Sustainable optimization of abrasive water jet machining for MWCNT/bamboo/Kenaf hybrid polymer composites

Composites made with natural fibers have been competing for a long time because they offer minimal density and high specific characteristics, and they also contain a sizable amount of biomaterials. This study focuses on the fabrication of a novel Epoxy + Bamboo + Kenaf + MWCNT (EBKM) natural fiber-reinforced composite laminate by means of compression moulding and abrasive water jet machining (AWJM). Traverse speed (TS), abrasive flow rate (AFR), and stand-off distance (SOD) on surface roughness (SR) and kerf width (KW) was accomplished using response surface methodology (RSM) and nature-inspired meta-heuristic firefly algorithm (FA) to optimise the parameters. Twenty experimental trials were devised using the RSM Box-Behnken method. SOD and AFR prefer kerf width, while surface roughness is also favoured by traverse speed. SOD of 2 mm, AFR of 435.934 g/min, and traverse speed of 1300 mm/min are optimal conditions for producing a KW of 0.24 mm and SR of 8.48 m, as determined by desirability analysis. The utmost percent error between RSM prediction and experimental conditions is 6.27%. The optimal conditions for the Firefly algorithm are 2 mm, SOD 350 g/min abrasive flow rate, and 934.35 mm/min traverse rate.