Advancing electrochemical drilling process via coupling of flow field and electric field in pulsating state generated by a novel tube tool

This paper introduces an improvement to electrochemical drilling process by coupling flow field and electric field in pulsating state. A novel tube with half-wedged shape at the end(HW-tube) is prepared, with both sidewall and wedged part of the HW-tube insulated. Only the flat part is utilized to provide electric field for electrochemical drilling. By rotating the HW-tube, both flow field and electric field in pulsating state are generated, alternating in different positions within the inter-electrode gap(IEG). The pulsating flow field enhances the mass transfer process, while pulsating electric field disperses material dissolution process and distribution of electrolytic byproducts. Both pulsating fields are coupled at the same frequency, further enhancing the electrochemical drilling process. Simulation results indicate that both flow field and electric field in pulsating state are generated. Compared to the traditional tube, the HW-tube significantly reduces the number of residual particles in IEG, and this number is further reduced by increasing the rotation speed. Experimental results reveal that the surface quality and dimensional uniformity of small hole are improved with HW-tube. With feed rate of 2.22 mm/min, a small hole with diameter of 1.52± 0.017 mm is drilled, resulting in a surface roughness of 0.331 μm.