Numerical simulation of powder mixed electric discharge machining (PMEDM) using finite element method

In the present paper, an axisymmetric two-dimensional model for powder mixed electric discharge machining (PMEDM) has been developed using the finite element method (FEM). The model utilizes the several important aspects such as temperature-sensitive material properties, shape and size of heat source (Gaussian heat distribution), percentage distribution of heat among tool, workpiece and dielectric fluid, pulse on/off time, material ejection efficiency and phase change (enthalpy) etc. to predict the thermal behaviour and material removal mechanism in PMEDM process. The developed model first calculates the temperature distribution in the workpiece material using ANSYS (version 5.4) software and then material removal rate (MRR) is estimated from the temperature profiles. The effect of various process parameters on temperature distributions along the radius and depth of the workpiece has been reported. Finally, the model has been validated by comparing the theoretical MRR with the experimental one obtained from a newly designed experimental setup developed in the laboratory. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.