Grinding-aided electrochemical discharge machining of particulate reinforced metal matrix composites

A grinding-aided electrochemical discharge machining (G-ECDM) process has been developed to improve the performance of the conventional ECDM process in machining particulate reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs). The G-ECDM process functions under a combined action of electrochemical dissolution, spark erosion, and direct mechanical grinding. The tool electrode has a coating containing a hard reinforcement phase of diamond particles. The MMC employed in this study was Al₂O₃ particulate reinforced aluminum 6061 alloy. The material removal mechanism of this hybrid process has been analyzed. The results showed that the grinding action can effectively remove re-cast material deposited on the machining surface. The surface roughness (R _a) measured for the G-ECDM specimen was ten times smaller than that of the specimen machined without grinding aid (i.e., ECDM alone). Moreover, the material removal rate (MRR) of G-ECDM was about three times higher than that of ECDM under the experimental conditions of this study. The voltage waveform and crater distribution were also analyzed, and the experimental results showed that the G-ECDM process operates in a stable condition. The relative importance of the various processing parameters on MRR was established using orthogonal analysis. The results showed that MRR is influenced by the machining parameters in the order of duty cycle?>?current?>?electrolyte concentration. This study showed that the G-ECDM process is superior to the ECDM process for machining particulate reinforced MMCs, where a higher machining efficiency and a better surface quality can be obtained.     

Analysis and predictive modeling of performance parameters in electrochemical drilling process

In this paper, the effect of feed rate, voltage, and flow rate of electrolyte on some performance parameters such as surface roughness, material removal rate, and over-cut of SAE-XEV-F valve-steel during electrochemical drilling in NaCl and NaNo₃ electrolytic solutions have been studied using the main effect plot, the interaction plot and the ANOVA analysis. In continuation, in this case which the training dataset was small, an investigation has been done on the capability of the optimum presented regression analysis (RA), artificial neural network (ANN), and co-active neuro-fuzzy inference system (CANFIS) to predict the surface roughness, material removal rate and over-cut. The predicted parameters by the employed models have been compared with the experimental data. The comparison of results indicated that in electrochemical drilling using different electrolytic solutions, CANFIS gives the best results to predict the surface roughness and over-cut as well, while ANN is the best for predicting the material removal rate.     

Multiple-response optimisation of electrochemical grinding characteristics through response surface methodology

This paper comprehensively evaluates the influence of voltage and cutting speed on electrochemical grinding of composite carbide inserts. A complete 4² factorial experiment was planned and carried out where each treatment combination has been replicated twice to achieve an acceptable degree of precision. Mathematical models have been developed for the major performance indices like current density, material removal rate (MRR) and surface finish of the job by multiple linear regression analysis. Then multiple-response optimisation has been carried out to find the optimum parameter settings to get a desired yield both by desirability functions as well as by contour overlapping method. It has been found that passivation occurs increasingly at higher voltages and it is removed almost instantaneously at higher speed leading to higher current density and MRR. The surface finish is not very much dependent on grinding speed. The optimum surface finish is obtainable at 12 to 13 V (app.) in electrochemical grinding of composite carbides.     

氮化硅陶瓷球研磨去除机制试验与仿真研究

为研究研磨过程中氮化硅陶瓷球的材料去除形式及磨损行为,结合陶瓷材料动态压痕断裂力学理论,进行陶瓷球研磨加工试验,采用超景深三维显微镜和扫描电镜对研磨后陶瓷球表面进行观察,同时建立单颗金刚石磨粒冲击作用有限元模型并进行仿真研究。试验结果表明:氮化硅陶瓷球表面材料去除以脆性断裂去除和粉末化去除为主,陶瓷球表面残留有大量贝壳状缺陷和呈簇状随机分布的粉末化材料区域;研磨过程中,陶瓷球表面存在擦伤、划伤和凹坑等缺陷;磨粒冲击作用时,表面材料会受微切削作用产生破碎去除,同时也会受挤压作用产生脆性断裂去除,当磨粒以滚动方式作用在陶瓷球表面时,陶瓷球表面更容易形成粉末化去除,且材料去除率更高。仿真结果表明:各磨粒冲击作用方式产生的最大等效应力由大到小的顺序为滚动磨粒变切深、滚动磨粒定切深、磨粒挤压、滑动磨粒定切深,其中,滚动磨粒变切深产生的亚表面裂纹最深。     

Cu-3镍铜合金砂带磨削试验研究

分析了Cu-3镍铜合金砂带磨削加工过程中,砂带粒度和磨削用量的不同对磨削加工效率、工件表面质量和砂带磨损的影响。采用氧化铝磨料砂带在不同的砂带线速度或磨削压力下对镍铜合金进行了工艺试验,对材料去除量、工件表面粗糙度和砂带磨损量进行了测量。研究表明:增加砂带线速度和磨削压力可在一定程度上提高材料去除率和磨削比;随着磨削压力的增大,工件表面粗糙度呈增大趋势;随着砂带粒度的增大,工件表面粗糙度呈减小趋势;砂带线速度为25m/s,磨削压力为43N,砂带粒度为P240时,镍铜合金综合磨削效果最好。     

Investigation into electrochemical micromachining (EMM) through response surface methodology based approach

Electrochemical micromachining (EMM) could be used as one the best micromachining technique for machining electrically conducting, tough and difficult to machine material with appropriate machining parameters combination. This paper attempts to establish a comprehensive mathematical model for correlating the interactive and higher-order influences of various machining parameters, i.e. machining voltage pulse on/off ratio, machining voltage, electrolyte concentration, voltage frequency and tool vibration frequency on the predominant micromachining criteria, i.e. the material removal rate and the radial overcut through response surface methodology (RSM), utilizing relevant experimental data as obtained through experimentation. Validity and correctiveness of the developed mathematical models have also been tested through analysis of variance. Optimal combination of these predominant micromachining process parameters is obtained from these mathematical models for higher machining rate with acuuracy. Considering MRR and ROC simultaneously optimum values of predominant process parameters have been obtained as; pulse on/off ratio, 1.0, machining voltage, 3 V, electrolyte concentration, 15 g/l, voltage frequency of 42.118 Hz and tool vibration frequency as 300 Hz. The effects of various process parameters on the machining rate and radial overcut are also highlighted through different response surface graphs. Condition of machined micro-holes are also exhibited through the SEM micrographs in this paper. Pulse voltage pattern during electrochemical micromachining process has been analyzed with the help of voltage graphs. Irregularities in the nature of pulse voltage pattern during electrochemical micromachining have been observed and the causes of these irregularities are further investigated.     

Analysis of effect of voltage on surface texture in electrochemical grinding by autocorrelation function

The major difficulty faced in electrochemical grinding (ECG) of composite materials is poor surface integrity because of differential dissolution rates of different ingredients present in those materials. In the present investigation an experimental study, organized by statistical procedure, was made to evaluate the effect of the major controllable parameter ‘voltage’ on the surface finish of P-20 grade cemented carbide. The surface roughness data were analyzed for different voltages. The values of autocorrelation function for different values of lag period were calculated. The periodicity and randomness of surface roughness were identified. They are compared with the similar observations on the conventional diamond grinding of the same material in ECG environment with no application of voltage. A non-dimensional parameter was introduced for that purpose and was termed as ‘periodicity to randomness index’. An attempt was made to find out the relative contribution of the electrolytic dissolution under the chosen experimental conditions.     

Quantitative characterization of surface damage to WC-cobalt composites by electrochemical grinding

Electrochemical grinding (ECG) of WC-cobalt cemented carbides leads to poor surface quality which can be attributed to the faster electrochemical dissolution velocity into the cobalt phase than into the carbide phase. A method for measuring the degree and depth of damage in the WC-cobalt surface layer, weakened by preferential electrochemical removal of cobalt after ECG, is developed based upon an analysis of the mechanical grinding transient which occurs after switching off the electrical current for ECG. The degree of weakening is expressed as the ratio of the specific grinding energy of the material in the surface layer to the normal specific grinding energy. It is found that surface damage from ECG can reduce the specific grinding energy by as much as a factor of 10 at the finished surface, and that the depth of the damaged layer is shallower with a lower current density and a faster infeed velocity.     

部分稳定氧化锆PSZ高效深磨磨削力试验研究

本文对部分发稳定氧化锆陶瓷（Panialy stabilized Zirconia，PSZ）在高效深磨条件下的磨削力进行了试验研究，分析了各种因素对磨削力的影响，并与其它磨削方式的PSZ陶瓷作了比较和综合分析。分析表明：PSZ陶瓷在高效深磨条件下，当比材料去除率一定时，工作台速度的变化对磨削力的影响比切深的变化对磨削力的影响大；磨削力与普通磨削相比较大，比材料去除率是普通磨削的几十倍；材料去除模式以显微塑性去除为主，磨削工件表面质量较好。     

A particle swarm approach for grinding process optimization analysis

Optimization is necessary for the control of any process to achieve better product quality, high productivity with low cost. The grinding of silicon carbide is not an easy task due to its low fracture toughness, therefore making the material sensitive to cracking. The efficient grinding involves the optimal selection of operating parameters to maximize the material removal rate (MRR) while maintaining the required surface finish and limiting surface damage. In this work, optimization based on the available model has been carried out to obtain optimum parameters for silicon carbide grinding via particle swarm optimization (PSO) based on the objective of maximizing MRR with reference to surface finish and damage. Based on statistical analysis for various constraint values of surface roughness and number of flaws, simulation results obtained for this machining process for PSO are comparatively better to genetic algorithm (GA) approach. In addition, the post-optimal robustness of PSO has also been studied. From simulation results together with the proposed robustness measurement method, it has been shown that PSO is a convergent stable algorithm.     

单颗磨粒高速磨削45钢和20Cr钢的研究

进行单颗磨粒高速磨削45钢和20Cr钢的试验。研究塑性隆起、面积去除比率和切屑形态,以及速度、磨削截面积对单颗磨粒磨削力的影响。基于摩擦系数的数学模型和试验结果,获得单颗磨粒磨削的摩擦系数。讨论了速度、材料和磨粒对摩擦系数的影响。     

Investigation into the blade-formation process in electrochemical trepanning of diffusers

Abstract

Electrochemical trepanning process is an advanced manufacturing technology suitable for the machining of aero-engine components such as blades and diffusers. Tool-electrode (cathode) with special electrical isolation is adopted in the experimental investigations of this article using the electrochemical trepanning to produce a flow mode in which the electrolyte is supplied evenly to the blade being machined. The material removal model for these experiments is built based on the main technical principles of the ECM. For a better understanding of the electrochemical trepanning process during the machining of a blade, computer simulations were previously conducted aiming to observe the geometric shaping of the inter-electrode gap. The shaping process dynamic was analyzed and the distribution of electrical field intensity within the gap has been obtained under different feed rates of the tool-electrode relative to the blade. The profile of the cross-section of the blade was evaluated through the simulation, thus indicating that the blade’s taper angler decrease by increasing the feed rate. Also, practical experiments have been carried out, where the corresponding experimental results proved the simulation was effective. The best taper angle (0.70°) resulted from a machining condition in setting up a feed rate of 4?mm/min, whereas 3.72° was produced using 1?mm/min. Furthermore, a sector with multiple blades was electrochemically manufactured with the optimal set up of experimental parameters, being that the machining accuracy was about 0.12?mm. The application reflected that the method proposed in this article is appropriate and can be used for other complex structures in electrochemical trepanning.     

Surface characteristics of ECMed titanium work samples for biomedical applications

Electrochemical machining (ECM) process has great potential on account of the versatility of its applications. ECM is being widely used in the manufacturing industry because hard metals can be machined regardless of the mechanical property of a work piece. Titanium is broadly used in a number of fields such as aerospace, power generation, automotive, chemical including petrochemical, and sporting goods. Apart from these applications, it has tremendous prospective in dental, medical industries, and biomedical engineering. The biological performance of titanium implant depends on their surface topography and form accuracy that includes various surface parameters. ECM is one of the alternative machining processes that can be applied to the machining of titanium implant for biomedical applications. The aim of this paper is to present experimental result of surface characteristics obtained on titanium samples, utilizing developed cross-flow electrolyte supply system in electrochemical machining. It is observed that electrolyte flow velocity and voltage between electrodes are some of the influencing parameters, which affect the surface characteristics. Titanium oxide layer has been generated on the machined surface, which facilitates the improvement of the corrosion and chemical resistance of titanium implant. Effects of electrolyte flow velocity and voltage during electrochemical machining process for generation of various surface characteristics have been successfully studied through experimentation. In the present work, the obtained surface roughness values on the titanium sample machined by ECM were in the range of 2.4 to 2.93???m, which is within acceptable value for the implants. Effects of electrolyte flow velocity and voltage on the material removal rate and machining accuracy in the form of overcut are also presented in the paper.     

Enhancement of surface roughness in electrochemical machining of Ti6Al4V by pulsating electrolyte

Electrochemical machining (ECM) is widely used in machining a variety of components used in aerospace, defence, automotive and medical applications. The surface roughness of the ECM process has become important because of increased quality demands. Considerable attention has been paid to achieving low surface roughness in ECM. Surface roughness is closely related to the distribution of gases and Joule heat produced during the ECM process, which affect the electrolyte electric conductivity and directly determine the surface roughness. In this report, a pulsating electrolyte, which is one of the unsteady flows that are characterized by periodic fluctuations of the mass flow rate and pressure, is first introduced to the ECM process. The ECM process is affected by the pulsating electrolyte because it can modify the heat transfer. The goal of this report is to present experimental results of the surface roughness obtained on Ti6Al4V samples using a developed pulsating electrolyte supply system in ECM. It is observed that a lower surface roughness and higher material removal rate could be obtained by using a pulsating electrolyte with proper pulsating frequency and amplitude. In direct current ECM, the surface roughness Ra is 5.7 μm, the material removal rate is 0.85 g/min at a constant electrolyte, the lowest surface roughness is 3.69 μm and the largest material removal rate is 0.92 g/min, which are obtained at a pulsating frequency of 10 Hz and amplitude of 0.2 MPa. In pulsed current ECM, the surface roughness Ra and material removal rate are 0.67 μm and 0.38 g/min at a constant electrolyte, respectively, and both the minimum surface roughness Ra of 0.53 μm and maximum material removal rate of 0.39 g/min are observed when the proper pulsating electrolyte flow frequency and amplitude are used.     

Predictive Modeling of Surface Roughness in Grinding of Ceramics

The surface roughness represents the quality of ground surface since irregularities on the surface may form nucleation for cracks or corrosion and thus degrade the mechanical properties of the component. The surface generation mechanism in grinding of ceramic materials could behave as a mixture of plastic flow and brittle fracture, while the extent of the mixture hinges upon certain process parameters and material properties. The resulting surface profile can be distinctively different from these two mechanisms. In this article, a physics-based model is proposed to predict the surface roughness in grinding of ceramic materials considering the combined effect of brittle and ductile material removal. The random distribution of cutting edges is first described by a Rayleigh probability function. Afterwards, surface profile generated by brittle mode grinding is characterized via indentation mechanics approach. Last, the surface roughness is modeled through a probabilistic analysis of ductile and brittle generated surface profile. The model expresses the surface finish as a function of the wheel microstructure, the process conditions, and the material properties. The predictions are compared with experimental results from grinding of silicon carbide and silicon nitride workpieces (SiC and Si₃N₄, respectively) using a diamond wheel.     

纳米ZrO_2陶瓷二维超声磨削温度实验研究

磨削参数的选择对工件表层磨削温度有着重要影响。本文采用人工热电偶法,通过普通磨削和二维超声振动磨削的对比实验,重点分析了对纳米ZrO2陶瓷平面磨削温度影响最大的磨削参数——磨削深度的影响。实验表明当磨削深度超过临界磨削深度时,陶瓷材料的被去除机理将由塑性去除转变为脆性去除破坏,磨削温度也显著升高。此外,本文还从粒径角度对纳米ZrO2陶瓷材料的磨削温度进行了实验研究和分析。     

Experimental investigation on the electrochemical machining of 00Cr12Ni9Mo4Cu2 material and multi-objective parameters optimization

Special stainless steel 00Cr12Ni9Mo4Cu2 has multiple composition and inhomogeneous tissues; short circuiting will frequently occur when using conventional electrolyte processing. This article analyzes the reason why the process of machining is difficult from the material composition and structure. We used the NaNO₃ and NaClO₃ electrolyte composite to select the appropriate concentration, and then by using the orthogonal experiment and gray relational analysis method, we discussed how the voltage, feed speed, and electrolyte pressure solved the problem of the material removal rate (MRR), surface roughness (SR), and side gap. Under optimal conditions of 20 V, an electrolyte composite concentration of 178 g/l NaNO₃ and 41 g/l NaClO₃, a feed rate of 0.7 mm/min, and an electrolyte pressure of 0.8 MPa, a material removal rate of 100.8 mm3/min, a surface roughness of Ra 0.8 μm, and a side gap of 0.16 mm were produced. Given the same voltage, with an increasing cathode feed rate, the MRR was shown to increase while the surface roughness value and the side gap decreased. Under the same cathode feed rate, the MRR decreases, while the side gap and the surface roughness increase as the electrochemical machining application voltage increases. This study proves that using a certain concentration of electrolyte composite is a simple, low-cost, and feasible approach in improving efficiency and quality.     

The coupled effect of magnetic field,electric field,and electrolyte motion on the material removal amount in electrochemical machining

Electrochemical machining (ECM) has a strong advantage in dealing with difficult-to-machine materials and complex shaped parts. In order to improve machining accuracy, some researchers, based on the principle of interactions between the magnetic field and electric field, proposed the magnetic field-assisted ECM technology that is advantageous in improving surface roughness and facilitating material removal amount. Pitifully, little attention has been attached to effects of the coupled magnetic field, electric field, and electrolyte motion on the amount of materials removed. This paper aims to find out how arrangements of magnetic fields and coupled of the three energy (which were magnetic field, electric field, and electrolyte motion) will work on the amount of material removed in ECM. Here established a Navier-Stokes equation and a model of material removal amount in the anode under the electromagnetic field. Physical and mathematical models of the electrolyte’s flow characteristics and material removal amount were constructed through the COMSOL Multiphysics software, and simulations were carried out. An experiment was implemented to test models and the simulations. Simulation results indicated that different arrangements of the magnetic field had delivered different impacts on flow characteristics of the flow field and material removal amount. Experiment results revealed that the material removal amount had increased regardless of arrangements of magnetic fields and that the flow rate of the electrolyte had played a role in this connection. The study involved in this paper showed that the introduction of the magnetic field worked favorably to lift the material removal amount and that arrangements of magnetic fields also had the same effect in this regard. Also, it was found that a growing flow rate of the electrolyte had hindered the increases of the material removal amount.     

A GRINDING-BASED MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR SILICON WAFERS: DECOMPOSITION ANALYSIS OF WAFER SURFACES

It is difficult for the lapping-based manufacturing method currently used to manufacture the majority of silicon wafers to meet the ever-increasing demand for flatter wafers at lower costs. A grinding-based manufacturing method for silicon wafers has been investigated. It has been demonstrated that the site flatness on the ground wafers (except for a few sites at the wafer center) could meet the stringent specifications for future silicon wafers. The generation mechanisms of the dimples and bumps in the central areas on ground wafers have also been studied. This paper reports another study on the grinding-based method, aiming to reduce the cost of chemical-mechanical polishing – the final material removal process in manufacturing of silicon wafers. Using design of experiments, investigations were carried out to understand the influences of grinding process variables on the peak-to-valley values of the polished wafer surfaces. It was found that the peak-to-valley values over the entire wafer surfaces did not show any relationship with grinding process variables. However, after analyzing the surface profiles by decomposing them into different frequencies, it was observed that there is a correlation between grinding process variables and certain surface feature components. Based on this finding, it is recommended to optimize the grinding process variables by minimizing the peak-to-valley values for each surface feature component, one at a time. This methodology has not been published for wafer grinding and is of practical use to the wafer industry.     

A GRINDING-BASED MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR SILICON WAFERS: DECOMPOSITION ANALYSIS OF WAFER SURFACES

It is difficult for the lapping-based manufacturing method currently used to manufacture the majority of silicon wafers to meet the ever-increasing demand for flatter wafers at lower costs. A grinding-based manufacturing method for silicon wafers has been investigated. It has been demonstrated that the site flatness on the ground wafers (except for a few sites at the wafer center) could meet the stringent specifications for future silicon wafers. The generation mechanisms of the dimples and bumps in the central areas on ground wafers have also been studied. This paper reports another study on the grinding-based method, aiming to reduce the cost of chemical-mechanical polishing - the final material removal process in manufacturing of silicon wafers. Using design of experiments, investigations were carried out to understand the influences of grinding process variables on the peak-to-valley values of the polished wafer surfaces. It was found that the peak-to-valley values over the entire wafer surfaces did not show any relationship with grinding process variables. However, after analyzing the surface profiles by decomposing them into different frequencies, it was observed that there is a correlation between grinding process variables and certain surface feature components. Based on this finding, it is recommended to optimize the grinding process variables by minimizing the peak-to-valley values for each surface feature component, one at a time. This methodology has not been published for wafer grinding and is of practical use to the wafer industry.