Jet electrochemical machining of TB6 titanium alloy

A review of physical experimental research in jet electrochemical machining

“…In the research, it was found Fig. 10 Material removal rates in various electrolyte solutions on titanium [29] the same relationship as Schubert [14] in that increasing the inter electrode gap decreases the material removal rate as well as discovering an increased flow rate improves material removal rates [30].…”

“…Liu et al published a comprehensive study on machining TB6 titanium alloy with aiming for industrial applications [30]. They used a copper nozzle of 2 mm diameter, much larger than those seen in previous experiments, for example 50 μm [10] and 100 μm [14]; however, the focus is based more upon material removal than the machining of microgeometries.…”

“…Investigations included a large range of voltages, working gap and flow rate parameters in depth, and for the first time the effect of electrolyte temperature on machining results, although it had been previously touched upon by Natsu et al [1]. Liu et al also give a more in-depth analysis on the effect of electrolytes and the associated mechanisms [30]. Whereas previous studies analyse the surfaces machined using various electrolytes [29], they suggest the reason for the chloride-based electrolytes are more effective at machining titanium due to the ions being much smaller and more efficient at penetrating the oxide passive layer.…”

“…Increasing the sodium chloride electrolyte temperature from 20 to 60 • C halved the energy required to activate the dissolution process as at higher temperatures, the attack and removal of the passive layer are accelerated [30]. However, Liu et al found there to be a limiting factor to the temperatures used, as in the inter electrode gap (IEG), the electrolyte can increase in temperature by 60 • C and if evaporation occurs, performance is severely hindered.…”

“…However, when using sodium nitrate, an increased voltage, and therefore current improved the surface roughness values, as seen in previous studies [9,10,14,15] albeit on a different material. Increasing the inter electrode gap had a negative effect on the surface roughness, but due to the increased resistance, as in decreased current rather than the quality of the jet over different lengths [30]. Liu also considered the effect of process parameters to realise the optimal parameters for machining performance, with the results seen in Table 2.…”