Effect of system parameters on the size distributions of hollow nickel microspheres produced by an ultrasound-aided electrical discharge machining process--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Liu, Y., Li, X., Bai, F., Chen, J., Wang, Y., & Liu, N. (2014). Effect of system parameters on the size distributions of hollow nickel microspheres produced by an ultrasound-aided electrical discharge machining process. Particuology, 17, 36–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2013.11.002

Effect of system parameters on the size distributions of hollow nickel microspheres produced by an ultrasound-aided electrical discharge machining process

Yifan Liu ^a, Xianglong Li ^a *, Fushi Bai ^a, Jian Chen ^b, Yantao Wang ^a, Nan Liu ^a

a School of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
b School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia

10.1016/j.partic.2013.11.002

Volume 17, December 2014, Pages 36-41

Received 2 July 2013, Revised 12 November 2013, Accepted 28 November 2013, Available online 14 January 2014.

E-mail: lixianglong@scu.edu.cn

Highlights

• Hollow nickel microspheres were produced by ultrasound-aided electric discharge machining method.

• EDM machine used kerosene as dielectric medium, nickel strips as electrodes at 40 kHz ultrasounds.

• Short pulse widths, low voltages, and low currents favored formation of smaller microspheres.

Abstract

Ultrasound-aided electric discharge machining (EDM) is an emerging technology for producing hollow nickel microspheres. This technology combines traditional EDM with the cavitation and vibration effects of ultrasound to produce hollow microspheres. In this paper, ultrasound-aided EDM was carried out in a kerosene medium (the working solution). The effects of various parameters on the sizes of microspheres were investigated using scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Smileview software was used to measure the sizes of the microspheres. Originpro software was used for statistical analysis to determine the size distributions of the microspheres. To study the effects of the system parameters on the sizes of the microspheres, we first investigated the necessity of using an ultrasonic wave with EDM. After comparing the experimental results with and without the ultrasonic field, we found that ultrasound-induced cavitation and vibration effects reduced the diameters of the microspheres. We then studied the effects of several electrical parameters, including the arc current, pulse width, and gap voltage, on the sizes of the microspheres at an ultrasound frequency of 40 kHz. Smaller microspheres could be obtained by lowering the arc current, pulse width, and gap voltage.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Hollow microspheres; Ultrasonic-aided EDM; Cavitation; Electrical parameters; Size distribution

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