Investigation of hydrodynamic arc breaking mechanism in blasting erosion arc machining

Blasting erosion arc machining (BEAM) greatly improves the material removal rate (MRR) by utilizing the electrical arcs instead of sparks as in EDM. However, the mechanism in BEAM is still not fully understood. By observing and diagnosing the electrical arc generated in a single pulse, the arc temperature is determined and hydrodynamic arc breaking mechanism that can effectively prevent the arcing damage is observed. Furthermore, this paper compares the craters obtained in negative polarity BEAM with that in positive polarity BEAM and explains why the former results in a higher MRR and the latter leads to a better machined surface.