Transient 3D Simulation of electrolyte flow in a removal device for the determination of process input parameters according to DIN SPEC 91399

Pulsed Electrochemical Machining (PECM) is based on the principle of anodic metal dissolution with pulsed direct current. To ensure the charge transfer between the anode (workpiece) and the cathode (tool), an electrically conductive medium, the electrolyte, flows in the working gap between the two electrodes. The removal results of PECM are essentially influenced by the current density distribution in the working gap and by the material to be processed. For these reasons, removal experiments according to DIN SPEC 91399 are important to determine process input parameters for the process design. In this study, transient 3D simulations of electrolyte flow in a PECM removal device, which is suitable for experiments according to DIN SPEC 91399, are shown. The influence of the parameters pressure difference and working distance on the flow rate and the flow velocity field in the working gap are analysed to gain a deeper understanding of the determination process. Afterwards experimental results are discussed, which show a correlation between flushing marks on X90CrMoV18 samples and the flow velocity field from the simulations.