Surface roughness prediction of flow-formed AA6061 alloy by design of experiments

Design of experiments has been used to study the effects of the main flow-forming parameters such as the speed of the mandrel, the longitudinal feed, and the amount of coolant used on the surface roughness of flow-formed AA6061 tube. A mathematical prediction model of the surface roughness has been developed in terms of the above parameters. The effect of these parameters on the surface roughness has been investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). Response surface contours were constructed for determining the optimum forming conditions for a required surface roughness. The developed prediction equation shows that the longitudinal feed rate is the most important factor that influences the surface roughness. The surface roughness was found to increase with increase in the longitudinal feed and it decreased with decrease in the amount of the coolant used. The verification experiment carried out to check the validity of the developed model predicted surface roughness within 6% error.