Optimization of coating parameters on coating morphology of basalt short fiber for preparation of Al/Basalt metal matrix composites using genetic programming

3^rd International Conference and Exhibition on Materials Science & Engineering

October 06-08, 2014 Hilton San Antonio Airport, USA

M C Krishna Murthy and V Suresh Babu

Accepted Abstracts: Material Sci Eng

Abstract :

The interface between the matrix and reinforcement plays a crucial role in determining the properties of metal matrix composites (MMC). Coating of the reinforcement is an important technique by which the interfacial properties can be improved. In this work, weight deposition of copper coating on short basalt fibers was carried out by electroless method. The electroless process used to deposit the copper coating onto the basalt fiber relies on a sequence of sensitization time, activation time and metallization time and these parameters need to be optimized to know the amount of coating thickness. These parameters considered for optimization process are evaluated for different time intervals. An attempt has been made to study the influence of coating parameters like time for sensitization, time for activation & time for metallization for deposition of copper on short basalt fiber using electroless coating technique. A mathematical modeling was generated using Genetic programming and the results were validated using DISCIPULUSTM software. This work gains significance because with reasonably minimum number of experiments, reliable model has been generated, validated and further, the process has been optimized. Results show that metallization time has the highest influence followed by activation time and sensitization time. Finally, confirmation tests were carried out to verify the experimental results.