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S. Hinduja (1)
a,
*, M. Kunieda (1)
b
a
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester, UK
b
Department of Precision Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Japan
1. Introduction
Because of their ability to machine tough, hard and heat-
resistant materials with complicated shapes, electro-chemical and
electrical discharge machining (ECM and EDM) processes were
rst applied for the machining of aerospace alloys and die and
mould making in the 1950s. Although both processes are
categorized as electrical machining to differentiate them from
conventional mechanical processes and both have similar machine
tool structures and applications, their principle and machining
characteristics are signicantly different.
The encouraging trend of ECM was not sustained for long
because of inherent difculties such as:
(i) controlling/predicting the process due to electro-chemical,
hydrodynamic and thermal factors;
(ii) predicting the equilibrium shape of the workpiece; and
(iii) determining the tool shape for a given workpiece geometry.
In the case of EDM, the uncertainty of tool electrode wear was
an early difculty.
Researchers have tried to overcome these difculties by
developing analytical and numerical models of the processes
but progress has been slow. The reasons for this are as follows.
(i) ECM and EDM are unlike conventional machining processes
suchas turning or milling. In the latter, standard tool shapes are
usually used and some of the process parameters such as feed
rate and cutting velocity can be changed without affecting the
shape of the nal workpiece. But in ECM and EDM, the tool
shape is unique to the workpiece geometry and a change in
feed rate results in a different workpiece shape.
(ii) Conventional processes usually require only one or two
physical phenomena to be modelled whereas ECM and EDM
require several, such as uid ow, gas evolution, chemical
reactions, heat generation at the electrodes and in the
electrolyte, and mass transport of the species.
In spite of the above complexities, in the last 50 years,
empirical, analytical and numerical models have been developed.
This paper reviews the development of these models and their
application in industry, and discusses some of the computing
issues.
2. Overview of modelling the ECM/EDM processes
Both ECM and EDM have several common modelling require-
ments. In both, the primary goal is to predict the shape of the
workpiece. EDMis predominantly a thermal process and therefore,
in its case, thermal modelling is more important. In the case of
ECM, however, determination of the current density distribution is
of primary interest. Once the distribution is known, other
parameters such as workpiece dissolution rate can be computed.
ECM has the advantage that there are no residual stresses but
they have to be evaluated in the case of EDM.
In the case of EDM, removal occurs at the discharge location
only. Even under the same pulse conditions, the thermo-
hydrodynamic and electromagnetic behaviours of the anode,
cathode, and working uid materials bring about signicantly
different results in material removal. The material removal in
consecutive discharges is a cumulative result of single pulse
discharges. However, results of multiple discharges cannot be
obtained from a linear superposition of the results of a single
discharge, because the medium in the gap is composed of the
dielectric liquid, gas bubbles generated due to discharge and solid
debris particles. The composition, pressure, gap width, and
temperature vary both temporally and spatially, which makes
EDM simulation signicantly difcult.
CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 62 (2013) 775797
A R T I C L E I N F O
Keywords:
ECM
EDM
Modelling
A B S T R A C T
The modelling of ECM and EDM processes requires not one but several models to simulate the different
phenomena that occur during machining. This paper reviews the models that have been developed to
simulate each of these phenomena, e.g. potential models to calculate the current density distribution in
ECM, thermal models for the plasma arc in EDM, moving boundary models to simulate the anodic
dissolution in ECM and probabilistic models to determine the discharge location in EDM. In addition to
discussing the relative merits of the techniques deployed in these models, the paper describes some
salient applications and concludes with desirable future enhancements to these models.
2013 CIRP.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: sri.hinduja@manchester.ac.uk (S. Hinduja).
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology
j ournal homepage: ht t p: / / ees. el sevi er. com/ ci rp/ def aul t . asp
0007-8506/$ see front matter 2013 CIRP.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2013.05.011
Workpiece shape change, in the case of ECM, is dependent
primarily on the current density on the anode surface. The
electrolytes electrical conductivity depends, amongst other
factors, on the electrolyte temperature, which varies spatially,
and the hydrogen bubbles released at the cathode surface.
In EDM, wear of the tool electrode necessitates the considera-
tion of geometrical change of the tool electrode as well. To design
the tool electrode shape, not only the gap width but also the tool
electrode wear has to be considered. In the case of ECM, there is no
tool wear except when reversed polarity is used to remove any
solid debris adhering to the tool.
In continuous ECM, the tool is fed towards the anode at a
constant value and in pulsed ECM, the cathode or anode is moved
into a xed position for each cycle. But in EDM, because the tool
electrode is fed by a servo feed control, where the feed rate is based
on the averaged gap voltage, modelling of the feed control is
signicantly important to obtain the gap width distribution.
Moreover, modelling of the feed control is also necessary to
estimate the processing time, which normally results in a much
greater error when compared with other cutting processes.
3. Modelling the ECM processes
Although the fundamental principles involved in ECM are well
known [26,104], it is difcult to model the process because there
are several physical and chemical phenomena, some of which
occur simultaneously. The phenomena that need to be modelled
are discussed below and summarized in Table 1.
(i) Electro-chemical reactions. The chemical reactions occurring
at the anode and cathode cause ions, oxygen and hydrogen to
be released from the electrodes and the electrolyte; this mass
transfer as well as the spatial and temporal concentrations of
the species has to be determined, leading eventually to the
current distributions within the electrolyte and on the
electrode surfaces.
(ii) Electrolyte ow. The ow of electrolyte through the gap may
be laminar or turbulent. The chemical reactions at the anode
and cathode result in hydrogen bubbles being released at the
cathode and oxygen bubbles at the anode. The presence of
these bubbles causes the ow of electrolyte to become two-
phase; these bubbles affect the electrolytes conductivity, thus
increasing the complexity of the process.
(iii) Thermal effects. The electro-chemical reactions cause heat to
be generated in the double layer and in the bulk of the
electrolyte (Joule heating). This heat energy causes the
electrolyte temperature to increase, resulting in a further
change to the electrolytes electrical conductivity.
(iv) Anodic dissolution. The electrochemical reactions occurring
cause dissolution of the workpiece, resulting in its shape
changing with time. This temporal change to the workpiece is
modelled as a slow moving boundary problem.
The modelling of these phenomena requires the development of
various models (see Fig. 1) which are inter-dependent.
3.1. Multi-ion and potential models
The aim of these models is to determine the distribution of the
current density on the electrode surfaces and in the electrolyte.
With the multi-ion model, the total current i is given by the net ux
of charged species [117]:
i
X
k
z
k
F
N
k
(1)
where F is Faradays constant, z
k
the charge, and
N
k
the ux density
of species k is given by:
N
k
z
k
u
k
Fc
k
rV D
k
rc
k
c
k
v (2)
where c is the molar concentration, D the diffusion co-efcient, u
the mechanical mobility, V the potential, and v the velocity of the
electrolyte. Two other fundamental equations are the electro-
neutrality condition
X
k
z
k
c
k
0 (3)
and the conservation of charge.
@c
k
@t
r
N
k
R
k
(4)
R
k
is the production rate of a species in the bulk of the
electrolyte. Since in ECM the reactions occur on the electrode
surfaces, R
k
is zero.
If the electrolyte velocity distribution is determined rst, then
Eqs. (1)(4) can be solved to give (i) the voltage distribution in the
electrolyte, and (ii) the concentrations of each species (c
k
) and
hence the total current. Researchers have developed models which
take all three components of Eq. (2) into account, i.e. migration,
diffusion and convection. Qui and Power [137] developed a two-
dimensional boundary element model which they applied to a
parallel cell reactor and predicted the change in the cathode shape.
Bortels et al. developed a more comprehensive model but it was
based on two-dimensional nite elements and they referred to
their model as a multi-ion transport and reaction (MITReM) model
Table 1
Modelling requirements for ECM and EDM.
ECM EDM
Aim of
modelling
Predict workpiece shape,
cycle times, optimum
process parameters
Predict workpiece shape,
tool wear, gap width,
wire vibration,
temperature distribution
Physics of
the process
Electro-chemical
modelling (potential and
current density
distributions, ion mobility,
mass transport) thermal
modelling, uid ow
modelling
Thermal modelling
(heat-affected zone,
residual stresses) uid
ow electromagnetic
modelling
Geometry
considerations
Modelling workpiece
shape (efciency,
Faradays law)
Modelling both tool and
workpiece shapes
Power source
and polarity
Continuous and pulsed
dc; Tool (cathode)
Workpiece (anode)
Pulsed dc and ac
Machine control Constant feed rate
(continuous ECM) or
static (pulsed ECM)
Adaptively controlled
Adaptive
control model
None Pulse conditions, feed,
jumping
Inverse problem Predict tool shape Predict tool shape
Information
required in
database
Electrical and thermal
properties of electrolyte,
valency, over-potential
and current efciency
Discharge delay time,
energy distribution,
plasma diameter,
removal per pulse,
electrical and
thermophysical properties
of electrodes
2
6
4
3
7
5 (10)
where N
e
is the number of elements meeting at node i. In some
cases, the above does not yield a valid normal direction. According
to Purcar [136], for a normal to be valid, it should be visible fromall
the faces. He deployed a method rst suggested by Kallinderis and
Ward [67] wherein the two faces subtending the most acute angle
at a node is determined, followed by the plane bisecting them. The
normal is forced to lie on this plane and its direction is chosen so
that it makes equal angles with the remaining faces meeting at
node i.
Another approach to solve the sharp corner problem with BE
models is by the use of discontinuous or partially discontinuous
elements [131]. With these elements the nodes are not located at
the ends of an edge but along the edges or even within the element.
Yet another technique to cope with the corner problem without
changing the element type is to use the double node technique
introduced by Brebbia [10]. There are disadvantages with the use
of double nodes. The elements meeting at the double node are
displaced in different directions, creating a virtual gap between the
nodes which have to be bridged somehow. Also, the use of double
nodes increases the number of equations, and hence the
computing time. However, in the case of ECM, double nodes are
ideal to represent sharp corners on the tool surface [129] (e.g. at
the junction of the end and side faces) because there is no relative
movement between nodes on the tool surface (at the end of every
time step, all the nodes on the tool undergo the same rigid body
movement).
Another modellingproblemoccurs whenthecathode(or anode) is
adjacent to an insulating surface and the angle between the two
surfaces is greater than p/2 (see Fig. 4(a)). For example, during the
n + 1thtimestepthe cathode/anode will bemoveddue todeposition/
dissolution resulting in the two surfaces becoming disconnected
(Fig. 4(a)). In such cases, Deconinck suggests either an additional
virtual element to connect the end of the current electrode prole
with the insulated surface (Fig. 4(b)) or extending the electrode
prole until it meets the insulated surface (Fig. 4(c)) [28].
The accuracy of the computed workpiece shape depends also on
the magnitude of the time step. For a simple cell geometry
consisting of two parallel plates, Hardisty et al. predicted the
number of time steps that would be required to reach equilibrium;
they tested their improved algorithm for small and large initial
starting gaps [43]. Narayanan [114] showed that too large a time
step induced oscillations in the computed workpiece surface that
were difcult to suppress. Deconinck [27] showed that the error
depends upon Wagners number Wand the magnitude of the inter-
electrode gap h. Based on a one-dimensional analysis, Purcar [136]
suggested that the time step is given by
Dt
e
2mb
r
J
av
J
max
(11)
where J
av
and J
max
are the average and maximum values of the
current density respectively, e the permissible error, mthe number
of time steps and b = 1/(2(W + h
min
)
3
) where h
min
is the minimum
gap.
When the explicit scheme is used, Volgin and Lubiynov found
that, irrespective of which of the four variations (right, left, central
and upwind) of the explicit difference method is used, numerical
instability sets in when sharp corners are encountered [168]. A
sharp corner results in the normal being dened ambiguously and
subsequent iterations cause a swallow tail or self-intersection in
the workpiece prole to be formed. Special topological routines
have to be developed to detect and eliminate them. Fig. 5 shows a
workpiece containing a recess and as it grows, its shape self-
intersects [136].
This problemcanbeavoidedbyusingthe level set method, which
was rst pioneered by Sethian [144] and later described in detail in
Ref. [145]. This methodhas beenappliedto other dynamic problems
such as ame propagation and waves. In this method, a scalar
implicit function ? is used to represent the moving front and also its
evolution. For example, the following implicit function would be
used to represent the evolution of the workpiece front in ECM
@?
@t
vr? 0 (12)
where v is the velocity with which the dissolution of the workpiece
occurs. The LSMwas rst applied to electro-chemical machining by
Volgin and Lubiynov [168] who used the stationary formulation of
the LSM. This method is more computing intensive than the
marker method, although the computing time can be reduced to
some extent if the velocities are calculated only for a band of nodes
on either side of the workpiece surface. It has been applied in 2-D
models but has yet to be applied to 3D ECM models.
3.3. Thermal models
Most of the early potential models assumed a constant value of
conductivity when computing the current density distribution. In
reality, the increased temperature of the electrolyte and the
presence of hydrogen gas in the inter-electrode gap affect k
e
. There
are two empirical equations for k
e
and the one suggested by Thorpe
and Zerkle [158] is given by:
k
e
k
e0
1 a
m
1 gT T
0
(13a)
where a is the void fraction, T the electrolytes current
temperature, g the conductivity constant of the electrolyte and
Fig. 7. Time-temperature evolution in PECM for a point located on the anode and at
the gap exit (S
h
= 0.006, pulse period = 0.1 s) [148].
S. Hinduja, M. Kunieda / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 62 (2013) 775797 780
3.4. Over-potential
The over-potential of a cell has three components, i.e.
activation, concentration and resistance over-potentials. Whilst
these over-potentials are dependent, amongst other factors, on the
current density and ow, it is difcult to characterize each of them
separately. Usually, for the sake of simplicity, the three over-
potentials are combined together and represented by a single over-
potential (V
pol
) and only its relationship with the current density is
taken into consideration either by a Tafel-like logarithmic
relationship
V
pol
a b lnJ (15a)
or by a simple linear relationship
V
pol
a bJ (15b)
where a and b are constants or by using the ButlerVolmer
equation [117]
J J
o
e
aaFV
pol
=RT
e
ac FV
pol
=RT
(15c)
where R is the gas constant, a
a
and a
c
are the transfer co-efcients,
and J
o
the exchange current density. The values of J
o
, a
a
and a
c
have
to be experimentally determined.
Assuming a linear relationship and a simplied analysis, Altena
showed that the current density is given by [4]:
J
V ak
e
h bk
e
(16)
where V is the applied voltage. The product bk
e
expresses the
effect of concentration on the current density and becomes
important when the gap sizes are small as is the case in pulsed
ECM. In the case of continuous ECM where the gap sizes can be as
much as 0.5 mm, h is much greater than bk
e
. Hence, serious errors
are not introduced if V
pol
is assumed to be independent of J.
However, when the inter-electrode gap is in the range of 100 mm
or less, the effect of the concentration over-potential becomes
more pronounced and neglecting the term bk
e
will introduce
errors.
Consideration of over-potential using the logarithmic or linear
relationship presents an awkward problem because both V
pol
and J
are not known. It causes the problem to become non-linear, thus
requiring an iterative solution at every time-step. Danson et al. [20]
and Adey [1] used the following iterative method.
V
k1
pol
V
k1
pol
CV
k
pol
V
k1
pol
(17)
where C is a damping factor and k the current iteration. Prentice
[134,135] also used a similar iterative technique but made the
damping factor a variable dependent on the normalized changes in
V
pol
and J, and also on Wagners number. When the iterative
technique of Danson et al. was tried for a stepped tool with linear
and logarithmic over-potential relationships, it took more than
twelve iterations per time step to converge. A much faster method
based on Newton-Raphsons method was developed by Narayanan
and who was able to achieve convergence within three iterations
[114].
One of the difculties that modellers face in taking polarization
into account is the lack of experimental data for the constants in
Eq. (15). Altena [4] experimentally determined the polarization
voltage data for different amounts of concentration of NaNO
3
electrolyte; one set of his results is shown in Fig. 8 which clearly
exhibits a linear relationship between V
pol
and J.
To investigate the effect of over-potential, Narayanan assumed
the following normalized linear over-potential relationships for
the tool and workpiece surfaces and an equivalent logarithmic
relationship [114].
V
polcathode
0:2J (19a)
V
polanode
1:0 0:2J (19b)
The computed workpiece shapes are shown in Fig. 9, from
which it is clear that polarization decreases the equilibrium gap.
Also the computed workpiece shapes with linear and logarithmic
over-potential relationships are different only in the vertical
section of the workpiece, a section where the current density
values are relatively small.
3.5. Current efciency
One of the parameters required for modelling is the current
efciency (h); its value depends upon whether the electrolyte is
passivating (e.g. NaNO
3
) or not (e.g. NaCl). If it is a non-passivating
electrolyte, then h can be assumed to be a constant. Otherwise, it is
a function of the current density, pulse time and electrolyte
concentration. It is inuenced to a lesser extent by the build up of
the anions on the anode surface [23].
Instead of h, Kozak et al. advocate the use of the electro-
chemical machinability coefcient (k
v
) which is given by
k
v
h:k
c
r
(20)
where k
c
is the electrochemical equivalent of the workpiece
material [81]. Kozak et al. argue that k
v
should be determined
experimentally because, during alloy dissolution, the electroche-
mical equivalent of each constituent is different from that when
the constituent materials are dissolved individually. Instead of
having to determine values for two parameters (i.e. h and k
c
)
experimentally, they showed that only one is necessary, i.e. k
v
which is given by f =J
o
where J
o
is the mean current density; they
then went on to determine experimentally the value of k
v
for
passivating and activating electrolytes when machining different
alloys. For example, using a 13% water solution of NaNO
3
and
machining an alloy NC10, they obtained the relationship k
v
= 1.64
2.13e
0.034 J
which, of course, can be easily programmed into a
system.
Altena investigated the effect of current density, pulse time and
concentration on the current efciency. Fig. 10 shows one set of
Fig. 10. Current efciency for different current densities and pulse-on times for
concentration of 250 g NaNO
3
/l. [4].
Fig. 11. Predicted current efciency for different current densities and pulse-on
times [166].
V
w
V
t
lq
r
q
w
2
where N is the number of nodes on the anode surface. Zhou
and Derby also considered it as an optimization problem but
they minimized the difference between the required and
calculated shape with respect to the coefcients in the analytical
expression dening the cathode shape [179]. Like other
researchers, they showed that the number of co-efcients in
the analytical expression affects the accuracy to which the
solution converges.
Chang and Hourng developed a comprehensive model for
predicting the tool shape [14]. Using Hunts embedded technique
[55] and representing the tool and workpiece shapes as analytical
functions, they computed the cathode shape considering the
temperature increase due to Joule heating, void fractionand owin
two dimensions.
The only work to-date in predicting the inverse problem in 3-D
is by Sun et al. [155] who claim to have obtained the tool shape in
one iteration by calculating the theoretical value of the equilibrium
gap using the cos u method. They were probably able to do this
because the anode surface, in their case, was a turbine blade with a
very gentle curvature.
4. Modelling of EDM processes
4.1. Generalized model for EDM processes
4.1.1. Discharge location
The generalized model for EDMprocesses is shown in Fig. 14. In
EDM, removal occurs at the discharge spot, where a tiny crater is
generated. For each pulse, discharge occurs only at a single location
where the dielectric strength is lowest. Hence, the EDMsimulation
Feed
Wire
Tool electrode
(a) Sinking EDM
(b) Wire EDM
Gap width
Removal volume
per unit area
Depth of cut
due to feed
Unit area
Fig. 16. Non-uniform load removal and gap width due to probabilistic nature of
discharge.
S. Hinduja, M. Kunieda / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 62 (2013) 775797 784
4.1.7. Simplied and partial models
The idea that EDM can be simulated accurately by repeating all
the steps in the generalized model is not realistic or possible. It is
rather useful to simulate a part of the generalized model for
understanding the gap phenomena, optimizing the machine
control, evaluating the machining accuracy and for process
planning.
The simulation method of time-sequential repetition of the
owchart which models a single pulse discharge needs a long
calculation time, longer than the actual machining. Hence,
Tricarico et al. [164] repeatedly calculated the thickness of the
removal layer on the tool electrode and workpiece for every small
feed step taking into account the dependence of the material
removal rate on the local gap width using surface models for the
tool electrode and workpiece geometries as shown in Fig. 18. In
this simulation however, it is difcult to reproduce the gap
phenomena for each discharge.
4.1.8. Geometry considerations
Geometrical simulation in EDM needs consideration of tool
electrode wear. In the case of surface models shown in Fig. 18,
distance between adjacent nodal points decreases on the tool
electrode due to wear, whilst nodal points on the lateral surface of
the machine hole move further apart. Calculation of the direction
of the normal at each nodal point is susceptible to signicant error.
Hence, the simulation must be interrupted frequently for re-
meshing to avoid topological instability [108]. In contrast, the use
of voxel models as shown in Fig. 19, makes re-meshing
unnecessary; also the singularity problem at sharp edges can be
eliminated [109].
4.2. Modelling of a single discharge
4.2.1. Probability of discharge
To ignite an electric discharge in clean oil at an open voltage of
100 V, the gap width must be less than several microns. In the case
of EDM however, since the dielectric liquid is contaminated with
electrically conductive debris particles, whose average diameter is
even more than one third of the gap width [176], discharge can
occur at gap widths of tens of micrometres or more
[8,102,143,154]. This fact sometimes reduces the replicating
accuracy due to the uneven distribution of the debris particles.
On the other hand, the extended gap width is favourable for easy
gap control because it is difcult to keep the gap width constant at
several microns.
In order to study the inuence of debris particles, a debris
particle with a diameter of 5 mm was placed in a gap of 20 mm as
shown in Fig. 20 [89]. If it were true that the discharge occurs at a
point where the gap is shortest, then the discharge should occur at
the point where the debris particle is placed. However, experi-
mental results showed that in most cases, the discharge crater was
not generated at the point where the debris particle was placed.
This is because the probability of discharge in a certain area is
obtained from the product of the probability of discharge per unit
area and its surface area (area effect). Since the projected area of
the debris particle in the direction normal to the electrode surface
is negligible compared with the area of the electrodes
(50 mm 50 mm), the probability that discharge does not occur
on the debris is greater than the probability that the discharge
occurs on the debris. This result indicates that the discharge
location is determined in a probabilistic way and not deterministic.
Another example which indicates the importance of the
probabilistic model is already shown in Fig. 16. In sinking EDM,
when the tool electrode is fed by a distance during a certain time,
the duty of removal volume per unit area on the tool electrode is
greater at a curved surface than that at a at surface. The duty on an
inclined surface is lighter than that on a horizontal surface.
Therefore, the discharge frequency per unit area must be higher on
a convex surface, and lower on an inclined surface compared with
that on at and horizontal surfaces, respectively. To satisfy these
conditions, the gap width must be smaller on a convex surface, and
greater on an inclined surface than the corresponding gaps on a
horizontal surface. In wire EDM, the gap width distribution around
the wire is not uniform as shown in Fig. 16(b), which would not
have happened if the discharge location were to be determined
deterministically from the gap width distribution.
4.2.2. Discharge delay time
The discharge delay time depends upon the local values of the
gap width and concentration of debris particles at the discharge
location. Therefore, the discharge delay time can be used as a
measure to determine the discharge location. Moreover in reality,
the tool electrode feed is controlled based on the discharge delay
time. Hence, modelling of discharge delay time is the key to EDM
simulation.
Morimoto and Kunieda [109] quantied empirically the
average discharge delay time t
d,ave
[ms] as a function of the gap
width, gap [mm], concentration of debris particles, conc [mm
3
/
ga p
8:8
r
2:9
area
1:2
conc
1:6
(25)
The machining area is a factor because the probability of
discharge within a specic area is proportional to the ratio of its
surface area to the whole discharge area as described in the
previous section. t
d,ave
was obtained experimentally based on the
fact that the discharge delay time t
d
conforms to the exponential
distribution obtained from the Laue plot method [5,8]. The Laue
plot shows the percentage of electric insulation that does not break
down until time t after the supply of a pulse voltage [58]. Suppose a
single pulse discharge was generated N times and the number of
discharges which did not occur until time t was n, then n as a
percentage of N can be expressed by:
n
N
exp
t
t
d;ave
(26)
where t
d,ave
the average value of t
d
, is given by [107]:
t
d;ave
St
d
N
(27)
The Laue plot enables easy evaluation of the discharge delay
time, which normally has a large scatter, from the slope t
d,ave
as
shown in Fig. 21.
4.2.3. Theory of determination of discharge location
To determine the discharge location, the discharge delay time of
each voxel of the tool electrode is calculated probabilistically using
Eqs. (25) and (26). In Eq. (25), area is set to the area of each voxel.
conc and gap are the concentration of debris particles and gap
width at each voxel whose values are recalculated for every
discharge cycle. conc is dened as the volume of debris particles
divided by the volume of the gap voxels close to the voxel of the
tool electrode. The last variable r, debris diameter, can be obtained
from machining experiments. Then, using Eq. (26), the Laue plot
can be drawn for every voxel as shown by the green line in Fig. 21.
Note that the slope of the Laue plot for each voxel is signicantly
small when compared to that obtained from actual machining,
because the area of each voxel is nearly equal to the discharge
crater size which is much smaller in size than the tool electrode
surface. Thus t
d,ave
calculated for each voxel is much longer than
that in actual machining. It must be emphasized that t
d
of each
voxel should be determined probabilistically. Substituting a
random number from 1 to 100% for n/N along the vertical axis
in Fig. 21, t
d
can be calculated based on the Laue plot of each voxel
as indicated by the blue arrow. This operation is veried by the
theory of statistics which shows that, to generate a value of a
random variable X having a distribution function U = F(X), it
sufces to generate a value of a randomvariable Uthat is uniformly
distributed [107]. Since the number of voxels existing over the
machining surface is several thousands to several tens of
thousands, t
d
may even be as small as a few micro-seconds.
Therefore, if the voxel with the minimum t
d
is determined as the
discharge location, the same orders of t
d
as measured in actual
machining processes can be reproduced. Consequently, the greater
the machining area, the shorter will be the discharge delay time.
Thus, the area effect is successfully reproduced in the simulation.
4.2.4. EDM arc plasma
Since erosion in the EDM process is made by accumulation of
removal due to single discharges, the simulation model for heat
conduction in electrodes is important. With the advent of powerful
computers and numerical analysis methods, it is nowadays not
difcult to take into account the time-dependent radius of the
circular heat source and time-dependent heat ux, or temperature
dependence of thermo-physical properties of electrode materials.
However, boundary conditions such as arc plasma diameter, which
is time-dependent, and ratios of power distributed into the anode
and cathode have not yet been obtained theoretically, although
they exert a signicant inuence on the calculation results. This is
because simulation of EDM arc plasma is extremely difcult.
Hayakawa et al. [46,47] rst conducted magneto-hydrody-
namic analysis of a DC arc in air between parallel plane electrodes
under the gap conditions used in EDM. They assumed that the
species in high-temperature air which includes copper electrode
vapour are N
2
, O
2
, NO, N, O, Cu, NO
+
, N
+
, O
+
, Cu
+
, N
2+
, O
2+
, Cu
2+
and
electrons. Considering the temperature dependence of the thermo-
physical properties of the plasma, the electromagnetic eld,
temperature, pressure and velocity distributions were calculated
for the regions including both the electrodes and discharge gap.
The conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy,
Ohms law and Maxwells equations were solved. The energy
equation included Joule heating, conduction, convection, and
radiation terms. Fig. 22 shows an example of the temperature
elds. It was found that most of the discharge power is distributed
in the electrodes, and heat transfer due to convection and radiation
is negligible. Although this result is in agreement with the
experimental results of a DC arc [48], the arc which they analysed
was not in dielectric liquid but in air. The arc was not in transient
but in steady state, and removal of the electrodes was not taken
into consideration. Furthermore, the arc was assumed to be in
thermo-equilibrium, and the equations of motion of the three
species: electrons; ions and neutral particles, were not solved
separately. Thus, the gap phenomena were symmetrical between
the anode and cathode thereby making the fractions of energy
distributed to the anode and cathode equal. Consequently, it was
difcult to obtain the difference in the energy distribution between
the anode and cathode.
4.2.5. Energy distribution
When copper was used for both the anode and cathode, the
anode removal amount was greater than that at the cathode for a
Fig. 21. Evaluation of discharge delay time using Laue plot [109].
Fig. 22. Magnetohydrodynamics analysis of EDM arc coupled with heat conduction
analysis in electrodes [46].
S. Hinduja, M. Kunieda / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 62 (2013) 775797 786
discharge duration shorter than 20 ms, while it was smaller with a
discharge duration longer than 20 ms [170]. Motoki and Hashi-
guchi [110], and Van Dijck [167] explained that such a
phenomenon is caused by the variation of the energies distributed
into the anode and cathode with the discharge duration, on the
basis of the TF electron emission theory [99]. Other papers
suggest that this is due to the small mass of electrons compared to
ions, resulting in quicker impingement of electrons into the anode
surface than the slowions, which arrive at the cathode surface later
[24]. However, there is no scientic evidence that the delay of ions
can be in the order of nanoseconds or more.
On the other hand, Koenig et al. [77] measured the energy
distribution by measuring the temperature of the electrodes and
dielectric uid in consecutive pulse discharges. Xia et al. [170]
measured the energy distribution in a single discharge by
comparing the measured temperatures of the foil electrodes with
the calculated results obtained under the assumed ratio of the
energy distributed in electrodes, using a FD model and the
experimental setup shown in Fig. 23. When the calculated and
measured temperatures were in agreement, they found that the
energy distributed to the anode and cathode is about 4048% and
2534% respectively. They reported that the energy distributed to
the anode is always greater than that to the cathode and is
independent of the discharge duration. Recently, Zahiruddin et al.
[178] measured the energy distribution in micro EDM. Fig. 24
shows the overall results of energy distribution ratio versus
discharge durations. The energy distribution into the anode is
consistently greater than that into the cathode regardless of the
discharge duration.
Thus, it is obvious that the difference in the volumes removed
between the anode and cathode cannot be fully explained by the
energy distribution. Motoki et al. [111], Ikai et al. [56] and Mohri
et al. [105] explained that the amount of electrode wear is reduced
due to the protective effects of carbon layer which is formed on the
anode surface. Since a thicker carbon layer is generated when the
discharge duration is long, tool (anode) wear is smaller than that
on the workpiece (cathode) even though the energy distribution to
the anode is more.
4.2.6. Plasma diameter
Another important boundary condition is the plasma diameter.
There are many papers in which a point heat source is assumed at
the cathode spot based on the researches on gas and vacuum
discharges ignited with gap widths which are signicantly greater
than the plasma diameter. DiBitonto et al. [34] and Patel et al. [128]
obtained the energy distribution ratios into the anode and cathode
as 8% and 18%, respectively, assuming the point cathode source
model. However, there have been no photographs taken to verify
the point source model in the narrow EDM gap yet. Another
simplied model, which is widely used without evidence, assumes
that the plasma diameter is equal to the diameter of discharge
craters [180].
To obtain an evidence-based diameter, Snoeys and Van Dijck
[152,153,167] systematically analysed the temperature distribu-
tion assuming a circular heat source with time-dependent radius
and time-dependent heat ux on a semi-innite cylinder. The heat
source growth function was obtained from an iterative calculation
of the heat conduction equation by assuming that the temperature
at the centre of the heat source corresponds to the metal boiling
temperature at a pressure equal to an average pressure in the gas
bubble calculated from the thermo-dynamical model. Good
agreement was found between the calculated melting point
isothermals and those measured from pictures of the cross-
sections of the craters cut perpendicular to the surface.
Recent developments of high-speed video cameras have
facilitated measurement of the arc plasma diameter in EDM
[33,78]. The radial temperature distribution in the arc plasma was
measured by optical emission spectroscopy and the plasma area
where discharge current ows was determined based on the fact
that the degree of ionization depends on the temperature [78]. The
measured diameter of arc plasma generated in air was 0.5 mm, ve
times larger than the crater diameter as shown in Fig. 25. The
plasma completed expanding within 2 ms after dielectric break-
down, and thereafter, its diameter remained constant during
discharge. Although the expansion rate was lower when the arc
plasma was generated in a dielectric liquid, its diameter was still
greater than the crater diameter.
4.2.7. Simulation of removal
4.2.7.1. Temperature rise in electrode. Given the energy distribution
ratio, and time-dependent radius of the circular heat source as
boundary conditions, the following heat diffusion equation can be
solved to obtain the temperature distribution in the electrodes.
@
@x
k
@T
@x
@
@y
k
@T
@y
@
@z
k
@T
@z
q rc
p
@T
@t
(28)
where q is the rate at which energy is generated per unit volume of
the electrode due to Joule heating. By integrating the solution for a
point source which is liberated instantaneously at a given point
and time with regard to appropriate space and time variables, one
can obtain solutions for instantaneous and continuous sources of
any spatial conguration [12]. The analytical solutions of the
temperature distributions at time t produced by stationary
Gaussian energy distribution sources in a semi-innite solid are
given by Pittaway [133].
Fig. 23. Method to obtain energy distributed into electrode in single pulse discharge
[170].
Fig. 30. Bubbles in gap after 300 times of discharge (110 ms after start of machining,
i
e
: 19 A, t
e
: 250 ms, t
o
: 50 ms, diameter of copper electrode: 30 mm) [156].
Fig. 28. Pressure distribution in bubble generated by single pulse discharge in gap
lled with dielectric liquid.
S. Hinduja, M. Kunieda / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 62 (2013) 775797 789
Cetin et al. [13] calculated the three-dimensional uid ow in the
gap considering the suspended debris particles and obtained the
relationship between the tool lifting velocity and height and the
ushing capability. The working gap can be ushed by a fresh
dielectric uid jetted fromnozzles placed adjacent to the discharge
gap. Masuzawa et al. [103] however demonstrated through
hydrodynamic analysis that jetting of dielectric uid merely from
one direction causes increased density of debris particles in the
downstream region, resulting in uneven distribution of gap width
deteriorating the machining accuracy.
Okada et al. [124] analysed the three-dimensional uid ow
around the wire electrode when the workpiece is being cut by
WEDM as shown in Fig. 32. They investigated the inuence of the
position of the dielectric jet nozzles relative to the upper and lower
surfaces of the workpiece and ushing ow rate on the ability to
ush the debris particles out of the gap.
From these uid dynamics analyses, debris concentration can
be calculated quantitatively. However, the relationship between
the debris concentration and gap width cannot be determined
unambiguously. The gap width cannot be dened uniquely by the
debris concentration because the gap width is time dependent. The
gap width increases with the passage of time even if the tool
electrode is not fed, because discharge can still be ignited even if
the gap width is increased, although the probability of discharge
decreases. Hence, a probabilistic approach should be used to obtain
the gap width distribution from the debris concentration.
4.4. Machine control
Given the shape of the tool electrode, the workpiece shape can
be obtained precisely, only if the gap width distribution is known.
Since the gap width is determined by the servo feed control, a
precise geometrical simulation cannot be performed without an
accurate model which can reproduce the feed control of the tool
electrode. Since t
d
can be obtained for each pulse discharge using
the method described in Section 4.2.2, the moving average of the
gap voltage can be calculated from the t
d
values sampled in a
certain period of time. Thus the tool electrode can be fed forward or
backward depending on the difference between the average gap
voltage and servo reference voltage as in actual servo-control.
4.5. Empirical data required
Although the EDM process can be modelled as described in the
previous sections, certain data which can only be obtained
empirically is required. For example, a pre-requisite for the
determination of the discharge location is the evaluation of the
average discharge delay time, as expressed by Eq. (25). This
equation has to be determined experimentally for every machining
condition: open voltage; dielectric liquid; and electrode materials.
Similarly, the simulation of arc plasma is not possible and
therefore the energy distribution to the electrodes and plasma
diameter are not known. Usually researchers assume values for
these two parameters; instead they should be obtained from
experiments and then used as boundary conditions for determin-
ing the temperature distribution in electrodes.
Another importation parameter which has to be empirically
determined is the removal efciency. Its value has an important
bearing, during the geometric simulation, on the removal volumes
of anode and cathode per single pulse discharge. Even if the pulse
conditions, materials used for the electrodes, and dielectric liquid
are the same, the removal efciency will be different depending on
the working surface area and gap width [164] as shown in Fig. 33.
Other data which must be supplied are the volume of the bubble
generated by a single discharge, debris particle size, and thermo-
physical properties of the electrode materials.
5. Modelling examples in ECM and EDM
5.1. EC milling
The advantage of EC milling is that the required shape is
obtained by moving a tool of simple shape along the three
orthogonal axes. However, calculating the current density
distribution becomes more difcult as the inter-electrode gap is
now three-dimensional. Kozak et al. used an analytical method in
which they assumed a linear variation of the current through the
thickness of the inter-electrode gap [80]. This assumption helped
them to calculate the current density and simulate the machining
of a free-form surface with a spherical tool. However, their model
did not consider stray machining which is a very important
consideration especially in EC milling. Domain-based methods like
nite elements do not lend themselves readily because the mesh
would have to be re-generated with 3-D elements after each time
step.
Pattavanitch simulated and actually milled several components
varying in complexity from a simple slot [130] to the diamond-
shaped pocket with a human-shaped protrusion shown in Fig. 34
[129]. He subsequently modelled the machining of these
components with the BEM. Whilst the accuracy obtained from
the models was reasonably good, he faced several difculties in
preparing data, two of which are mentioned below.
(i) Since the pocket was machined in several axial passes, the
shape of the human gure had to be expanded and the
boundary of the pocket contracted by the cumulative overcut.
Commercial CAMprograms do not have this facility and special
routines had to be developed.
(ii) A preliminary investigation showed that the time step should
not exceed 0.1 s. Since the workpiece was machined with a feed
Start
Determination of discharge location
Removal of tool electrode and workpiece
Servo feed of tool electrode
End of machining
End
Generation and re-location of debris particles
No
Yes
Tool electrode voxels
Debris particles
Workpiece voxels
Discharge location
Fig. 39. Discharge location searching algorithm [109].
Workpiece
node(x,y,z)
Lower guide
Upper guide
Wire
x
y
z
Spark
Workpiece
Wire
Lower guide
Upper guide
Node(x,y,z)
Cell
Workpiece
node(x,y,z)
Lower guide
Upper guide
Wire
x
y
z
Spark
Workpiece
Wire
Upper guide
Node(x,y,z)
Cell
Determining discharge
location
Removing workpiece
Analyzing wire
vibration
Feeding wire electrode
Determining discharge
location
Removing workpiece
Analyzing wire
vibration
Feeding wire electrode
Lower guide
Discharge spot
x
y
z
Workpiece
Wire Upper guide
Cell
Node (x, y, z)
Determining discharge
location
Removing workpiece
Analyzing wire
vibration
Feeding wire electrode
Fig. 46. Geometrical simulation of wire EDM.