Modelling of Three-Phase Flow in Electro-Chemical Machining

Electro-Chemical Machining (ECM) is an advanced machining technology. It has been applied to highly specialized fields such as aerospace, aeronautics and medical industries. However, it still has some problems to be overcome. The efficient tool-design, electrolyte processing, and disposal of metal hydroxide sludge are the typical issues. To solve such problems, CFD is considered to be a powerful tool in the near future. However, the numerical method that can satisfactorily predict the flow has not been established because of the complex flow natures. In the present study, we investigate the modelling of the three-phase flow (i.e. fluid, hydrogen bubble and metal sludge) in ECM process. First, the developed code is applied to the two-dimensional channel configuration. The interactions among three-phases and the dissolved wall are simulated, to verify the modelling and to determine the model parameters, Next, the sinusoidal channel is machined by our code. It is confirmed that hydrogen bubbles in the separation region suppress the dissolution of the wall, and make the final wall shape be wavy. Through this study, it is exhibited that our developed model and code are sound and useful for simulating ECM process.