Modeling and simulation of electrical discharge machining

Electrical discharge machining involves complex physical processes occurring simultaneously, which lead to the removal of material from both electrodes. During the discharge, material melts, evaporates and is ejected when the plasma channel collapses. Modeling the erosion process can help to better interpret and predict results, which are otherwise difficult to understand. In this work, the material removal rate is predicted based on the simulation of single discharges. It was found that a better correlation with experimental results is achieved when the latent heats of fusion and evaporation are taken into consideration, as well as temperature-dependent thermo-physical properties of the workpiece.