Simulation and experiment of ECM accuracy of cooling holes considering the influence of temperature field

Abstract

Electrochemical machining (ECM) is an essential method for machining gas film cooling holes in high-temperature resistant nickel-based alloys. However it is difficult to directly measure the temperature of the machining area of the cooling hole during ECM, which leads to a significant error between the simulation and the experimental data on the machining accuracy of the cooling hole. Based on the convective heat transfer model and the k-ε turbulence model, this paper establishes a simulation model of the machining accuracy of the ECM cooling hole considering the influence of the temperature field. The influences of machining voltage, electrolyte concentration, electrolyte inlet flow rate, and tool cathode feed rate on the electrolyte temperature distribution in the machining area and on the machining accuracy of the cooling holes were simulated and analyzed by COMSOL Multiphysics software. Experimental research was done to investigate the influence of craftsmanship parameters on the machining accuracy of cooling holes. The simulation and experimental results show that there is a significant error between the simulation data and the experimental data for the machining accuracy of cooling holes without considering the influence of the temperature field, and the simulation data of the machining accuracy of the cooling hole considering the influence of temperature field is consistent with the experimental data. The simulation model considering the influence of the temperature field, has high prediction accuracy for the machining accuracy of ECM cooling holes, which is of great significance to improve the machining accuracy of cooling holes.

Keywords

• ECM
• Craftsmanship parameters
• Temperature field
• Machining accuracy
• Cooling hole