Mathematical modeling of aerosol emission from die sinking electrical discharge machining process

Emission of toxic gases and aerosol is an important hazard associated with the electrical discharge machining (EDM) process, one of the most widely used non-conventional manufacturing processes. These emissions can cause adverse health effects to the operators and has a direct impact on the environment. The emission from this process is directly related to the temperature at the process location. This paper was aimed at developing a model that quantifies the aerosol generated from the die sinking EDM process while machining steel workpiece with copper electrode. The model developed in this paper made use of energy balance and heat transfer equations. The modeling results were then validated using experimentally obtained values of the emission rate of aerosol from this process. The results showed a close correlation of +0.89 with experimental results. The model developed in this paper can predict the level of emissions at different process locations: thereby reducing the direct cost and time associated with experimentation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.