Experimental and numerical studies of electrolyte concentration effect in electrochemical discharge based micro-drilling

Abstract

Electrochemical discharge based micro-drilling (ECDD) is a hybrid machining process that involves the thermal heating of the sparks and etching action of the electrolyte for material removal mechanism. The concentration of the electrolyte plays a vital role in determining the material removal rate (MRR) during the micro-hole drilling process since a higher depth is desired. Despite numerous experimental studies, the reporting of numerical studies concerning the effect of electrolyte concentration on MRR is still scarce. The present article focuses on the development of a finite element based thermal model for studying the MRR of glass material concerning electrolyte concentration. The model is validated using previously reported as well as present experimental studies. MRR is observed to be in fair agreement with the experimental MRR. Results revealed that the MRR improves with the increase in electrolyte concentration due to the increase in the imported heat flux over the work material. MRR improvement is the combined result of an increase in thermal energy as well as an increase in hydroxide (OH) ions that further enhances the chemical etching action. The present study successfully demonstrates the application of numerical aspects for analyzing the MRR in the ECDD process concerning electrolyte concentration.