Application of Response Surface Methodology and Central Composite Inscribed Design for Modeling and Optimization of Marble Surface Quality

Factors affecting the final surface quality of polished marble are not yet fully understood. Clarifying these factors for optimization of multivariate polishing process by trial and error method is difficult, time-consuming, and costly task. In this study, the empirical practices were carried out using an experimental design, specifically, a central composite inscribed (CCI) design. The factors considered in CCI design were belt speed, rotational speed, and pressure of the polishing head, and the responses were surface glossiness and roughness. Mathematical models describing responses were produced using experimental datasets, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the fit of the models generated with the experimental data. For process optimization, desirability function analysis (DFA) was used. This study has shown that the CCI could efficiently be applied for the modelling of polishing machine for surface quality of marble strips. Better surface quality generally resulted from lower belt speeds, which increased contact time between the abrasives and strips. Optimized surface quality for marble specimen was established.