Mohd Fathullah Ghazali, Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri Abdullah, Aqmal Hidayat Jamel, Vertic Eridani Budi Darmawan, Azrin Hani Abdul Rashid
Geopolymers are classified as green inorganic polymers. They are produced by activating an alumina-silicate precursor with an activator solution at an appropriate temperature. Fly ash is the waste that is left over when coal is burned. Since it has a high concentration of alumina and silicate, fly ash reacts with alkaline solutions such as sodium silicate and potassium hydroxide to generate a gel known as aluminosilicate. Besides, numerous challenges emerge during the drilling process on this material, and to get the minimum tool wear on the drilling process for this material, the properties of fly-ash geopolymer need to be considered properly. Moreover, it is very challenging to meet a good drilling process on this material, which is also challenging to explore new possibility and machining values of new advance materials. The main goals of this study are to investigate the relationship between cutting parameter and tool wear on fly-ash geopolymers in drilling process to find the best combination parameters of the minimum tool wear on fly-ash geopolymers and to determine the most significant factor that affects tool wear in the process by using response surface methodology (RSM). In this study, the investigation was carried out by using an Akira Seiki SR3 XRP Computer Numerical Control milling machine with 7mm diameter uncoated high-speed steel twist drill bit to examine the effect of drilling parameters on fly-ash geopolymers and to find the best combination of parameters. RSM was used to determine the most significant factor affecting the tool wear in this process. It can be seen that when the feed rate is decreased, the tool performs better in drilling this material. In addition, the desirability graph shows that the best combination of parameters to achieve minimum tool are a spindle speed of 216.21rpm, a feed rate of 82.27mm/minute, and drilling behavior is 1peck drilling cycle. Furthermore, the most significant parameter in this experiment is the interaction between feed rate and drilling behavior. This discovery reveals that it is feasible to drill fly-ash geopolymers; consequently, the proposed ranges of cutting tools and settings may serve as a reference for researchers and manufacturers to drill fly-ash geopolymers for future uses. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering & Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Perlis, Malaysia; Center of Excellence Geopolymer and Green Technology, University Malaysia Perlis, Perlis, Malaysia; Faculty of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Perlis, Malaysia; Department of Industrial Engineering, Universitas Negeri Malang, Jawa Timur, Malang, Indonesia; Faculty of Engineering Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Johor, Muar, Malaysia; Bamboo Research Centre (BambooRC), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Johor, Muar, Malaysia
