Simulation of discharge crater formation in EDM coupled with analysis of fluid flow in gap

Abstract

During the single pulse discharges in electrical discharge machining (EDM), the electrode materials are melted and evaporated. The vapor jets generated from the electrode surfaces influence the fluid flow inside the discharge gap as well as the melt pool dynamics. In this study, a multi-physics coupling simulation model based on FEM was built to solve the fluid flow inside the melt pool and discharge gap simultaneously. The mass flux from the melt pool surface was transferred to the boundary of the gap domain and the normal and shear stress generated by the fluid dynamics in the gap were applied to the melt pool surface. By this way, a more physics-based results on the melt pool dynamics can be obtained, which promotes the understanding of the gap phenomena in EDM.