High efficiency blasting erosion arc machining of 50 vol.% SiC/Al matrix composites

Blasting erosion arc machining (BEAM) is adopted to improve the machining efficiency of high fraction (50 vol.%) SiC/Al matrix composites. Results of the fractional factorial experiments and full factorial experiments indicate that the electrical parameters (peak current, pulse duration and pulse interval) are the main impact factors of the machining efficiency, and when the peak current is 500 A, the pulse duration is 8 ms and the pulse interval is 2 ms, the material removal rate reaches to 6000 [Formula: see text]/min. Furthermore, the material removal rate was optimized and could be as high as 7500 [Formula: see text]/min with the tool wear ratio about 10%. Simulation of the single discharge heat transfer illustrates that the SiC particles have negative influence on the machining performance due to their temperature dependent characteristics. The polarity effect was also studied and it is disclosed that different machining polarities have different influences on the machining performance, surface integrity and even the formation of SiC particles. Finally, a 50 vol.% SiC/Al workpiece was machined with blasting erosion arc machining.

Experimental Study on Blasting Erosion Arc Machining of 50 Vol% SiC/Al Matrix Composites

Machining performance of high fraction SiC/Al matrix composites (e.g., 50 vol% SiC/Al) is very limited because of their reinforced SiC particles. In order to study the machinability of high fraction SiC/Al matrix composites with blasting erosion arc machining (BEAM), factorial experiment was employed under the negative electrode machining condition. It was found that when peak current was 500 A, MRR (material removal rate) could be as high as 6,000 mm3/min. Besides, surface integrity under different machining parameters was also investigated. Finally, a 50 vol% SiC/Al composites workpiece was successfully machined with BEAM, which demonstrated that BEAM is capable for the machining of high fraction SiC/Al matrix composites.

Influence of flushing holes on the machining performance of blasting erosion arc machining

Blasting erosion arc machining is a novel electrical erosion process depending on the hydrodynamic arc-breaking mechanism to achieve a reliable high-efficiency machining. In blasting erosion arc machining, the high-velocity fluid field in the discharging gap is the precondition of the mechanism to control arc plasma to efficiently remove workpiece material. Therefore, this study mainly investigates the influence of flushing holes on the fluid field distribution directly and on the machining performance indirectly. Three multi-hole solid electrodes with different types of flushing holes are designed out according to the distributing principle. The influence of their flushing holes on the fluid field is conducted by a comparison fluid simulation which demonstrates that the electrode with flushing-hole diameters decreasing gradually from the inner to the outer in the radial direction attains the best flushing velocity distribution on the workpiece surface. Furthermore, the influence of their flushing holes on the blasting erosion arc machining performance is investigated by a comparison machining experiment in order to verify the comparison results of fluid field simulation. The experimental results illustrate that these electrodes have very different machining performance when machining nickel-based high-temperature alloy GH4169 (similar to Inconel 718) under the conditions of same discharge peak current and flushing inlet pressure. The electrode with the best flushing velocity distribution rather than with the highest velocity at a particular point achieves the best machining performance of the highest material removal rate, the least relative tool wear ratio and the least surface roughness (Ra), indicating an optimized design of flushing holes in the multi-hole solid electrode.