Investigation and Optimization of Tribological Aspects of Babbitt-Ilmenite Composite using Weighted Grey Relation Analysis

Babbitt-Ilmenite composite prepared via stir casting method with controllable parameters which include percentage weight of Ilmenite, stirring speed and aging time was investigated for its sliding wear characteristics and coefficient of friction (COF) with varying applied load, sliding velocity and sliding distance. Morphological tests were conducted for characterization of the composite and to ascertain the wear mechanism under mild and severe conditions. Taguchi philosophy with analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistical technique was used for multi-objective optimization of the tribological characteristics of the composite. The entropy based grey relation analysis (EGRA) performed for weighted multi-performance optimization of tribological aspects of the composite and hybrid Taguchi grey relation technique (TGRA) confirmed that the percentage weight of Ilmenite, applied load, sliding distance and stirring speed were the significant parameters with regard to multi - criteria optimization with contributions of 44.46%, 23.82%, 11.33%, and 5.66%, respectively. There is an overall improvement in wear resistance and COF at optimal TGRA conditions. Babbitt-Ilmenite composite can be used in steel slide bearing bushings for power, automobile and aerospace.