Design of Experiment with Tribological Performance Analysis of Electroless Nano-composite Ni-P-SiC Coating for Conveyors

Present study examines friction and wear characteristics for Ni-P-SiC coated SS 304 steel sample and It is used in conveyors in terms of increment in life cycle of conveyors under dry condition with cost effective manner. It is one of the most commonly produced and used stainless steel grades. So, this research is focused on SS304. The surface of SS 304 steel is finished by Ni-P-SiC electroless coating, and its characteristics have been studied through different analyses. FESEM with EDAX has been used to identify the elemental distribution of samples. Taguchi L16 orthogonal array, ANOVA, and regression analysis have been used to obtain experiment layout, significant process parameters, and linear relationship between input and output variables, respectively, under the experiment of design and validate with confirmatory test. Combination of operating parameters which minimize both coefficient of friction and wear is generated using multi-objective optimization. Experiments are carried out according to L16 orthogonal array and the significant parameters among the chosen, which influence wear and coefficient of friction of Ni-P-SiC electroless coated SS 304 under dry conditions are determined. Relations between the output variable and input variable is established by linear regression equations of the friction coefficient between interacting components and wear under the dry condition in terms of load, speed, and temperature. 10 N, 100 rpm, and 90°C are found to be an optimum set of operating parameters among selected levels which minimize both wear and coefficient of friction of sample.