Journal of Polymer & Composites Original Research Special issue

Explainable Machine Learning for Process Parameter Optimization in Gradient 3D-Printed Polymer Composites

  1. Harish Reddy Gantla Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Vignan Institute of Technology and Science, Hyderabad
  2. Harish Chandra Mohanta Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Centurion University of Technology and Management
  3. Deepika Singh Singraur Department of Mechanical Engineering, SGT University, Gurugram
  4. Sandeep Bansal Department of Mechanical Engineering, SGT University, Gurugram
  5. Varinder Singh School of Engineering and Technology, CGC University, Mohali
  6. Pacha Supriya Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Green Fields, Vaddeswaram, Guntur

Abstract

The explainable machine learning-based structure may be employed to achieve a favorable process parameter of the graduate 3D-printed polymer composite structures to improve the mechanical and thermal properties without compromising the transparency of the decisions made during the fabrication process. Gradient composite specimens were made by systematically varied process parameters like nozzle temperature, raster orientation, deposition speed, gradient transition rate and fused filament fabrication. A predictive model of tensile strength and thermal conductivity was developed as a supervised learning model using process-property data, which was obtained experimentally. Later, explainable parameter attribution methods were applied to attribute the effect of the parameters of individual fabrication to explain the performance of composite. Optimization of the parameter setting led to potential tensile strength increase of 14.6 % and thermal conductivity increase of 9.2 % relative to process settings at the baseline. The predictive model recorded coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.937 which meant high level of agreement between the predictive and experimentally measured composite performance. The explainability-based optimization strategy contributes to the process of parameter selection as well as promoting reliability in gradient polymer composite manufacturing processes. The framework suggested here is an incorporation of predictive modeling and interpretable analytics provided as a transparent yet performance-efficient solution to optimization of processes in gradient additive manufacturing of polymer composite systems.

Keywords

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