A STUDY OF ELECTRICAL DISCHARGES IN ELECTROLYTE BY HIGH-SPEED PHOTOGRAPHY

We report our experimental observations of controlled electrical disch arges in an aqueous electrolyte solution over a wide range of concentr ations, voltages, flow types, and electrode contact forces. The result s show that the electrical discharges in electrolyte are surrounded by a form of shock wave, which plays a significant role in the mechanism of metal removal in such a process. The surface finishes attainable i n the experiments are found to be sensitive to the characteristics of the shock wave and the relative phase proportions of electrochemical m achining (ECM) and electro-discharge machining (EDM). We analyze the f undamental features of the process that combine both ECM and EDM and p resent theoretical calculations to quantify the amount of metal remova l in the combined process.