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Observation and simulation investigation for the crater formation under discharge plasma movement in RT-WEDM

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Abstract

Observations of the discharge gap were conducted to investigate the discharge plasma motion in reciprocated traveling wire electrical discharge machining (RT-WEDM). It was found that a discharge plasma continuously slides on the surface of a workpiece. An oscillating moving heat source is proposed to better describe the characteristics of discharge plasma motions. Based on an oscillating moving heat source, a novel thermal-fluid coupling model by adopting a level-set method is proposed to investigate the formation of a crater and the effects of machining parameters on craters. Discharge plasma sliding, latent heat, and molten pool forces are comprehensively considered in the proposed model. Simulation and experimental results show that a sliding discharge plasma has a significant effect on a crater. At the end of a discharge, a considerable proportion of molten materials remains in the molten pool. A high sliding speed of discharge plasma can lead to a low aspect ratio in a crater and a thin recast layer. Due to discharge plasma sliding, an increase in pulse duration can significantly increase the length of a crater and decrease the aspect ratio, while an increase in peak current can significantly increase the depth and volume of the crater. Simulation and experimental results also show that morphologies of the simulated crater and experimental craters are consistent, verifying the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed simulation model in explaining the mechanism of crater formation in RT-WEDM.

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Funding

This research is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52075333). The authors also gratefully acknowledge the Leading with Wisdom Advanced Manufacturing Research Center, Pinghu, Zhejiang Province, for their kind assistance in this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240, Shanghai, China

    Xue-Cheng Xi, Zi-Lun Li, Qiang Gao, Ya-Ou Zhang & Wan-Sheng Zhao

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  1. Xue-Cheng Xi
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  2. Zi-Lun Li
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  3. Qiang Gao
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  4. Ya-Ou Zhang
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  5. Wan-Sheng Zhao
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Contributions

Xue-Cheng Xi was responsible for conceptualization, methodology, funding acquisition, and writing and editing. Zi-Lun Li was responsible for software, validation, formal analysis, and writing of draft. Qiang Gao was responsible for formal analysis and validation. Ya-Ou Zhang’s contribution was formal analysis and writing of original draft. Wan-Sheng Zhao’s contribution was supervision and writing and editing.

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Correspondence to Xue-Cheng Xi.

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Xi, XC., Li, ZL., Gao, Q. et al. Observation and simulation investigation for the crater formation under discharge plasma movement in RT-WEDM. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 126, 145–162 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-023-10931-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-023-10931-2

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