Analysis of spark eroded crater formed under growing plasma channel in electro-discharge machining

In electro-discharge machining, the occurrence of sparks cause material removal in the form of craters. These craters are due to melting and vaporization of workpiece over a localized area under the spark, which acts as the heat source. The crater under a single spark has been predicted by theoretical models adopting different approaches in solving the transient heat conduction equation, considering suitable assumptions with appropriate initial and boundary conditions. In the present work, a transient thermal model for a very large solid cylinder has been used to predict the size of the crater obtained under a single spark by determining the melting isotherm in both the axial and radial directions. An analytical study of the effect of plasma channel radius, heat flux, and pulse duration on the size of the crater has been made. Experiments are conducted using a commercial electro-discharge machine. The craters are measured under microscope and a comparison with theoretical results is presented. Subsequently, the nature of variation of crater diameter, crater depth and volume of material removed with respect to different machining parameters such as 'ON' time, 'OFF' time, and current have been explained by the theoretical results and it has been concluded that the plasma channel grows with respect to pulse duration such that at the end of the pulse the plasma channel radius becomes equal to the crater radius.