Journal of Materials Processing Tech.

255 (2018) 665–672

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Materials Processing Tech.

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jmatprotec

Application of electrolyte injection to the electro-chemical discharge T

machining (ECDM) on the optical glass
⁎
F. Mehrabia, M. Farahnakiana, , S. Elhamib, M.R. Razfarb
a
Mechanical Engineering Department, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
b
Mechanical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: B270 is a special type of optical glasses which has found sophisticated applications in the lens and prism
Electro-chemical discharge process manufacturing while keeping the cost under the control. Machining process through electro-chemical discharge
Electrolyte injection is an advanced machining technology to produce deep holes, micro-grooves, and micro-channels on the non-
Hole depth conductive materials. The process is a non-traditional machining method, including melting at high tempera-
Hole diameter
tures because of electrical discharges on the electrode tip and chemical etching through the electrolyte. A major
Conical shape
problem in drilling operations, using electro-chemical discharge phenomenon, is electrolyte access to the ma-
chining area in a deep section of the hole. As an electro-chemical discharge phenomena, discharge creation and
chemical etching are main parts of electro-chemical discharge phenomenon. This subject plays an important role
especially in deep holes because of limited electrolyte circulation. Therefore, this research addresses to improve
the performance of electro-chemical discharge process in mesoscale drilling operations. For this purpose, hollow
electrodes with high-pressure electrolyte injection system are employed to provide the electrolyte to the ma-
chining area in deep holes. The experiments at various levels of pressure and electrode diameter were done. The
results showed that by injection of electrolyte through the hollow cathode to the drilling area, material removal
rate (MRR) and drilling speed increased. Also, mentioned effects rose by increasing the electrode diameter and
injection pressure. Improvement the hole depth versus the effective pressure for different electrode diameters
was about 50–70%. More injection pressure resulted in larger hole diameter and creation of conical shape hole.

1. Introduction methods are expensive, time-consuming, labor-intensive, and also lack

Glass exhibits excellent optical transmittance in the visible spectrum
(400–700 nm). Therefore, it is widely used in optical systems such as
laser projection and light delivering. B270 superwite glass, a clear high-
transparent crown glass (modified soda-lime glass), and used in lens
(and prism) manufacturing and as cover glass because it is cheap and
has a high transmission. B270 is a universal glass type, with a high
transparency for visible and near-infrared light. The crown glass has a
colorless, crystal clear appearance. The glass is very stable in regards to
solarization effects which usually occur when a material is constantly
exposed to the sun or to UV-light. To meet more demanding optical
surface quality requirements, the B270 glass should be mechanically
ground and optically polished. This facilitates B270 to be used for so-
phisticated optical quality applications while keeping the cost under
control.
Machining of silica glass and glass-ceramics is of considerable in-
terest for developing new technologies and devices for consumer elec-
tronics and telecommunication industries. Conventional machining
the precision needed for modern devices. Components free of micro-
cracks, good edge and surface quality as well as with a high aspect
ratio, made of hard materials such as ceramics and glass, are difficult to
fabricate and often require complex, multi-step processing.
Stiffness and frangibility are some of the most complex problems
which reduce the performance of traditional methods to fabricate
micro-grooves, micro deep holes and other features (Jianhu and Xing,
1991). So, there is a critical need to a machining method which can be
overcome mentioned limitations.
Electro-chemical discharge machining (ECDM) is a combined ma-
chining technology to produce deep holes, small lots, and narrow-
channels on the non-conductive materials. Thermal and chemical phe-
nomena are main mechanisms of this process to remove the materials
from the workpiece. Other terms for this method have been used in the
machining literature, such as Electro Chemical Arc Machining (ECAM),
Spark Assisted Chemical Engraving (SACE) (Lange et al., 2002) and
Electro Chemical Spark Machining (ECSM) (Tandon et al., 1990).
There are several applications of ECDM reported in the literature

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: farahnakian@pmc.iaun.ac.ir (M. Farahnakian).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2018.01.016
Received 13 April 2017; Received in revised form 31 December 2017; Accepted 16 January 2018
Available online 20 February 2018
0924-0136/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
F. Mehrabi et al.
(Guerin et al., 1998). Between them, the hole drilling is the most fre-
quent utilization. So far, two feeding mechanisms for ECDM hole dril-
ling have been investigated, gravity feed and constant velocity feed
mechanisms. In the gravity-feed mode, which is the frequent me-
chanism in the ECDM drilling process, the tool is always in contact with
the workpiece during the drilling process. Due to the complexity of the
ECDM process, many investigations on the ECDM characteristics were
performed including the material removal mechanism (Basak and
Ghosh, 1997), discharge performance (Basak and Ghosh, 1997), ma-
chining repeatability depending on the stability of the gas film (Gautam
and Jain, 1998), machining regimes (discharge and hydrodynamic re-
gimes) depending on the drilling depth and four different kinds of
micro-hole qualities depending on the drilling depth and machining
voltage (Spaelter and Bleuler, 2006; Wüthrich and Hof, 2006).
It was in 1968 that Kurafuji (1968) first applied discharge, produced
during electrolysis, to the drilling of non-conductive glass material.
After that, many investigations have been conducted on ECDM.The
discharge plays a key role in this process. The heat produced by dis-
charges facilitates the etching effect by the electrolyte on the non-
conductive brittle materials such as glass. Preliminary observations
revealed that critical voltage can be determined from the variations of
current during the rising of the applied voltages. The critical voltage is
the point that the gas bubbles in the electrolyte solution form a com-
plete gas film around the tool, then discharges occur. The gas film
contains the enfolded water molecules, conductive ions, and hydrogen
which increase the probability of discharge, as resulting in the unstable
discharging state. Lim et al. (2001) performed micro-hole drilling under
fixed velocity feed mechanism using micro-electrodes and observed
serious taper phenomenon at the hole entrance because the discharges
were not produced efficiently at the electrode end. Jain et al. (2002)
used an abrasive tool electrode of 1.5 mm diameter having a rotary
motion to drilling holes on the Al2O3 ceramic and compared the results
with a conventional tool. Hence, improved results were reported with
abrasive electrode due to abrasive action and partly due to additional
discharges obtained in the tool-electrolyte gap. Additional discharges
were not possible with the conventional tool but beyond 70 V ceramic
showed a tendency of cracking, thus volume of material removed could
not exceed more than 20 mg
Zheng et al. (2007) tried to improve the problem of electrolyte
circulation to a deep area of the hole by tool rotation. They rotate the
tool with different speeds from 200 to 2000 rpm in the ECDM process.
Tool rotation is an effective factor on the surface quality of machining
and reduces the slot width while improves the machining depth. They
stated formation of thinner and more homogeneous gas film, caused by
tool rotation, as the main reason of their observations. Han et al. (2009)
investigated vibration of the tool during the machining operation. They
expressed tool vibration enhanced circulation of the electrolyte be-
tween the tool and workpiece. Vibrating tool improved drilling depth
and decreased conical shape of the hole. Yang et al. (2011) employed
the spherical electrode tool and achieved to 83% reduction of ma-
chining time, simultaneously hole diameter (dimensional accuracy)
improved about 65% compared to the typical cylindrical tool.
Prihandana et al. (2013) showed the application of low-frequency vi-
brations provided extra spaces between the tool and workpiece which
led to more electrolyte circulation into the hole. The results represented
a significant improvement in the surface quality, electrode wear and
material removal rate. Razfar et al. (2014) examined different types of
longitudinal oscillation of the cathode electrode during the ECDM
process on the soda-lime glass workpiece. They investigated the effect
of vibration parameters such as amplitude, frequency, and waveform on
the machining depth and speed. According to the results, vibration had
a significant effect on the machining process. When the DC voltage was
applied to the actuator in the form of a square wave, the material re-
moval rate was improved up to 40%.
A major problem in hole drilling is the accessibility of the electro-
lyte to the working site while the drilling depth increases. Because the
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Journal of Materials Processing Tech. 255 (2018) 665–672
electro-chemical discharge process highly depends on the availability of
the electrolyte in the machining zone, electro-chemical discharge dril-
ling of high aspect ratio holes faces various limitations. In fact, the
electrolyte circulation in the machining area and debris removal from
this region become highly restricted as the machining depth increases.
As a result, accumulation of the removed materials and remaining heat
cause the reduction of machining accuracy, which leads to the pro-
duction of a thick layer and acceleration of the electrode wear. In ad-
dition, machining stability is attenuated and material removal rate is
decreased. Increasing the temperature of machining area forms some
thermal cracks in the workpiece (Lee et al., 2004; Wüthrich et al.,
1999).
Using hollow electrode provides inner edge beside the outer edge of
the tool tip, so more discharges are achieved and MRR increases. Due to
the geometry of the tool, the inner edge of the tool end has more
electrical potential which produces effective discharges that can melt
and vaporize greater materials from the workpiece and finally results in
more material removal rate. However there are additional discharges
using hollow electrode, in both of the hollow and traditional solid tools,
there is a direct contact between the tool and workpiece which limits
electrolyte circulation and finally, deep drilling does not continue after
a period of time (Zhang et al., 2015).
Briefly, it can be said that some of the researchers, who have studied
in the field of electro-chemical discharge process, have tried to improve
the desired outputs such as material removal rate, surface integrity,
machining speed, dimensional accuracy and etc. Therefore, in order to
improve the performance of electro-chemical discharge process in
drilling operations, a hollow electrode associated with the electrolyte
injection is applied to the machining area. The experiments in various
levels of pressure, voltage and electrode diameters are performed.
2. Effects of electrolyte injection and hollow cathode
Electrolysis as an electro-chemical process takes place on the
cathode which leads to the nucleation and growth of hydrogen bubbles.
Bubbles remain attached to the cathode surface until the balance of
applied forces on the bubble is broken up. At this time, bubbles depart
and coalesce together and form a uniform film around the tool. The
thickness of the gas film is evaluated according to the departure dia-
meters of neighbor bubbles. A schematic view of a single bubble, at-
tached to the outside surface of the cathode, and applied force com-
ponents is shown in Fig. 1a. Departure diameter of the bubble
(consequently gas film thickness) evaluates based on force balance on
the bubble which can be expressed as follows:
∑ F = Fs + Fb + Fd = 0 (1)
which Fs shows surface tension, Fb and Fd represent buoyancy and drag
forces.
Typically, two forces of buoyancy and surface tension act on the
bubble which is attached to the cathode surface. Application of elec-
trolyte injection signifies another force component which related to the
movement of electrolyte around the cathode. Electrolyte injection
causes that drag force (which creates by electrolyte movement) have
noticeable values compared to two other force components. So, bubbles
with smaller diameter detach from the cathode surface. By attention to
the bubbles coalesce to form the gas film, it is clear that thinner gas film
is achieved due to the integration of electrolyte injection to the ECDM
process.
Employment of the hollow electrode and electrolyte injection
system effects on the ECDM process in two other aspects. In the first
aspect, the geometry of hollow electrode provides more possible posi-
tions (which include inner and outer edges and surfaces on the tool) to
create discharges, so obtained MRR is improved. In the second aspect,
one of the important problems of the ECDM process is solved.
Integration of electro-chemical discharge phenomenon to the drilling
F. Mehrabi et al.
process, while using static electrolyte, reduces electrolyte circulation
especially in the deeper section of the hole. On the other hand, avail-
ability of the electrolyte is a key element to create discharges and
chemical etching. Application of electrolyte injection provides neces-
sary electrolyte, even in a deep hole, to keep activate MRR mechanisms,
and consequently improve the performance of the ECDM process.
Schematic views of discharges locations and flow of the electrolyte
during injection are shown in Fig. 1b.
3. Experimental details
3.1. Experimental configuration
Taking into account the effect of input parameters of the ECDM
process, such as machining voltage, the distance between electrodes,
the pressure between the tool and the workpiece and injection pressure,
the experimental frame divides into four categories:
• DC power supply
• Electrolyte injection
• Electrolyte reservoir
• Gravity feed mechanism
Generally, there are five feeding mechanisms to move the tool to-
ward the workpiece. Among mentioned mechanisms, gravity feed me-
chanism is the simplest one which can be applied without complex
technical details. Due to the depth-time curve in the ECDM process,
constant velocity feed mechanism can be applied in few cases and for a
short period of machining time (during the machining process, ma-
chining speed (slope of depth-time curve) changes versus time and only
in short period of machining time can be assumed to be constant).
Constant gap feed mechanism requires gap distance control unit and an
automatic drive unit for drilling direction. More technical details of this
mechanism increase machining cost and reduce its application. Closed
loop and pressurized feeding mechanisms require more technical de-
tails and increase the complexity of experimental configuration. These
types of feeding mechanisms have been used rarely in the case of the
ECDM process.
Schematic and actual views of experimental configuration are
shown in Fig. 2. The workpiece is immersed in the electrolyte and the
whole process is done within the electrolyte. The operation of electro-
lyte injection is done through cathode electrode. The anode electrode is
also placed at a specific distance from the cathode in the electrolyte
container.
The workpiece is placed on the holder and through applying a force
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Journal of Materials Processing Tech. 255 (2018) 665–672
Fig. 1. Schematic view of a) Single bubble and bal-
ance of applied forces b) Electrical discharges on the
inner and outer edges and faces of a hollow elec-
trode.
of gravity feed mechanism, it is kept in contact with the cathode elec-
trode. In the initial step and when the tool is closing to the workpiece,
due to the roughness of tool end and some geometrical errors, some
paths create between the tool and workpiece which allow the electro-
lyte to flow through them. Simultaneously, in some other points, tool
and workpiece make contact locally. In continue and by the application
of the ECDM process, material removal takes place by two mechanisms
of discharge (thermal) and chemical and the tool penetrates into the
workpiece. It should be mentioned that the profiles of the tool and hole
do not completely match, so there are non-uniformities between the
tool and workpiece. Non-uniformities provide spaces between tool and
workpiece at some points and made contact in some other points.
More material is removed by discharge mechanism. Random dis-
charges take place on the tool end neighboring the workpiece.
Discharge takes place in the shortest distance between the tool and
workpiece. As a result, part of the workpiece is removed and a hollow
space for electrolyte flow is provided. Simultaneously, in another point
on the tool, discharge does not take place, tool and workpiece remain in
contact. Finally, in every moment, discharges take place at some points
on the tool. In these locations, workpiece material is removed hence a
small space is made between the tool and workpiece. Simultaneously
and in other points, there are not discharges between the tool and
workpiece. In these locations, the tool and workpiece remain in contact.
3.2. Materials
Some of the process parameters were chosen according to previous
investigations. Electrolyte type and concentration, anode material were
chosen by examination of previous investigations. Other parameters,
such as DC voltage, current, machining time, were chosen according to
authors’ initial experiments.
In this research, the hollow brass instrument was used as a cathode
in which the outer diameters were 1, 1.4 and 1.7 mm while internal
diameters were 0.3, 0.5 and 0.8 mm.
A plate of steel was used as the anode which was placed at a dis-
tance of 10 cm from the cathode. All the experiments were carried out
on a piece of B270 optical glass. Specifications of the workpiece are
shown in Table 1.
Electrolyte solution used in the experiment was sodium hydroxide
(NaOH). Since sodium hydroxide solution has high conductivity, the
rate of chemical reactions increased, so the speed of the bubble for-
mation improved. Due to primary experiments, a sodium hydroxide
solution with a concentration of 30% was used and the workpiece was
immersed 3 mm under the electrolyte surface.
F. Mehrabi et al. Journal of Materials Processing Tech. 255 (2018) 665–672

Fig. 2. a) Schematic b) Actual views of the experi-

mental configuration of the ECDM process integrated
into the electrolyte injection system.

Table 1 Table 2
Workpiece properties. Fixed and variable input parameters.

Workpiece Value Input parameters Value

Thermal conductivity at 20 °C(

cal . cm
) 26 × 10−4 Workpiece B270 optical glass
cm2 . sec . c 0 DC voltage (V) 45, 65, 75
gr 2.5
Density ( ) Current (A) 10
cm3
cm 86 × 10−7 Electrolyte solution NaOH
Thermal expansion coefficient at 50 °C( )
cm . c 0 Electrolyte concentration 30%
Tensile strength (
kg
) 280 Cathode material Brass
cm2
Anode material Steel
Hardness (
kg
) 542
Outer diameter of the cathode (mm) 1, 1.4, 1.7
mm2
Melting point (°C) 541 Inner diameter of the cathode (mm) 0.3, 0.5, 0.8
Electrolyte injection pressure(MPa) 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03
Drilling time (min) 1, 3, 5

3.3. Experimental procedure

4.1. Effect of electrolyte injection on the drilling depth (MRR)
Electrodes with the diameters of 1, 1.4 and 1.7 mm were located,
respectively into the tool holder and the tip of the electrode was placed
Fig. 3 shows the depth of holes versus machining time and injection
in contact with the workpiece. On the other hand, by applying a con-
pressure while using three electrode diameters.
stant force to the L-shaped piece (gravity feed mechanism), the tool and
Fig. 3a shows a variation of hole depth versus machining time and
workpiece remained in contact with each other. Then, the other end of
pressure injection in the case of electrode diameter of 1 mm. As it can
the electrode tool was connected to the injection system through a tube.
be seen, maximum depth of hole using electrode diameter of 1 mm and
The anode electrode was placed at a distance of 10 cm from the tool
according to the injection pressures of 0, 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03 MPa are
electrode in the electrolyte solution. Three levels of machining time as
3.7, 5.04, 5.45 and 5.81 mm, respectively.
1, 3 and 5 min were considered. The large volume of electrolyte and
It is clear from the rising trend in charts that the pressure of
regular replacement led to constant temperature and concentration of
0.03 MPa had the greatest impact on the drilling depth in the case of
the electrolyte.
electrode diameter of1 mm. Because of small electrode diameter, in-
Three levels of 45, 65 and 75 V were considered as applied DC
jection pressures of 0.01 and 0.02 MPa did not result in significant
voltage. Also, injection system with four levels of injection pressure (0,
difference in final depth of machining. However, application of elec-
0.01, 0.02 and 0.03 MPa) was employed. Fixed and variable input
trolyte injection led to significant achievement compared to the tradi-
parameters are summarized in Table 2. The cross-section view of the
tional static electrolyte.
hole was used to measure the hole depth. Hole depth was defined as the
Changes in the depth of the hole for electrodes with a diameter of
distance between the bottom of the hole and its top surface.
1.4 mm and an internal diameter of 0.5 mm while using DC voltage of
75 V are demonstrated in Fig. 3b. As it can be seen, the maximum
drilling depth is carried out in the injection pressures of 0.02 and
4. Results and discussion
0.03 MPa which are 5.69 and 5.59 mm, respectively. Hole depth
without electrolyte injection was 3.56 mm whereas with injection
Electrode diameter (three levels of 1, 1.4 and 1.7 mm), injection
pressure if 0.01 MPa was about 5.05 mm.
pressure (four pressure levels0, 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03 MPa), DC voltage
Changes in the hole depth for electrode diameter of 1.7 mm, using
(three levels of 45, 65 and 75 V) and machining time (three levels of 1,
DC voltage of 75 V and an internal diameter of 0.8 mm, are shown in
3 and 5 min) were considered as research inputs. Also, drilling depth
Fig. 3c. As it is clear, the maximum depth of drilling in the injection
(MRR), hole diameter and entrance shape were considered as desired
pressure of 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03 MPa are 5.33, 5.43 and 5.02 mm, re-
outputs. Selection of parameters and related values leads to 108 ex-
spectively. As shown in Fig. 3c, the rate of the material removal in-
periments. In the following sections, achieved results will be presented
creases by application of electrolyte injection. Improvement trend of
and discussed in details.

668
F. Mehrabi et al. Journal of Materials Processing Tech. 255 (2018) 665–672

6 6

5 5

Depth (mm)
4 4

3
3
2 0 Mpa
2 0 Mpa 0.01 Mpa
0.01 Mpa 1 0.02 Mpa
1 0.02 Mpa 0.03 Mpa
0.03 Mpa 0
0 0 100 200 300
0 100 200 300
Time (s)
Time (s)
a b
6

5
Depth (mm)

3
0 Mpa
2
0.01 Mpa
0.02 Mpa
1
0.03 Mpa
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Time (s)
c
Fig. 3. Diagram of hole depth versus machining time and injection pressure while using DC voltage of 75 V and electrode diameter of a) 1 mm b) 1.4 mm c) 1.7 mm.

drilling depth versus machining time became more significant while and hydrogen gas densities, respectively.
using larger electrode diameter. It meant that variation range of results Surface tension in the y-direction can be evaluated as follows
of drilling depth in the case of electrode diameter of 1.7 mm was greater (Klausner et al., 1993):
than electrode diameter of 1 mm.
π (α − β )
In the ECDM process, the workpiece is non-conductive and two Fsy ≈ −1.25d w σ [sin α + sin β ] = C1 R1
π 2 − (α − β )2 (3)
main material removal mechanisms are discharge and chemical
etching. In conventional ECDM, electrolyte flow is not necessary but in σ is surface tension, α and β are advancing and receding contact
this research, electrolyte flow was used. Electrolyte flow effects on the angles. Also, the volume of the bubble (truncated sphere) (VB) and
ECDM mechanisms in two aspects. First, electrolyte flow provides more surface/bubble contact diameter (dw) can be calculated as follows:
OH- ions in chemical reactions and signifies the chemical etching me-
chanism of material removal. d w = 2R sin θ0 (4)
Second, electrolyte flow applies an external force on the gas film
and leads to the thinner gas film which increases the number of dis- VB = 1 3 πR3 (1 + cosθ0)2 (2 − cosθ0) (5)
charges and higher machining speed is achieved. On the other hand,
In which, θ0 is the mean contact angle and R is bubble diameter.
electrolyte flow transfer debris produced by previous discharges and
Electrolyte flow generates Quasi-steady drag force on the bubble
improve the effectiveness and durability of material removal by dis-
parallel to motion direction. The drag force of uniform flow over a
charge mechanism.
bubble can be evaluated as follows (Klausner et al., 1993):
2 12
4.1.1. Effect of electrolyte flow on the gas film and discharge activities Fqs = (6πρl νUR)[ + (( )0.65 + 0.862)−1.54 ]
3 Re (6)
Electrolysis as an electrochemical process takes place on the cathode
which leads to the nucleation and growth of hydrogen bubbles. Bubbles Which ν is the kinetic viscosity which is stated as ν = μ ρ and Re is
remain attached to the cathode surface until the balance of applied Reynolds number that is expressed as Re = 2UR ν . μ shows the dynamic
forces on the bubble is broken up. At this time, bubbles depart and viscosity and U expresses the base surface (electrolyte flow) velocity.
coalesce together and form a uniform film around the tool. The thick- Due to electrolyte flow around the tool, drag and buoyancy forces
ness of the gas film is evaluated according to the departure diameters of act in a same direction which results in the reduction of bubble de-
two neighbor similar bubbles. parture diameter and making the thinner gas film. Thinner gas film in
In the case of ECDM, two forces of buoyancy and surface tension act the ECDM process leads to improve discharge activities and increase the
on the bubble. Buoyancy is a force component which acts on the bubble material removal rate.
in the y-direction and can be calculated as follows:

Fb = VB (ρl − ρg ) g = C2 R13 4.1.2. Effect of electrolyte flow on the chemical etching mechanism of
(2)
material removal
VB is the volume of the bubble, g is gravity, ρl and ρg are electrolyte In another aspect, electrolyte flow signifies the chemical mechanism

669
F. Mehrabi et al.
of material removal. SiO2 is the main constituent of the B270 structure.
In electrolysis phenomenon, OH- ions destroy the Si-O-Si bonds in the
glass network, expressed by the following equation (Franz, 1980; Yang
et al., 2001):
+ −
Si − O − Si + OH− ↔ Si − OHglass + Si − Oglass (7)
Destroying the Si-O bonds made the glass network so weak and
results in more material removal by chemical etching mechanism. By
application of electrolyte flow, more OH- ions are available in the
mentioned reaction. Therefore, more SiO2 is dissolved and more ma-
terial removal takes place.
The productivity of machining operations by application of op-
timum injection pressure achieves significant improvements. The
maximum rate of drilling is 0.0184 mm/s for electrodes with a diameter
of 1.7 mm and injection pressure of 0.02 MPa. However, the general
optimum pressure is 0.02 MPa which achieves MRR of 0.019 mm/s for
the tool diameter of 1.4 mm, but the absolute maximum value of MRR is
about 0.0196 mm/s which achieves by the employment of electrode
diameter of 1 mm and injection pressure of 0.03 MPa.
4.2. Effect of the electrolyte injection on the hole diameter
In Fig.4, the diameter of holes using DC voltage of 65 Vandthe
electrode diameter of 1.4 mm has been investigated by the digital mi-
croscope. Hole diameter was measured on the top surface of the hole
and the related circle was defined through the middle of the hole en-
trance coarseness. In order to draw a mentioned circle, two circles
passed through the deepest valley and the highest summit was aver-
aged. As it can be seen in Fig.4a and c, hole diameters are 1.626, 1.673
and 1.737 mm according to injection pressures of 0, 0.01 and 0.02 MPa,
respectively. But, in Fig. 4d, the hole diameter is 1.729 mm for the
pressure of 0.03 MPa.
According to the figures, it is clear that by increasing the injection
pressure, the hole diameter increases, too. In addition to the
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Journal of Materials Processing Tech. 255 (2018) 665–672
enhancement the smoothness of hole entrance, larger injection pressure
removed burrs which are obvious in the case of without injection
pressure.
Fig. 5 demonstrates the linear diagram of hole diameter versus in-
jection pressure, electrode diameter, and DC voltage. Also, machining
time was considered as 5 min.
Fig. 5a shows the variation of hole diameter versus injection pres-
sure and DC voltage using tool with an external diameter of 1 mm and
the inner diameter of 0.3 mm. In the voltage of 75 V, hole diameter
differed between 1.23 and 1.273 mm. In the case of DC voltage of 65 V,
maximum and minimum values of hole diameter occurred in the in-
jection pressure of 0 and 0.03 MPa and equal to 1.218 and 1.26 mm,
respectively. The absolute lowest value happened in DC voltage of 45 V
and equal to 1.21 mm. As a result, it can be seen that change in the hole
diameter using electrode diameter of 1 mm was not noticeable and the
maximum difference (which is about 0.04 mm) occurred between two
states of without pressure and the maximum pressure.
According to the Fig. 5b, for the tool with an external diameter of
1.4 mm and the inner diameter of 0.5 mm, applied DC voltage of 75 V,
the maximum diameter of the hole is 2.01 mm while the minimum
value is equal to 2.13 mm. Difference between maximum and minimum
values of hole diameter, using DC voltage of 65 V, was about 0.18 mm.
The smallest value of hole diameter was about 1.592 mm which oc-
curred using DC voltage of 45 V. By comparing three diagrams in three
different voltages, it was obvious that for the tool with the diameter of
1.4 mm, the difference in hole diameter between the two states of
without pressure and pressure of 0.03 MPa was about 0.15 mm. The
mentioned trend indicated that increasing the electrode diameter was
an effective parameter on the variation range of hole diameter.
According to the Fig. 5c, in the case of inner and outer electrode
diameter of 0.8 and 1.7 mm (DC voltage of 75 V), the hole diameter
changes between 2.13 and 3.1 mm. In the DC voltage of 65 V, the
smallest hole diameter occurred without electrolyte injection while by
application of injection pressure of 0.03 MPa, the hole diameter of
Fig. 4. Changes in the hole diameter versus four
different levels of injection pressure. Electrode dia-
meter, machining time and DC voltage are 1.4 mm,
5 min and 65 V, respectively. a)Hole diameter of
1.626 mm without electrolyte injection b)Hole dia-
meter of 1.673 mm using injection pressure of
0.01 MPa c) Hole diameter of 1.737 mm using in-
jection pressure of 0.02 MPa d) Hole diameter of
1.729 mm using injection pressure of 0.03 Mpa.
F. Mehrabi et al. Journal of Materials Processing Tech. 255 (2018) 665–672

1.29 65 V, 1 mm 4.3. The effect of electrolyte injection on the form of hole entrance
1.28
45 V, 1 mm
1.27 As it is shown in Fig. 6, increasing the injection pressure changes the
75 V, 1 mm form of hole inlet, significantly. In fact, the conical shape of the hole
1.26
inlet was augmented by increasing the injection pressure. The para-
1.25 meter of conical angle (C.A.) can be used to compare the conical shapes
1.24 of produced holes. The conical angle defines as the slope of a section
1.23 view of the hole. The profile of the hole in section view is used to de-
termine the slope angle of the hole wall. Fig. 6a shows a schematic view
1.22
of hole profile and conical angle.
1.21
The conical shape of the hole inlet was created due to the fact that
1.20 higher pressure causes the greater speed of electrolyte flow from inside
0 0.01 0.02
of the hole to the outside. In case of the tool with the diameter of
Pressure (MPa)
1.7 mm, DC voltage of 75 V and pressure of 0 MPa, the conical angle
a was 8.2 degrees, while at the pressures of 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03 MPa,
65 V, 1.4 mm
2.25 were 14.2, 22.7 and 25.6 degrees, respectively.
45 V, 1.4 mm To achieve a smaller C.A., the lower injection pressure should be
2.15
75 V, 1.4 mm applied, particularly for electrodes with the diameter of 1.7 and
2.05 1.4 mm. Increasing the injection pressure and DC voltage effected
Hole Diameter (mm)

strongly on the C.A. In a high level of voltage, a variation of injection

1.95
pressure may lead to 26 degrees variation in the hole diameter. As a
1.85 result, electrolyte injection made a conical shape in the hole inlet and
larger conical shape was achieved in the case of larger electrode dia-
1.75
meter and injection pressure, especially for electrode diameter of
1.65 1.7 mm.
1.55
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 5. Conclusions
Pressure (MPa)

3.30
b Injection of electrolyte through the electrode to the deep section of
65 V, 1.7 mm
the hole prevented the accumulation of removed material in the deep
3.10 hole and caused the increase in the rate of discharges and material
45 V, 1.7 mm removal. The research conclusions can be expressed as follows:
2.90
75 V, 1.7 mm
2.70
• Application of electrolyte injection provided necessary electrolyte,
Hole Diameter (mm)

2.50 even in a deep hole, to keep activates MRR mechanisms. Also,

2.30
2.10
1.90
1.70
0 0.01 0.02
Pressure (MPa)
c •
Fig. 5. Variation of the hole diameter versus injection pressure and DC voltage while
using the tool diameter of a)1 mm b)1.4 mm c)1.7 mm.
2.5 mm was achieved. In the same manner, application of DC voltage of
45 V made the smallest value of hole diameter as 1.8 mm. By comparing
three diagrams, it can be seen, in the case of tool with the diameter of
1.7 mm, the difference hole diameter, in the states of without electro-
lyte injection and injection pressure of 0.03 MPa was 1 mm for DC
voltage of 75 V. It was also clear that increasing the electrode diameter,
boosted the effect of the electrolyte pressure on the hole diameter.
electrolyte injection made and signified the drag component of ap-
plied forces, so bubbles with smaller diameter detached from the
cathode surface.
• By increasing the pressure of electrolyte injection, depth of the hole
was augmented. Also, along with the increase of the electrode dia-
meter, the influence of the injection pressure increased on drilling
depth.
Improvement the hole depth in the effective pressure for electrode
diameter of 1.7 mm equaled to 70% while for electrodes with a
diameter of 1.4 and 1mm were 60% and 55%, respectively.
• Increasing the injection pressure enhanced electrolyte flow inside
the hole and consequently, applied discharges on the hole inlet and
hole diameter increased.
• According to DC voltage of 75 V, the hole diameter increased 45.7%,
5.97%, and 3.49%, using electrode diameter of 1.7, 1.4 and 1 mm,
respectively. This indicates that by increasing the electrode dia-
meter the differential of hole diameters also rose.
• According to the shape of hole inlet, conical form increased by ap-
plication of larger values of DC voltage and injection pressure. So,
injection pressure should be kept as lowest as possible to achieve
proper hole diameter.

Fig. 6. a) Schematic view and b) experimental

measurement of conical angle (C.A.) parameter to
compare the conical shapes of produced holes.

671
F. Mehrabi et al.
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