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Enhancement of machining and surface quality of quaternary alloyed NiTiCuZr shape memory alloy through ultrasonic vibration coupled WEDM

NiTiCuZr shape memory alloys (SMA) outperform ternary and binary SMA alloys in terms of functional fatigue and higher temperature performance due to their high cyclic stability and transformation temperatures. Owing to the impairment of the shape memory effect during processing, it is difficult to select a manufacturing process for obtaining design functionality with the required dimensions and surface roughness. In this work, a high-temperature NiTiCuZr SMA was machined using an ultrasonic vibration assisted wire electric discharge machine (USV-WEDM). The machining was conducted using various parameters with a constant ultrasonic vibration of 20 kHz provided on a wire-electrode to evaluate surface roughness (Ra) and material removal rate (MRR). Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray analysis (EDX) were utilized to examine the surface integrity and chemical composition of the machined surfaces. MRR increased by 62% with a steady increase in pulse-on time (Ton) and applied current (I), whereas increasing levels of parameters such as pulse-off time (Toff) and servo voltage (SV) reduced surface roughness (Ra) by 69%. The results reveal that tool vibration at ultrasonic frequency reduces the surface roughness and improves the material removal rate of the machined NiTiCuZr SMA as compared to that of non-ultrasonic assisted machining conditions. SEM-EDX investigation reveals that the formation of re-solidification and oxide layers during NiTiCuZr machining at high machining parameters results in increased hardness and surface roughness. USV-WEDM is a suitable process for machining SMA alloy without adversely impacting SMA properties.