Electrical discharge machining of ceramic matrix composites with ceramic fiber reinforcements

Ceramic matrix composites (CMC) are considered the next generation of advanced materials used in space and aviation due to their high-temperature strength, creep resistance, chemical resistance, low porosity, and low density. However, these materials are difficult to process owing to the large cutting force and high cost on tool consumption. electrical discharge machining (EDM), featured by the negligible machining force and acceptable tooling cost, is a potential nontraditional machining technique for CMC. In this paper, EDM was used to process a new class of advanced CMC, that is, those with continuous ceramic fiber reinforcements. The challenge is its low material removal rate (MRR) due to the low workpiece conductivity and debris evacuation efficiency. Electrode vibration and dielectric deep flushing were used to promote debris evacuation, and an increase of MRR and surface quality without sacrificing tool wear ratio was observed. Gap voltage, peak current, pulse duration, and duty ratio were studied using design of experiments for deeper understanding of the process. The effect of these parameters was investigated, and an analysis of variance was conducted. The optimal condition was also predicted and experimentally validated. It was found that a high gap voltage or low duty ratio leads to a high machining rate due to improved debris evacuation efficiency. The material removal mechanism was found to be cracking due to thermal expansion of the matrix and breakage of the nonconductive fibers.