Electro-thermal-based finite element simulation and experimental validation of material removal in static gap singlespark die-sinking electro-discharge machining process

Existing single spark models are subjected to too simplistic assumptions such as uniform or point heat source, constant plasma radius, invariable materials properties and constant surface temperature during discharge making them far from reality. In this study, more realistic assumptions including Gaussian type distribution of spark heat flux, temperature dependent materials properties, latent heat of melting and expanding plasma channel with pulse current and time have been made to establish a comprehensive modeling platform. The ABAQUS FEM software has been used to simulate the mechanism of crater formation due to a single discharge. The non-uniform thermal flux was programmed through the DFLUX subroutine. The simulation results show that the temperature of work piece decreases as the discharge time increases while the volume of melted and evaporated material increases. A specially designed single spark experimental set-up was developed in laboratory to carry out a few single spark tests for verification purposes. The obtained craters morphologies were examined by optical microscopy and scanning profilometer. It has been shown that the present approach outperforms other previously developed thermal models with respect to cavity outline and size possessing the maximum confirmation errors of 18.1% and 14.1% in predicting crater radius and depth, respectively. Parametric analysis reveals that the melting boundary moves onward by increasing discharge current, whereas it moves back prolonging discharge time. Finally, a closer proximity to experimental material removal rates than those predicted by analytical approach has been recognized which confirms its more precise generalization capabilities towards the real state EDM process.