Title: Finite element modelling for electrical discharge machining of Ti-6Al-4V alloy and multi-objective optimisation using response surface modelling

Authors: Diksha Jaurker; Mohan Kumar Pradhan

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Raipur, India

Abstract: Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a non-traditional precision machining method that thermally erodes hard materials and complicated geometries with excellent accuracy, but it also creates residual stress and fractures. Finite element modelling (FEM) was performed for an axially symmetric two-dimensional model of the EDM method, taking into account plausible factors such as Gaussian heat flux distribution, thermally sensitive material properties, the proportion of heat distribution to the workpiece, plasma flushing efficiency (PFE), and so on, to assess the consequence of process variables on the temperature field during the heating stage, and then material removal rate (MRR) and residual stresses. Utilising the response surface modelling (RSM) approach, multi-objective optimisation was performed to maximise the MRR and minimise tensile residual stresses, and an optimum solution was found by assigning equal weightage to all objective functions.

Keywords: electrical discharge machining; EDM; finite element method; simulation modelling; response surface methodology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSPM.2023.134523

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling, 2023 Vol.20 No.1, pp.21 - 30

Received: 02 Dec 2022
Accepted: 28 Feb 2023
Published online: 26 Oct 2023 *