Energy-based Approaches for Multi-scale Modelling of Material Loadings During Electric Discharge Machining (EDM)

During Electric Discharge Machining process several material loadings take place on the workpiece surface within the processing zone. To model the comprehensive material removal and its effects on the resulting material properties especially in the rim zone and on surface integrity it is necessary to describe these loadings on several length scales in detail. In this paper the different main material loadings occurring during the EDM process are theoretically determined and analyzed with regard to their importance and impact on different scales. Based on this, existing modelling and simulation approaches for the EDM process are critically evaluated and extended regarding a comprehensive description of energy dissipation.