-welding)
repeated throughout the ball milling procedure, and finally, the average
size increased to 8.39 µm.
According to the milling time and particle size, the most optimal
composite powders were selected to compare the morphology of
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Alexandria Engineering Journal 84 (2023) 285–300
composite powders. Therefore, morphology of HMDRs composite pow­
ders after 16 h milling are presented in Fig. 4. The particles size of all
three composites, MB16, MC16, and MD16, were in the range of 5.1–5.4
µm, as can be shown in Fig. 5. The particle size in three HMDRS com­
posites milled for 16 h indicated that increasing the weight percentage
of µSiC to 15 % had no impact on the fineness of magnesium particles.
Also, as reported in other study [26], it is expected that adding hard
reinforcement particles such as SiC, will reduce the size of the particles,
and at the same time, increasing the milling time will also cause more
reduction of particles. But what was observed in HMDRs composite
particles after 16 h is that the size of particles are close to each other and
have reached equilibrium. On the other hand, extending the milling time
beyond 16 h caused the particle size of all the composites containing
µSiC particles to increase and exhibited a perfectly consistent behavior.
In addition, as seen in Fig. 6, The MB and MD composites maps show
that SiC particles predominated in the early stages of milling, with little
evidence of appropriate dispersion. Nevertheless, increasing the milling
time for both composites to 32 h generated greater fracturing and
dispersion in the particles, and it is obvious that the Mg and Ti particles
were dispersed throughout the ball-powder-ball impacts process.
Fig. 7 shows HMSDRs composite powders particles milled for 16 h.
with adding 5 wt% nSiC to Mg-Ti composite powder caused particles
size reduced significantly and reached to 2.93 µm. The powder
morphology had irregular shape, and agglomeration and cold welding
was not observed. However, as shown in Fig. 7(b), the morphology of
NC16 composite indicated increasing nSiC to 10 wt% caused the parti­
cles size increased to 4.70 µm, and this particles size increased almost 60
% than NB16. This increase in particle size means that increase in the
content of nSiC causes agglomeration, and then creates cold welding
between particles, and finally, the particles size increased. This is a
common phenomenon in composites reinforced with nano sized parti­
cles. The average particles size of ND16 by decreasing 58 % than NC16
reached to 1.96 µm. An increase of 15 wt% in the amount of nSiC par­
ticles indicates that these particles participated in the fracturing process
and served as a fracturing factor in addition to the effect of the balls on
the particles, resulting in a reduction in particle size. The SEM image of
H. Ahmadian et al. Alexandria Engineering Journal 84 (2023) 285–300

Fig. 3. FESEM images MB materials milled at various milling times, (a) 1 h, (b) 2 h, (c) 4 h, (d) 8 h, (e) 16 h, and (f) 32 h.

the morphology of ND16 in Fig. 7 (c) reveals that agglomeration was
seen in some areas of ND16, although it is not clear whether this phe­
nomenon is just beginning to occur or is declining. As demonstrated in
Fig. 8, the increase in nSiC content has improved dispersion, and the
map image shows that the Mg matrix particles in composite ND32 are
finer than NB32. Furthermore, the increase in milling time in both NB
and ND composites indicated that it had a considerable impact on par­
ticle dispersion and fracture.

Fig. 4. FESEM of Mg-Ti-µSiC at different SiC content milled for 16 h, (a) MB16, (b) MC16 [12], and (c) MD16.

294
H. Ahmadian et al.
Fig. 5. Evolution of particle diameter in HMDRs composites after 16 h of milling, (a) MB16, (b) MC16 [12], and (c) MD16.
4.2. Structural changes
Fig. 9 shows XRD pattern of MB composite powders milled at
different time. Moreover, the Mg, Ti, and SiC peaks were seen in all of
them, but the intensity of SiC peaks was not high due to their low con­
tent of them in composites. The interfacial reaction was not seen in the
previous work [12], and the XRD data from the current study confirmed
this issue for composite powders MB. Additionally, the increase in
milling time caused the effect on peaks’ intensity to reduce [41].
Furthermore, the presence of SiC to reduce peak intensity cannot be
overlooked, and SiC particles were another factor in reducing peak in­
tensity. It is worth noting that the reduction in intensity did not take
place in MB1 and MB2, but rather it increased because the presence of
SiC particles and the ball milling process in the initial stage caused
plastic deformation and the defect in the crystal structure. The XRD
patterns of MB composite powders show that Mg (0 0 2) and Ti (1 0 0)
peaks have peak shifts to other 2θ. Hence, this indicates that the lattice
parameters have changed because plastic deformation has taken place
on the particles under the ball mill process. Also, the increase in the
milling time caused the Mg (0 0 2) peak to dissolve in the Ti (1 0 0) peak,
which was also reported by Ref. [12].
The X-ray of three powder composites MB16, MC16, and MD16 have
shown in Fig. 10. It is obvious that a higher SiC content made SiC in­
tensities more noticeable. Nevertheless, the SiC content decreased the
Mg and Ti peaks intensities than pure Mg while marginally increasing
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Alexandria Engineering Journal 84 (2023) 285–300
the (1 0 0) and (0 0 2) Mg peaks in composite powder MD16 as compared
to MB16 and MC16. Moreover, MD16 powder composite had a higher
peak (1 0 1) of Mg than MC16. Increasing SiC content has affected not
only peak intensity but also had effect on FWHM. In MC16, SiC particles
raised the FWHM; however, when the SiC content was increased to 15
%, the FWHM decreased. As the SiC weight percentage is increased, it
acts like a ball colliding with a particle during milling, causing dislo­
cation, as seen by the rising intensity of Mg peaks and decreasing FWHM
in MD16. The structures of Mg, Ti, and SiC were unaffected by the in­
crease in SiC content and remained hexagonal in Mg and Ti and cubic in
SiC. It is crucial that no new phase was formed when the SiC was
increased to 15 wt% in the Mg-Ti-SiC powder composite, and some re­
searchers have validated this.
Fig. 11 indicate the three XRD patterns of NB16, NC16, and ND16
composite powders. Adding nSiC to Mg-Ti caused the intensity of Mg
and Ti decreased after 16 h milling. Nevertheless, the (0 0 2) peak in­
tensity of Mg was higher than the (1 0 1) peak in composite NB16. The
explanation for this is because the (1 0 0) peak of Mg solved into (1 0 0)
peak of Ti, which is clearly apparent, and this is the first difference in the
three composite powders including 5, 10, and 15 wt% nSiC. Moreover,
due to the size of nSiC particles, it was difficult to identify SiC at low
concentrations; nonetheless, SiC peaks could be seen in composite NC16
and ND16. The Ti, Si, and C produced a new phase known as Ti5Si3 and
TiC in ND16. Moreover, the XRD patterns reveal the structure of Mg
(hexagonal) and Ti (hexagonal) was unaffected by the increase from 5 %
H. Ahmadian et al. Alexandria Engineering Journal 84 (2023) 285–300

Fig. 6. Mapping images of HMDRs composites, (a) MB1, (b) MD32.

Fig. 7. FESEM of Mg-Ti-nSiC at different SiC content milled for 16 h, (a) NB16, (b) NC16, and (c) ND16.

Fig. 8. Mapping images of HMSDRs composites, (a) NB32, (b) ND32.

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Fig. 9. The XRD pattern of MB composite powders, (a) milled at different times, and (b) high magnification of MB16 and MB32.

Fig. 10. The XRD pattern of Mg-Ti-µSiC at different SiC content milled for 16 h Fig. 11. The XRD pattern of Mg-Ti-nSiC at different SiC content milled for 16 h
(MB16, MC16 [12], and MD16). (NB16, NC16, and ND16).

to 15 % in the weight percentage of nSiC.

The CS of Mg for all composites at different milling time are pre­
sented in Fig. 12. In HMDRs group, with adding 5 wt% µSiC to Mg-Ti
composite powder and increasing milling time to 32 h caused the CS
reached to 13.62 nm, in other words, the CS reduced about 61.91 %. The
CS in MC32 was 13.62 nm based on earlier research, which we included
in Fig. 12. This means that extending the milling time and adding more
reinforcement in micron-scale dimensions did not result in a further
decline in the CS. The CS in MD composite powders with increasing time
of milling process has been always decrease and after 32 h reduced to
14.79 nm. However, as the amount of µSiC particles increased, the rate
of CS reduction decreased. Furthermore, as the amount of µSiC increased
and the milling time increased, it was found that the CS of the MB, MC,
and MD were almost in the same range. For instance, after the 16
h milling for all three composite powders, it was found that the CS was
between 15.4 nm and 15.9 nm, and the drop in FWHM is what caused
this and the details on the Mg peaks is provided in Table 2. In addition, it
was observed that the CS of MD32 increased by almost 8.5 % compared
to MB32 and MC32.
Fig. 12. The crystallite size for all composites at different milling times.

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H. Ahmadian et al. Alexandria Engineering Journal 84 (2023) 285–300

Table 2 converted to MgO. As a result, this problem prevented us from looking at

Mg peaks information of MB16, MC16, and MD16. the CS of ND32. Nonetheless, ND16′s CS increased by approximately 18
hkl MB16 MC16 MD16 % (23.61 nm) more than ND8 (20.05 nm) and the behavior of ND16 was
similar to NB32 and NC32. Investigating of impact of nSiC content was
2θ FWHM 2θ FWHM 2θ FWHM
compared, and the result indicated the CS increased after 4 h. For
100 32.18 0.59 32.72 0.44 32.55 0.49 instance, compering NB, NC, and ND after 16 h of milling shows the nSiC
002 34.43 0.49 34.66 0.59 34.66 0.69
101 36.66 0.34 36.96 0.34 36.87 0.49
had effect on reduction of broadening of peak and finally the CS
102 47.88 0.59 48.17 0.69 48.14 0.59 increased in ND about 77 % and 54 % compare to NB16 and NC16,
110 57.48 0.49 57.84 0.59 57.55 0.59 respectively. Table 3 is comparing X-ray data of NB, NC, and ND, after
103 62.88 0.49 63.53 0.79 63.12 0.69 16 h of milling revealing that the nSiC had an impact on the diminution
of peak broadening. For instance, the FWHM of the Mg peaks at (1 0 0),
(1 0 1), and (1 0 2) in ND were lower than in NB and NC, and ultimately,
Table 3
Mg peaks information of NB16, NC16, and ND16. the CS increased in ND16 by almost 77 % and 54 % in comparison to
NB16 and NC16, respectively.
hkl NB16 NC16 ND16
There is additional explanation, such as the temperature of the
2θ FWHM 2θ FWHM 2θ FWHM powders during mechanical alloying, in addition to the increase and
100 32.20 0.69 32.28 0.59 31.96 0.20 decrease of peak broadening and its impact on CS. Thus, it can be
002 34.99 0.69 34.42 0.49 34.89 0.59 demonstrated from other studies that the 32 h temperature increase in
101 36.68 0.69 36.67 0.49 36.91 0.30 the composite powders led to an increase in the CS [42]. However, there
102 48.40 0.49 48.00 0.39 48.24 0.39
are not many studies on the CS of composite matrix and how rein­
forcement particles affect it. Consequently, it can be inferred from this
Table 4 work that the addition of nanoparticles to the composite behaves
The comparison results between the proposed model and other models. entirely differently from the addition of micron size particles in terms of
Crystallite size
altering the size of the crystallite. In contrast to the lower content of the
5 and 10 wt% nSiC, raising the nSiC content to 15 wt% led the CS to
TLCO WOA ANFIS
grow at lower times in the ball milling process (see Table 4).
R2 0.9923 0.9840 0.9523 The optimum CS was achieved by the MC32 and NB16 from the
RMSE 2.2504 2.4805 4.5405
HMDRs and HMSDRs groups, and the most decreasing in CS belonged to
MAE 1.7135 2.4034 3.7124
NB16 by about 13.35 nm.

Fig. 12 shown the CS of HMSDRs. All three of the composite powders,
NB1, NC1, and ND1, the CS fell dramatically in the early phases of the
ball milling process. The addition of nSiC also had a favorable impact on
the reduction in CS within 1 h. In NB and NC, the reduction in CS has
always occurred up to the milled 16 h, however in ND, the reduction in
CS has only ever happened up to the milled 8 h. As the nSiC weight
percentage increased, the CS fell less dramatically. The CS of the com­
posite powders NC and ND were about equivalent after 2 h of milling,
and the longer milling duration also made the CS of ND bigger than that
of NC. The FWHM of XRD reduced as milling time was continued to 32 h
in composite powder NC, which caused the CS to rise by nearly 36 %
compared to NC16. Increasing CS was also seen in NB32 compared to
NB16, although at a different rate than in ND composite powder. From
XRD ND32, the Mg peak was not visible, and all Mg peaks were
4.3. Prediction of the crystallite size
In this section, we evaluate the performance of the ML model, named
ANFIS-TLCO to improve the prediction of crystallite size of Mg-Ti-SiC
nanocomposites. To achieve this, we used a set of performance metrics
are used including Coefficient of determination (R2 ), Root Mean Square
Error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE).
The performance of the proposed ANFIS-TLCO was compared with
conventional ANFIS algorithm and ANFIS based on whale optimization
algorithm (ANFIS-WOA) using the performance criteria described in the
previous subsection. In addition, the data is split into training and
testing sets which represent 70 % and 30 % from the size of the collected
data.
The performance measures using the RMSE, R2, and MSE is tabulated
in [43–45]. These measures are used to assess the quality of the pre­
dicted value obtained by using the ML models to predict the crystallite
size of Mg-Ti-SiC nanocomposites. From these results, we can observed
that the ANFIS-TLCO has the lowest values of RMSE, and MAE followed
by ANFIS-WOA and traditional ANFIS. Moreover, ANFIS-TLCO has the
largest values of R2 compared with ANFIS-WOA and ANFIS. The R2 of
ANFIS-TLCO was increased by 1 % and 4 % compared with those of
ANFIS-WOA and ANFIS, respectively for the crystallite size evolution.
The R2 measures the correlation between the results of the developed
method and the experimental output. These results reveal the out­
performance of ANFIS-TLCO algorithm over ANFIS-WOA and ANFIS for
predicting the crystallite size of Mg-Ti-SiC nanocomposites. We can
reach to the same conclusion of the high performance of the ANFIS-
TLCO from Fig. 13 that represents the QQplot between the predicted
value of the crystallite size using the developed model and their original
value.

5. Conclusions

The study focused on the fabrication of Mg-Ti-SiC composite pow­

ders with both micron and nano-sized SiC particles at varying weight
Fig. 13. Prediction of crystallite size using the ANFIS-TLCO model. percentages using mechanical alloying. The following key conclusions

298
H. Ahmadian et al.
were drawn:
I. Incorporating 5 wt% µSiC particles led to a significant reduction
in average particle size to 5.26 µm after 16 h of milling. However,
prolonged milling resulted in agglomeration and cold welding,
increasing the particle size to 8.39 µm.
II. Maintaining a constant milling time of 16 h while increasing the
µSiC content did not impact average particle sizes significantly.
Particle sizes ranged from 5.1 to 5.4 µm. In contrast, composite
powders reinforced with nSiC exhibited different average particle
sizes: 2.93 µm (NB16), 4.70 µm (NC16), and 1.96 µm (ND16).
III. XRD data analysis revealed that increasing ball milling time and
the presence of µSiC resulted in reduced peak intensities for Mg
and Ti. The addition of higher percentages of µSiC (10 and 15 wt
%) and milling for 16 h further decreased peak intensities.
Transitioning from micron to nano-sized SiC particles amplified
this effect, leading to the formation of new phases, Ti5Si3 and TiC,
in composite ND16.
IV. In the HMDRs group, an increase in µSiC content and milling time
led to closer crystal sizes. This resulted in a crystallite size range
of 15.4–15.9 nm for Mg in MB16, MC16, and MD16. Similar
behavior was observed in the HMSDRs group. Increasing nSiC
content to 15 wt% and extending milling time led to an increase
in crystallite size compared to the same composite powder in NC.
Specifically, ND16 exhibited a 77 % and 54 % increase in crys­
tallite size compared to NB16 and NC16, respectively.
V. An innovative machine learning model, ANFIS-TLCO, was
employed to predict the crystallite size of Mg-Ti-SiC nano­
composites. This model, utilizing the Termite Life Cycle Opti­
mizer, optimized the configuration of the Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy
Inference System for improved accuracy.
VI. The efficiency of the ANFIS-TLCO model was validated through
experiments comparing it with traditional ANFIS and ANFIS
based on the whale optimization algorithm (ANFIS-WOA). The
results demonstrated the superior performance of the developed
ANFIS-TLCO model.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
The authors extend their appreciation to the Deputyship for Research
& Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia for funding this
research work through the project number (IFPIP- 1052-135-1443) and
King Abdulaziz University, DSR, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
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