Utilization of flow field simulations for cathode design in electrochemical machining of aerospace engine blisk channels

Electrochemical machining (ECM) cathode flow field design is crucial to machining aerospace engine blisk channels. In order to reduce the cathode design cycle and cost in machining, 3D cathodes and flow field simulation model were developed to facilitate analysis the flow fields in reversed flow patterns. The electrolyte flow line was determined by the distributions of electrolyte pressure, the diameter of the back orifice, and the areas of the back orifices in locations A, B, and C. The simulation results were utilized to analyze the influence of the electrolyte flow line. To verify the accuracy of the simulation, the experiments were carried out. The simulation results were consistent with the experiment data. It indicates that electrolyte flow field simulation is an effective method to optimize cathode design. Utilizing this methodology can improve the ECM cathode design efficiency and reduce cathode revision time.     

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.     

电磁流变效应微磨头加工的电磁耦合协同作用机理实验

采用正交试验方法比较了锥形工具旋转和工作台旋转两种状态下的定点加工效果,实验研究了微磨头加工过程中的电磁耦合协同作用机理。在电磁耦合场中,固相粒子被极化形成电偶极子。当锥形工具旋转时,旋转的电偶极子由于洛伦兹力引起的自旋力偶的作用发生原位振动,对工件表面产生有规律的冲击,促进了材料去除,相对于工作台旋转模式其材料去除深度明显加大;但在电磁场较弱的微磨头外围,原位振动会对链串结构造成破坏,从而减小材料去除范围。电磁场耦合方式对电磁流变协同效应有很大影响,磁场励磁电压对材料去除的影响程度最大,其次是电场电压和旋转速度。在本文试验条件下,当锥形工具旋转且励磁电压较低(5V)时具有较好的电磁流变协同加工效果。     

嵌入磁路的电解加工技术

为提高电解加工精度,基于磁场和电场相互作用原理,设计了两种镶嵌磁路的阴极。分析了磁场对双电层液相3种传质方式的影响,提出将多极内封闭渐变磁路和多极外封闭渐变磁路组合后嵌入电解加工装置的方法。试验表明,沿阴极体周边均匀镶贴永磁体的阴极,加工时磁力线与电解液流动方向正交,可消除分股束流、空穴, 改善电解加工流场,改善工件表面粗糙度;顺阴极轴向在阴极头内嵌入永磁体,加强了反应物质向加工区传质的速度,提高了集中蚀除的能力,可有效减轻杂散腐蚀。对电解套料沿阴极内壁采用多极内封闭渐变磁路镶贴永磁体;对非铁异形孔加工,为进一步加强间隙磁场,可采用在阴极外表面镶嵌多极外封闭渐变磁路,在工件外套一多极内封闭渐变磁路形成组合磁场。     

Optimize the flow field during counter-rotating electrochemical machining of grid structures through an auxiliary internal fluid flow pattern

Flow field distribution plays a vital role in electrochemical machining (ECM) because it can directly affect the machining stability and accuracy of ECM. In counter-rotating electrochemical machining (CRECM), the uniformity of the flow field is difficult to control due to the complicated and changeable flow channel shape. Through the simulation of the conventional lateral fluid flow pattern, it is found that the complexity of the flow channel with grid structures makes the flow field of machining area strongly disordered, which leads to the low velocity zones and dead zones. Based on the simulation results, a new electrolyte flow pattern with an auxiliary internal fluid is proposed, which can remarkably improve the uniformity of flow field by apply supplementary electrolyte to the machining area. Experimental results show that the new flow pattern effectively improves the machining stability of CRECM, and enhances the machining precision of grid structures, the sidewall taper angle is reduced from 29.3° to 7.7°.     

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.     

Flow field design and experimental investigation of electrochemical machining on blisk cascade passage

Electrochemical machining (ECM) provides an economical and effective way for machining heat-resistant, high-strength materials into complex shapes that are difficult to machine using conventional methods. It has been applied in several industries, especially aerospace, to manufacture blisk. The electrolyte flow field is a critical factor in ECM process stability and precision. To improve the process stability and the efficiency of blisk cascade passages, ECM with a radial feeding electrode, a rational electrolyte flow mode for electrochemical machining called “Π shape flow mode”, is discussed in the paper. Three flow field models are described separately in this report: traditional lateral flow mode, positive flow mode and Π-shaped flow mode, and the electrolyte velocity and pressure distribution vectors for each flow mode are calculated by means of a finite element fluid analysis method. The simulation results show that the electrolyte flow is more uniform with the Π-shaped flow mode. The deformation of the cathode, which is caused by the pressure difference, is also analysed in this report. The cascade passage ECM with a radial feeding electrode was experimentally tested out to evaluate the rationality of the flow field, and the fluctuation of current during the process was less than 1 %, which means that the process that uses the Π-shaped flow mode is stable. The feeding velocity of the cathode with the Π-shaped flow mode is approximately 70 % higher than that with the other two flow modes, and the incidences of short circuiting are obviously decreased. The surface roughness of the blisk hub is only 0.15 μm, and the machining error of the hub is less than 0.1 mm. The results demonstrate that using the Π-shaped flow mode can enhance the quality, stability and efficiency of blisk cascade passage ECM.     

阵列微沟槽的场域离散脉冲电解加工技术

针对难加工金属材料表面阵列非贯穿型微沟槽的高效高质量加工难题,提出一种场域离散脉冲电解加工方法,所加工沟槽具有表面质量好、尺寸微小、槽数多、沟槽前后非贯穿的特点。使用绝缘栅栏隔板作为活动掩模板对各微沟槽加工区进行离散,同时遮蔽非加工区,从而实现流场隔离和非加工区电场屏蔽等效果,有效提高沟槽的加工稳定性、精度和一致性。通过设计专用夹具,对影响加工精度的关键因素进行了单因素工艺实验研究,并利用Comsol Multiphysics软件对电解加工的流场和电场进行了仿真分析。仿真和试验结果显示:场域离散加工方法的流场和电场都比传统的掩膜电解加工、电解转印加工好。成功地在1min内加工出9条宽538.76μm,深25.78μm,过切量为19.38μm的阵列微沟槽,证实了该方法的有效性。采用短加工时间、低脉冲电压幅值、高脉冲频率、小脉冲占空比等工艺参数,有利于提高沟槽的加工精度。通过场域离散电解加工技术,可以实现对非贯穿型微沟槽的高效率、高质量、低成本加工。     

基于电场和流场耦合的微坑电解加工数值研究

表面织构技术能够有效降低摩擦副表面摩擦和磨损。以方形微坑电解加工为对象,充分考虑加工中电场与流场相互关系建立了耦合场理论模型,采用数值计算方法得到了耦合场电势分布、电流密度分布和体积分数分布等,探讨了入口压力与出口最大氢气体积分数的影响关系,研究结果可为方形微坑电解加工提供一定的参考。最后开展了方形微坑电解加工实验,得到了方形微坑实验件。     

旋转超声电解复合加工小孔流场仿真

为解决电解加工深小孔中电解液难以进入加工区和电解产物难以排出的问题,构建了内喷式旋转超声电解复合加工装置,进行了电解加工、旋转电解加工和旋转超声电解复合加工小孔的对比试验。试验结果表明,阴极旋转能明显提高孔的圆度,旋转超声电解复合加工具有最大的平均加工电流,所加工孔的直径、深度都为三者中最大,表明其材料去除率是最大的。在此基础上,利用有限元ANSYS CFX软件,建立了气液两相流三维气穴模型,分析了阴极旋转和阴极高频振动对电解加工流场、电场的影响。仿真结果表明：阴极旋转使得气泡在阴极表面聚集,不利于气泡的排出,阴极振动加速了电解液的运动,有利于气泡的排出,因此具有最大的材料去除率。     

脉动态电解加工多场耦合仿真分析及试验研究

为了掌握脉动态电解加工多物理场耦合机制,针对直流电解加工和脉动态电解加工两种加工模式建立了包含电场、流场、传热和气泡的数学模型来开展多物理场耦合仿真分析,研究不同加工间隙下多物理场耦合作用对电流密度分布的影响,通过试验对仿真结果进行了验证。     

An experimental study on the effect of magnetic field orientations and electrolyte concentrations on ECDM milling performance of glass

In this work, effects of magnetic field orientation, machining voltage and electrolyte concentration on electrochemical discharge machining (ECDM) performance have been studied. The microchannels have been machined on the glass substrate; microchannel's depth and surface quality have been taken as indexes of machining characteristic. Experimental results show that the Lorenz force of magnetic field affects a direction of bubble's motion, consequently, changes the electrochemical discharge behavior of electrolyte. The presence of magnetic field causes magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) convection which, by its turn, accelerates the repulsion of the bubbles from the cathodic surface. However, it should mention that the direction of bubble movement depends on the magnetic field orientation. If the magnetic field orientation induces upward Lorenz force (downward Lorenz force), the gas bubbles will repel from (will attract to) inter-electrode area. The obtained results demonstrate that when the magnetic field applies, the machined surface will be smoother for the lower concentration values of electrolyte and higher machining voltages. Enhancements of both the machining voltage and electrolyte concentration increase the machining depth. For the same values of applied voltages, application of magnetic field will also increase the machining depth in a certain machining process duration; this will be intensified for the lower values of electrolyte concentration. The results of this study explain how the combination of the magnetic field orientation and the values of machining voltage and electrolyte concentration should be defined in order to increase both the channel depth and surface quality.     

Cutting tool wear monitoring for reliability analysis using proportional hazards model

Electrochemical machining (ECM) is an important technology in machining difficult-to-cut materials and to shape free-form surfaces. In ECM, material is removed by electrochemical dissolution process, so part is machined without inducing residual stress and without tool wear. To improve technological factors in electrochemical machining, introduction of electrode tool ultrasonic vibration is justifiable. This method is called as ultrasonically assisted electrochemical machining (USAECM). In the first part of the paper, the analysis of electrolyte flow through the gap during USAECM has been presented. Based on computational fluid dynamic methods, multiphase, turbulent and unsteady electrolyte flow between anode and cathode (under assumption that cavitation phenomenon occurs) has been analysed. Discussion of the obtained solutions is the base to define optimal conditions of electrolyte flow in case of USAECM process. The second part of the paper is connected with experimental investigations of USAECM process. Classic experimental verification of obtained results in case of machining is extremely difficult, but influence of the ultrasonic vibration can be observed indirectly by changes in technological factors (in comparison to machining without ultrasonic intensification), whereas results of numerical simulation give possibility to understand reason and direction of technological factors changes. Investigations proved that ultrasonic vibrations change conditions of electrochemical dissolution and for optimal amplitude of vibration gives possibility to decrease the electrode polarisation.     

双叶片套型电解加工流场设计及优化

具有大小双叶片的扩压器能够改善压气机的性能,在航空发动机中得到广泛应用。此类构件多采用高温合金等难切削材料制造,传统铣削加工存在刀具损耗等问题。电解加工技术具有无机械切削力、工具阴极无损耗等特点。提出一种双叶片套型电解加工的方法,基于法向流程等距的原则设计了叶间出液通道,建立了出液通道宽度递增的流道模型,开展了流场仿真研究,当出液通道的宽度为0.9 mm时,加工区域内电解液的流速分布最均匀。选择GH4169材料进行了双叶片套型电解加工的对比试验,试验结果表明,采用叶间出液的电解液流动方式,加工稳定性得到提高,阴极进给速度由0.6 mm/min提高至1.0 mm/min,材料去除速率达到1 396.5 mm³/min,叶片锥度降低至1：14.29以下,轮毂表面形貌得到改善。     

磁场复合电解加工流场分布特性的数值模拟

采用欧拉-欧拉多流体方法,对磁场复合电解加工的气液两相流进行了数值模拟,研究磁场作用下电解质流场流速、气泡体积分数分布等流体力学信息.仿真表明,静液状态时,在磁场的作用下,液相产生了流速,流速呈环状分布,气相呈搅拌状分布.入口添加流速后,在低流速下,液相速度仍呈环状分布,气相呈搅拌状分布;在较高流速下,液相和气相的分布与无磁场时的分布相近.     

窄缝精密电解加工的实验研究

通过在理论上分析窄缝电解加工中片状电极和丝状电极对加工间隙和流场分布的影响,提出了采用小直径丝状电极提高加工精度和改善加工稳定性的方法。文中分别进行了片状电极和丝状电极之间、不同直径丝状电极之间的窄缝电解加工对比试验。结果表明,小直径丝状电极可以减小电解液流过电极丝产生的涡流死水区,改善加工区内的电解液更新和电解产物的排除,提高加工精度和加工过程的稳定性。     

Experiment and simulation study on concentrated magnetic field-assisted ECM S-03 special stainless steel complex cavity

A novel concentrated magnetic field-assisted electrochemical machining (ECM) technology is proposed in this paper to machine contemporaneously seven workplaces’ complex cavity with high efficiency and good precision. An ECM clamping apparatus with concentrated magnetic field, periodic magnetic field, and no magnetic field was designed. The magnetic field simulation was carried out. Comparing the results of the concentrated magnetic field to the periodic magnetic field, the magnetic field intensity of the former is increased by 9.8 % than the latter. The ECM cathode with the same gap was designed and manufactured. Under the conditions of 12 % NaNO₃, 14-V voltage, 0.8-MPa electrolyte pressure, temperature 32 °C, cathode feed rate 0.9 mm/min, initial machining gap 0.1 mm, and the S-03 special stainless steel workpiece material, the experiments with concentrated magnetic field, periodic magnetic field, and no magnetic field were carried out. The results show that the gap magnetic field strength was increased by 16.7 % in the concentrated magnetic field than in the periodic magnetic field. Through a sectioning test, the precision in the concentrated magnetic field is increased by 33.3 % compared with no magnetic circuit and increased by 14.8 % compared with the periodic magnetic field. The concentrated magnetic field-assisted ECM technology cannot only reduce the cathode design cycle and cost but also increase the process accuracy.     

Application of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system and cuckoo optimization algorithm for analyzing electro chemical machining process

Electrochemical machining process (ECM) is increasing its importance due to some of the specific advantages which can be exploited during machining operation. The process offers several special privileges such as higher machining rate, better accuracy and control, and wider range of materials that can be machined. Contribution of too many predominate parameters in the process, makes its prediction and selection of optimal values really complex, especially while the process is programmized for machining of hard materials. In the present work in order to investigate effects of electrolyte concentration, electrolyte flow rate, applied voltage and feed rate on material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR) the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS) have been used for creation predictive models based on experimental observations. Then the ANFIS 3D surfaces have been plotted for analyzing effects of process parameters on MRR and SR. Finally, the cuckoo optimization algorithm (COA) was used for selection solutions in which the process reaches maximum material removal rate and minimum surface roughness simultaneously. Results indicated that the ANFIS technique has superiority in modeling of MRR and SR with high prediction accuracy. Also, results obtained while applying of COA have been compared with those derived from confirmatory experiments which validate the applicability and suitability of the proposed techniques in enhancing the performance of ECM process.     

电极平动式电解孔加工技术研究

从电解液流动角度对影响电解孔加工过程的主要原因进行了分析 ,提出利用电极平动来改善电解加工过程稳定性和提高加工精度 ,研制了电极平动系统 ,进行了加工试验。试验结果表明 ,电极的平动运动使得电解液分布变得均匀 ,消除了空穴和分离流等弊端 ,改进了过程稳定性 ,显著提高了加工精度。     

Effects of shielding coatings on the anode shaping process during counter-rotating electrochemical machining

Electrochemical machining (ECM) has been widely used in the aerospace, automotive, defense and medical industries for its many advantages over traditional machining methods. However, the machining accuracy in ECM is to a great extent limited by the stray corrosion of the unwanted material removal. Many attempts have been made to improve the ECM accuracy, such as the use of a pulse power, passivating electrolytes and auxiliary electrodes. However, they are sometimes insufficient for the reduction of the stray removal and have their limitations in many cases. To solve the stray corrosion problem in CRECM, insulating and conductive coatings are respectively used. The different implement processes of the two kinds of coatings are introduced. The effects of the two kinds of shielding coatings on the anode shaping process are investigated. Numerical simulations and experiments are conducted for the comparison of the two coatings. The simulation and experimental results show that both the two kinds of coatings are valid for the reduction of stray corrosion on the top surface of the convex structure. However, for insulating coating, the convex sidewall becomes concave when the height of the convex structure is over 1.26 mm. In addition, it is easy to peel off by the high-speed electrolyte. In contrast, the conductive coating has a strong adhesion, and can be well reserved during the whole machining process. The convex structure fabricated by using a conductive iron coating layer presents a favorable sidewall profile. It is concluded that the conductive coating is more effective for the improvement of the machining quality in CRECM. The proposed shielding coatings can also be employed to reduce the stray corrosion in other schemes of ECM.