148 CHAPTER 11 CONCLUSION 11.1 INTRODUCTION ‘The major findings drawn from each chapter of this thesis are summarized. In addition, the scope for further research is also suggested in the following sections, 11.2. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ‘The literature survey showed that squeeze casting has been widely applied for processing aluminium-high silicon (more than 7%) alloys and generally not applied for aluminium-low silicon (less than 7%) alloys in the production of, non-symmetrical shaped and thin walled (hollow) castings. In addition, it indicated that the squeeze casting parameters need to be optimized to produce defect free castings with improved mechanical properties. Based on the observations made and research gaps identified during the literature survey, it was decided to process AC2A aluminium alloy that contains less silicon for making non-symmetrical solid and hollow castings through squeeze casting. It was also decided to optimize process parameters through the techniques namely Taguchi method, genetic algorithm and XL solver for improving mechanical properties of non-symmetrical solid and hollow castings Chapter 3 dealt with the experimental setup for squeeze casting of AC2A aluminium alloy. Further, it explained the process steps involved in the production of non-symmetrical solid and hollow castings. The experimental setup was employed for the conduct of experiments on non-symmetrical solid and hollow castings. In order to study the effects of process parameters (squeeze pressure, pouring149 temperature, die preheating temperature, die material and pressure duration) on mechanical properties (hardness, tensile yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and wear resistance) and also to optimize the process parameters for improving the mechanical properties, experiments on non-symmetrical solid and hollow castings were conducted based on the orthogonal arrays Li«(4°) and Ls(5°) respectively. Chapter 4 described the effects of applied pressure on macrostructure, microstructure and mechanical properties (hardness, tensile strengths and wear resistance) of non-symmetrical solid castings. In macrostructural analysis, an applied pressure of 50 MPa has been noted to be sufficient to eliminate porosities caused by shrinkage and gas, macro segregations and micro segregations completely in the castings. In microstructural analysis, it was observed that increasing the applied pressure (from 0.1 MPa to 100 MPa) resulted in smaller grain size and improved mechanical properties. It was also observed that high pressure above 100 MPa has not shown any appreciable change in grain refinement and improvement in mechanical properties. Further, chapter 4 explained the effects of applied pressure on microstructure and hardness of non-symmetrical hollow castings. The applied pressure made similar effects in hollow casting also. It is noted that hollow castings exhibited better quality compared to solid castings. This investigation clearly revealed that squeeze casting is an effective technique to process AC2A aluminium for producing non-symmetrical solid and hollow castings Chapter 5 narrated parametric optimization of squeeze casting process for improving hardness of solid castings through the optimization techniques namely Taguchi method, genetic algorithm and XL solver. At the optimum parametric settings, hardness of 108 BHN was obtained. The castings made for the optimum parametric settings exhibited nearly 46% improvement in hardness compared to the castings made by gravit die casting. Chapter 6 focused on parametric optimization of squeeze casting process for improving tensile yield strength of solid castings through the optimization techniques namely Taguchi method, genetic algorithm and XL solver. At the optimum parametricsettings, tensile yield strength of 189 MPa was obtained. The castings made for the optimum parametric settings exhibited nearly 70% improvement in tensile yield strength when compared to the castings made for gravity die casting. Chapter 7 concentrated on parametric optimization of squeeze casting process for improving ultimate tensile strength of solid castings through the optimization techniques namely Taguchi method, genetic algorithm and XL solver. At the optimum parametric settings, ultimate tensile strength of 305 MPa was obtained. The castings made for the optimum parametric settings exhibited nearly 45% improvement in ultimate tensile strength compared to the castings made for gravity die casting. Chapter 8 presented parametric optimization of squeeze cas ing process for improving wear resistance of solid castings through the optimization techniques namely Taguchi method, genetic algorithm and XL solver. At the optimum parametric settings, minimum wear rate of 1.7301 x10"? m’/s was obtained. The castings made for the optimum parametric settings exhibited nearly 22% improvement in wear resistance compared to the castings made for gravity die casting. Chapter 9 dealt with parametric optimization of squeeze casting process for improving hardness of hollow castings through the optimization techniques namely Taguchi method, genetic algorithm and XL solver. At the optimum parametric settings, hardness of 118.5 BHN was obtained. The castings made for the optimum parametric settings exhibited nearly 52% improvement in hardness compared to the castings made for gravity die casting, Chapter 10 discussed the various studies made in a consolidated manner. 11.3 FUTURE SCOPE During this research, only five process parameters namely squeeze pre: re, pouring temperature, die preheating temperature, die material and pressure duration, were considered for analyzing their effect on the mechanical properties. Significant scope exists in designing and conducting further experiments for determining theexhaustive combination of parameters and levels by including parameters like melt transferring time, punch material, punch velocity, die coat material, delay time before die closure and delay time before part ejection. The combination of many parameters and their levels would enable us to find out still better parametric settings for the production of AC2A aluminium alloy components with higher degree of quality. It is understood that the addition of ceramic materials like silicon carbide (SiC), Aluminium oxide (A1,03), ete would enhance the mechanical properties such as wear resistance, fatigue strength, creep strength and tensile strength and life of components. Future studies on production of composites by reinforcing suitable ceramic materials with AC2A aluminium alloy are required. Numerous aluminium low silicon alloys (A319, A356, A360, A367, A380, A390, LM4, LM21, LM22, etc) are available like AC2A aluminium alloy and are extensively used for making components such as water cooled engine heads, air cooled cylinder heads, engine pistons, engine brackets, valve bodies, dental equipment, air brake castings, boat propellers, frying pans, machine tool parts, aircraft wheels pump parts, tank car fittings, bridge railing parts, gear cases, clutch cases, engine crank cases, instrument cases, cover plates, electronic component frames automatic transmission housings, rear axle housings, aircraft generator housings, lawn mower housings, street lamps housings, etc. Attempts can also be made for processing such alloys through squeeze casting, so that the components can be obtained with superior qual