Coupled multi-physics simulation methods for control of PECM processes with Magnetic-Field-Assistance (MPECM)

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Markus Richter; Professor Dr.-Ing. Andreas Schubert
• Subject Area: Metal-Cutting and Abrasive Manufacturing Engineering ; Technical Thermodynamics
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 439920154

As part of this research project, pulsed electrochemical machining (PECM) with superimposed directed magnetic fields is being researched for the purpose to increase the efficiency of the production process and achieve better local functionalization of the workpiece surface. The aim of the second project phase within the SPP 2231 was particularly focused on the examination of integral measured variables to characterize the process under consideration of unsteady conditions and to be able to compare it with simulation results. For this purpose, the development and validation of a simulation method to describe the MPECM (material and charge transport in the working gap; workpiece shaping), taking into account the relevant mechanisms of action on different time scales, is a key focus of the work. For the metrological evaluation of the MPECM process, a cross-scale optical analysis of the electrolyte data and process gases is carried out by combining in-situ measurements within a mesoscale analysis cell. A special focus of the removal experiments was the characterization of surface properties and removal localization as a function of magnetic field parameters. In addition, the experimental results of the surface formation are combined with the machining strategies and the simulation results and the MPECM technology is demonstrated by means of 3D shaping with a magnetized cathode during EC sinking. In the third project phase of the SPP 2231, the work focuses in particular on the design and optimization of cathode systems with integrated magnetic field superposition in order to characterize a shaping process under consideration of inhomogeneous and transient conditions and to be able to compare it with simulation results. As a result of the third funding period a time- and application-optimized process model for the transient MPECM process will be researched. This process model is characterized by the implementation of experimentally determined ablation maps with the ablation speed as a function of the current density and magnetic flux density present. The degree of complexity of the simulation is reduced by this abstraction, so that time-efficient tool and process optimizations can be realized. A particular focus of the experiments will also be on determining the current yield for the in-process characterization of the machining conditions close to the anode.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 2231: Efficient cooling, lubrication and transportation – coupled mechanical and fluid-dynamical simulation methods for efficient production processes (FLUSIMPRO)