Comparison of Various Approaches to Model the Thermal Load on the EDM-Wire

Electrode

Ir. M. Jennes, Prof. dr. ir. R . Snoeys (1). ir. W. Dekeyser

0r.c o f t h e most i m p o r t a n t c o n s t r a i n t s i n EDM-wire c u t t i n g , i s t h e o c c u r a n c e o f w i r e r u p t u r e . -his pheno-

menon a c t u a l l y l i m i t s t h e maximum a t t a i n a b l e c u t t i n g s p e e d ; i n c a s e of r u p t u r e , machining t i m e i n c r e a s e s
d r a s t i c a l l y w h i l e at. t h e same t i m e permanent marks on t h e workpiece s u r f a c e may b e l e f t S e h i n d .
On-line i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e power d i s s i p a t i o n between e l e c t r o d e and workpiece i s made f e a s i b l e by usi.ng
t h e F3!4-Pulse D i s c r i m i n a t o r as d e t e c t i o n system d u r i n g r e a l - t i m e measurements p r e c e e d i n g w i r e r u p t u r e .
A c c o r d i n g t o t h e s e r e s u l t s , t h e t h e r m a l l o a d on t h e w i r e seems t o g o v e r n t h e w i r e r u p t u r e phenomenon.
A p r e l i m i n a r t h e r m a l model i s f o r m u l a t e d t o e v a l u a t e t h e t h e r m a l l o a d o f t h e w i r e . An a n a l y t i c a l s o l u -
t i o n i s compared w i t h a n u m e r i c a l f i n i t e - d i f f e r e n c e method. The i n f l u e n c e o f v a r i o u s m a c h i n i n g p a r a m e t e r s
on t h e t e m p e r a t u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h e w i r e c a n be d e r i v e d .
A f i r s t a t t e m p t t o c o v e r randomly o c c u r i n g p u l s e s i s a l s o p r e s e n t e d .

NOMENCLATURE
therma.1 r i i f f u s i v i t y
oute r surf ace
B i o t number
specific heat
h e a t t r a n s f e r coef f i c i e n t ( c o nvect i on)
workpiece t h i c k n e s s
thermal conductivity
circumference of t h e wire
number of nodes
a v e r a g e power d i s s i p a t i o n
i n s t a n t a n e o u s power d i s s i p a t i o n p r e -
cendine wire ruptiirn
i n t e r n a l heat. p r o d u c t i o n p e r ) i n i t
volume and p e r u n i t tjrne
wire radius
c r o s s - s e c t i o n o f t h e wj.re
time
pulse duration
p u l s e i n t e r v a l time
temperature
t e m p e r a t u r e a t mor'e i and a t time
t = p x h t
ambient temperature
servo-reference voltage
volume
wire v e l o c i t y
length coordinate along the wire a x i s
mass d e n s i t y
f i n i t e time i n t e r v a l
f i n i t e 2ength i n t e r v a l (= mesh s i z e )
thermal time c o n s t a n t
INTRODUCTION
The a p p l i c a t i o n o f EDM-wire c u t t i n g i n i n d u s t r y ccn-
t i n u e s t o i n c r e a s e v e r y r a p i d l y ; a l s o t h e machining
p e r f o n n a n c e s i n t e r m s o f c u t t i n g s p e e d , geome+,rical a c -
c u r a c y , a d m i s s i b l e w o r k p i e c e d i m e n s i o n s , e t c . , have
been improved c o n t i n u o u s l y due t o i n t e n s i v e r e s e a r c h
a c t i v i t i e s d u r i n g t h e l a s t 10 y e a r s .
However, t h e r e r e m a i n s s t i l l some room f o r f u r t h e r i m -
provement b e c a u s e o f t h e l i m i t a t i o n s imposed on t h e
maximal a t t a i n a b l e c u t t i n g s p e e d . T h i s c u t t i n g s p e e d
which i s a c t u a l l y r e s t r i c t e d by t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f wim
r'Jpture. obviously i s a c r i t i c a l economical parameter.
The r u p t u r e must be a v o i d e d by a l l means a s it may
c o m p l e t e l y s t o p t h e p r o c e s s , sometimes f o r many h o u r s
i n c a s e t h e machine i s working i n a n unmanned mode.
During t.he e r o s i o n t i m e t h e w i r e e l e c t r o d e h a s t o r e -
s i s t t o a c o m h i n a t i o n o f a m e c h a n i c a l stress imposed
upon t h e w i r e , i n o r d e r t o r e a c h a d e s i r a b l e d e g r e e
o f a c c u r a c y , and some t h e r m a l e f f e c t s i n h e r e n t t o t h e
EDM-process i t s e l f . T h i s t h e r m a l l o a d on t h e w i r e con-
s i s t s o f i n t e r n a l J o u l e h e a t i n g and t h e e f f e c t s of
s u r f a c e h e a t s o u r c e s c a u s e d by t h e s u c c e s s i v e d i s c h a r -
ges: each i n d i v i d u a l discharge can be considered a s a
s m a l l c i r c i i l a r h e a t s o u r c e h a v i n q a t i m e dependcnt d i -
a m e t e r a c t i n g upon workpiece as w e l l a s apon t h e w i r e
e l e c t r o d e 111.
A numher o f p u h l i c a t i o n s r e p o r t on r e s e a r c h d e a l i n g
w i t h w i r e r u p t u r e problems.
Tanimnra and Heiivelman I 2 1 p o i n t e d c u t t h a t w i r e h r e a k -
i n g was u s u a l l y r e l a t e d t o t h e r a t e of s h o r t c i r c u i t .
p u l s e s . They r e p o r t e d t h a t an u n u s u a l h i g h r a t e of short
c i r c u i t p u l s e s d u r i n g a p e r i o d o f 30 ms o r more, u s u a l -
l y preceeds a r u p t u r e of t h e wi re e l e c t r o d e .
K i n o s h i t a , Fukui and Gamo 131 d e s i g n e d a c o n t r o l s y s t e m
p r e v e n t i n g t h e w i r e from b r e a k i n g , y i e l d i n g good r e s u l t s
i f %he wor!cpiece t h i c k n e s s i s r e s t r i c t e d to 2 0 mm. They
s t a t e t h a t w i r e r u p t u r e can b e a v o i d e d by m o n i t o r i n g
t h e p u l s e frequency; t h e s e a u t h o r s observed a d r a s t i c a l
i n c r e a s e of t h i s f r e q u e n c y j u s t before t h e h r e a k i n g
phenomenon d u r i n g 5-40 m s . Such o h s e r v a t i o n c a n n o t b e
e x t r a p o l a t e d towards s t a t i c p u l s e g e n e r a t o r s , because
h e r e t h e imposed p l l l s e f r e q u e n c y i s k e p t c o n s t a n t .
R a l l e y s [ / I ] r e l a t e s w i r e v i b r a t i o n and O c c u r r e n c e o f
s h o r t c i r c u i t s r e s u l t i n g i n l o w e r c u t t i n g s p e e d s and
a n i n c r e a s e d p o s s i b i l i t y of w i r e r u p t u r e .
A s a c o n c l u s i o n , i t may b e s t a t e d t h a t t h e t h e r m a l l o a d
seems t o b e a m a j o r e l e m e n t i n t h e w i r e r u p t u r e pheno-
menon. T h e r e f o r e i t i s i n d i c a t e d t o f o r m u l a t e a t h e r m a l
model i n o r d e r t o s t u d y t h e t h e r m a l l o a d o f t h e w i r e
electrode.
I n o r d e r t o a p p l y r e a l i s t i c p a r a m e t e r s i n t h e model,
some e x p e r i m e n t a l measurements a r e r e q u i r e d . The s t u d y
of t h e t h e r m a l model i t s e l f may b e b a s e d upon an a n a l y -
t i c a l o r upon a n u m e r i c a l a p p r o a c h . Both p o s s i h l e ap-
p r o a c h e s may b e worked o u t i n o r d e r t o check t h e v a l i -
d i t y o f some of t h e h y p o t h e s e s o r some of t h e a p p r o x i -
mations used.
1. E x p e r i m e n t a l d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e t h e r m a l l o a d on
t h e wire electrode
T o d e s c r i b e t h e t h e r m a l l o a d Of t h e w i r e e l e c t r o d e ,
i t i s e s s e n t i a l t o know t h e t o t a l power i n p u t t o which
t h e wire i s subjected p r i o r t o the event of wire ruptu-
r e . For t h i s p u r p o s e , a s p e c i a l p u l s e a n a l y s e r ( f i g . 1 )
h a s heen d e v e l o p e d t r a c k i n g b o t h gap v o l t a g e and c u r -
rent signal simultaneously, enabling t o analyse the
w i r e c u t t i n g p r o c e s s on l i n e [ 5 , 6 ] .
These s i g n a l s a r e s e n t t o t h e a n a l y s e r ' s d e t e c t i o n and
c l a s s i f i c a t i o n module where t h e y a r e compared w i t h ad-
j u s t a b l e r e f e r e n c e v o l t a g e l e v e l s , u s e d as s e l e c t i o n
c r i t e r i a . The d i f f e r e n t p u l s e t y p e s and p u l s e t i m e s
( e . g . i g n i t i o n d e l a y time t d , d i s c h a r g e d u r a t i o n t e ,
p u l s e d u r a t i o n t i , p u l s e i n t e r v a l time t o ) a r e d e t e r -
mined and t r a n s f e r e d t o t h e p r o c e s s i n g module where
t h e y a r e p r o c e s s e d d u r i n g a p r e d e t e r m i n e d and a d j u s t a -
b l e t i m e i n t e r v a l . A p u l s e t r a i n e v o l u t i o n of 512 s u c -
ceeding pulses (e.g. d e t a i l e d pulse information precee-
d i n g w i r e r u p t u r e ) c a n b e s t o r e d i n t o Random Access
llemories ( R A M ) .
The EDW equipment u s e d d u r i n g t h e t e s t s was a Charmilles
Andrew EF330 w i r e c u t t i n g machine. F i v e b a s i c p u l s e
t y p e s c a n be d i s t i n g u i s h e d ( f i g . 2 ) : normal d i s c h a r g e ,
a r c , s h o r t c i r c u i t , open c i r c u i t , , d e l a y e d d i s c h a r g e .
A d d i t i o n a l l y , e a c h t y p e , e x c e p t f o r t h e open c i r c u i t
p u l s e s , can f u r t h e r be subdivided i n t o t h r e e l e v e l s ,
a c c o r d i n g t o r e s p e c t i v e l y a s h o r t , medium o r l o n g d i s -
c h a r g e d u r a t i o n t e . I n t h i s manner, a t o t a l o f 13
( = 4x3+1) d i f f e r e n t p u l s e numbers a r e d i s c r i m i n a t e d .
A d i g i t a l memory o s c i l l o s c o p e ( 2 x 1 2 . 5 MHz d i g i t i s a -
t i o n r a t e ) l i n k e d w i t h a s m a l l d e s k computer ( t y p e HP
8 5 ) was u s e d t o measure t h e i n s t a n t a n e o u s g a p v o l t a g e
( u ( t ) ) and t h e d i s c h a r g e c u r r e n t ( i ( t ) ) .M u l t i p l i c a t i o n
o f t h e s e s i g n a l s and i n t e g r a t i o n d u r i n g t h e a c t u a l p u l -
s e d u r a t i o n y i e l d t h e t o t a l p u l s e energy. For each pul-
s e t y p e and d i f f e r e n t p u l s e d u r a t i o n s , t h e mean p u l s e
e n e r g y E i was d e t e r m i n e d .

Annals of the ClRP Vol. 33/1/1984 93

 FIG.l General layout o f t h e p u l s e a n a l y s i n g system
u s e d t o e v a l u a t e t h e power input. p r i o r T O w i r e
electrode rupture.
2 . Thermal model u s e d t o s i m u l a t e t h e i n f l u e n c e o f
e l e c t r i c a l d i s c h a r g e s on t h e w i r e e l e c t r o d e

Discharges occur at high frequency o v e r t h e workpiece

t h i c k n e s s H. I n s t e a d o f c o n s i d e r i n g ?he t h e r m a l e f f e c t
o f i n d i v i d u a l c o n s e c u t i v e d i s c h a r g e s . a mean v a l u e is
t a k e n f o r t h e h e a t i n p u t assumed t o h e d i s t r i b u t e d
e v e n l y o v e r t h e workpiece t h i c k n e s s . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h i s
t h e r m a l l o a d on t h e w i r e a c t u a l l y a c t i n g a s s u r f a c e
h e a t s o u r c e s i s assumed t o b e e q u a l l y d j s t r i b u t e d o v e r
t h e w i r e volume. I n t h i s manner, t h e e f f e c t of t h e d i s -
c h a r g e s i s t h u s r e p r e s e n t e d hy a uniform t i m e f n v a r i a n t ,
internal heat generation qz' .
j[-r\
a time
J o u l e h e a t i n g due t o c u r r e n t p u l s e s f l o w i n g t h r o u g h t h e
w i r e w i l l be t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t s i m i l a r l y u s i n g a s e -
cond s o u r c e of i n t e r n a l h e a t g e n e r a t i o n q;". T h i s model
normal arc short open delayed enables t o c a l c u l a t e t h e temperature r i s e i n the wire,
discharge circuit circuit discharge d u e t o J o u l e - e f f e c t as w e l l a s t o h e a t i n p u t hy s p a r k
discharges (fig.4).
FIG.2 F i v e b a s i c p u l s e t y p e s on t h e w i r e c u t t i n g The h e a t f l o w is assumed t o he o n e - d i m e n s i o n a l , i . e .
machine d e t e c t e d by t h e p u l s e a n a l y s i n g system. o n l y t h e l e n g t h - a x i s of t h e w i r e i s t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t .

By m e a s u r i n g t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h e d i f f e r e n t p u l s e
t y p e s d u r i n g a c e r t a i n p e r i o d b t , t h e a v e r a g e power P
can be determined : Woacpiece mterial X 210 Cx 12
thickness H=10 mn
13 13
L E. Wire material brass
diameter 0.25 mn
m&anical load 11.5 N
w l o c i t y Vw=!j dmin
i=1 pulse duratim ti= 1.0 US
w i t h : E i = p u l s e e n e r g y of p u l s e t y p e i
N i = t h e t o t a l number o f p u l s e s o f t y p e i d u r i n g
the t e s t period A t .
E x p e r i m e n t s were s e t up t o compare t h e a v e r a g e power
v a l u e d u r i n g normal c u t t i n g c o n d i t i o n s w i t h t h e moment-
a r y power d i s s i p a t e d by t h e l a s t 512 p u l s e s p r e c e e d i n g PmeK
t h e w i r e r u p t u r e phenomenon [ 7 ] .The l a t t e r v a l u e i s P (w)
s i m p l y o b t a i n e d by s t o p p i n g t h e p u l s e t r a i n memories a t
t h e v e r y moment o f w i r e r u p t u r e and c a l c u l a t i n g t h e
energy c o n t e n t of those p u l s e s . F o r every t e s t condi t -
i o n , t h e power j u s t b e f o r e w i r e b r e a k i n g (P,) a l w a y s
e x c e e d e d t h e mean power v a l u e d u r i n g normal c u t t i n g
conditions (fig.3).
T h i s f i g u r e r e p r e s e n t s t h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e o f t h e mean
:"I
80

i
power v a l u e P o v e r a p e r i o d o f 2 0 t o 60 s e c a s a f u n c t -
i o n of t h e p u l s e i n t e r v a l t i m e t o and t h e s e r v o - r e f e -
r e n c e v o l t a g e Us d u r i n g normal machining c o n d i t i o n s .
During t h e s e t e s t s , t h e p u l s e d u r a t i o n t i w a s k e p t con- 40
s t a n t ( t i = l . O e s ) . Three a d d i t i o n a l p o i n t s show t h e i n - 6o
s t a n t a n e o u s power P, o f t h e l a s t 512 p u l s e s p r e c e e d i n g
w i r e r u p t u r e . The b r e a k i n g o f t h e w i r e was r e a l i z e d by
g r a d u a l l y i n c r e a s i n g t h e p u l s e f r e q u e n c y when working
w i t h a predetermined U s . t i combination. S i m i l a r r e s u l t s
were o b t a i n e d f o r t i = 0 . 5 and t i = 2 . 0 vs.
From t h i s p o i n t o f view, i t seems t o b e i m p o r t a n t t o
be a b l e t o c o n t r o l and r e s t r i c t t h e power d i s s i p a t i o n
i n t h e g a p . Due t o t h e c o m b i n a t i o n o f m e c h a n i c a l s t r e s s
and t h e r m a l load, t h e b r e a k i n g of t h e w i r e i s i n i t i a t e d
i f t h e i n s t a n t a n e o u s power v a l u e e x c e e d s a c e r t a i n li-
m i t . A m a t h e m a t i c a l model g o v e r n i n g t h e t h e r m a l l o a d
imposed o n t h e w i r e by s u c c e s s i v e d i s c h a r g e s c a n h e FIG.3 Mean power d u r i n g normal machining c o n d i t i o n s
h e l p f u l t o examine i n more d e t a i l t h e w i r e r u p t u r e and i n s t a n t a n e o u s power a t w i r e r u p t u r e .
event.
I n r e a l i t y , b e c a u s e of t h e small d i m e n s i o n s of t h e
"hot s p o t " (plasma channel d i a m e t e r ) r e l a t i v e t o t h e
w i r e d i a m e t e r , t e m p e r a t u r e may b e d e p e n d e n t of t h e
d i s t a n c e from t h e w i r e c e n t e r , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e v i c i -
n i t y of the discharge.

94
 The thermal properties of the wire material are suppo-
sed to be temperature independent. While this is not
strictly true, most changes in the properties of metals
tend to be small over fairly wide temperature ranges.
water cooling Also, isotropy i s assumed.
current
supply
- ater cooling ( h l )
------ The treatment involves the solution of the one-dimensi-
onal form of the heat flow equation; the wire is assu-
med to be a system moving with constant speed Vw and
which is heated up by internal heat production.
It is assumed that wire speed Vw and input $'are con-
stant.
In the case of a stationary state, the differential
equation of heat flow has the form :
water cooling one 4
ater cooling l h 4 )
current current oule heat (q;? (2)
one 5
water cooling (h5) This is a second order differential equation, which

2r0 #vw wire

velocity
#-1 ______
2ro
vW wire
will be solved for the configuration as inrlicated in
fig. 4 .
The influence of the discharges is represented hy the
mean heat input q"' per unit volume and per unit time.
q"' can easily be calculated when the working conditi-
velocity ons are known. Initially, Joule heat is not taken into
account; as a consequence no heat production outside
ANALYTICAL APPROACH FINITE-DIFFERENCE MODEL
the height is considered in this first approach.
The boundary conditions to be used and the analytical
solution are presented in appendix 1.
Fig. 5a represents the solution of this stationary pro-
blem. Fig. 5b and 5c illustrates the influence of the
wire velocity Vw and of the heat dissipation h.
The influence of the contribution of the Joule heat
can be taken into account by superimposing two analo-
gous solutions (fig.6). The mean Joule heat generation
can be calculated when the sparking conditions are
known.
To determine the temperature as a function of time,
equation ( 1 ) has to he solved, with the same boundary
conditions (ap(l), and with initial condition T(t=O)=O).

i I SPHASS 8500 <kg/m3)

100 a SP. HEAT 380<J/kgK)
SPEED 10 (m/min)
T C O W 110 (W/mK)
TRANSF 10000<W/m2K)
D I A H 250<um)
50. HEICTH 5O<mm)
HEAT IW.20.4 (W/mm3)
n
9
W

g! X
d
E
Q)
n
EIOO b C
Workpiece thickness Outside
workpiece
Inside
workpiece
e!
H (mm)

I 15.500
12.800 I 15.700
A.800 I 1
These values agree quite well with those ohtained by
evaluating the time constants associated with the coo&
50. (
ing rate of the wire ( T = 5 ... 5 0 ~ 1 s0) ~as~ indicated
by Tmimra and Kinoshita [2,31. pcr
Indeed, a time constant of 7 = hAs = 2 2h = Z O X ~ O -s~
is obtained for a brass wire with a diameter of 0.25mm L
A. A-
i 8
for h = 10.000 W/m2K. p = 6.500 kg/m3, ro=0.125Xc3mm 0 40 80
and C = 380 J/kgK.
In order to solve the heat equations for this simpll- position along wire axis (mm)
fied model two different approaches were used: the
first method consists in analytically solving the dif-
ferential equations, the second method uses a finite- FIG.Sa,b,c Stationary temperature distribution in
difference approach. wire: influence of wire winding velocity
(fig.5b : V=lOm/s); influence of heat
3. Analytical approach of the thermal model dissipation rate (fig.5~:h520.000 W/m K).

The differential equation for heat flow i n an infinite

body, moving with velocity Vw is :

95
 -
With a hackward d i f f e r e n c e
>Ti
at I
t =p
2
T?
At
TP-I
, at
e a c h node i a n a l g e b r a i c s e t o f N(= nr. o f n o d e s )
e q u a t i o n s has t o be solved ( e . g . w i t h m a t r i x inversion,
Gaussian e l i m i n a t i o n . . . . I t o determine t h e temperatu-
r e TP+l a t a t i m e t = ( p + l ) * A t ( = i m p l i c i t f i n i t e - d i f -
f e r e h e scheme) based on the temperature distribution at t=pXAt
I n o r d e r t o s o l v e t h e t r a n s i e n t t e m p e r a t u r e distribution
o f t h e w i r e e l e c t r o d e , a f i n i t . e - d i f f e r e n c e program ha-
s e d upon f o r w a r d d i f f e r e n c e s ( i m p l i c i t scheme) h a s
been d e v e l o p e d . The w i r e i s r e g a r d e d as b e i n g s u h d i v i -
ded i n t o s m a l l , f i n i t e c y l i n d e r s w i t h r a d i u s ro and
h e i g h t Ax. Under t h e a s s u m p t i o n o f a one d i m e n s i o n a l
h e a t flow along t he l engt h a x i s of t h e wi re, t h e ener-
gy b a l a n c e f o r e a c h node c a n b e r e a d i l y o b t a i n e d (fig.8).
I . . . . I < ,
0 40 80 120
position along wire axis (mm) Conduction from node i t o i-1:

FIG.6 Stationary temperature d i s t r i b u t i o n i n wire;

i n f l u e n c e o f J o u l e h e a t and h e a t i n p u t by
discharges.

The s o l u t i o n o f t h i s d i f f e r e n t i a l e q u a t i o n can b e foimd

u s i n g L a p l a c e t r a n s f o r m s . Because o f t h e r e l a t i v e l y
complex form o f t h e boundary c o n d i t i o n s , t h e s o l u t i o n
becomes r a t h e r e x t e n s i v e ( e . g . f o r t h e p a r t c o n t a i n i n g convection t o surroundings:
t h e workpiece; s e e appendix 2 ) . 7 2nrohAx(Ty - T_)
F i g . 7 shows some v a l u e s f o r t h e t e m p e r a t u r e i n t h e w i r e
a t s e v e r a l moments of t i m e . Internal heat generation

Conduction from node i t o i+1:

4. Finite-difference approach u sin g t h e energy balance
method

Analytical solutions of the heat t r a n s f e r equations,

even f o r r e l a t i v e l y s i m p l e g e o m e t r i e s , may b e d i f f i c u l t
t o n b t a i n , e s p e c i a l l y f o r t r a n s i e n t problems.
S o l u t i o n s a v a i l a h l e (9 ] a r e m o s t l y r e s t r i c t e d t o simple
g e o m e t r i e s and houndary c o n d i t i o n s . R a z e l o s I101 d e s -
I zr-
- - ' I I
c r i b e s s e v e r a l methods o b t a i n i n g a p p r o x i m a t e s o l u t i o n s ,
among which f i n i t e - d i f f e r e n c e e q u a t i o n s a r e q u i t e popu-
FIG.8 Energy b a l a n c e o f one e l e m e n t w i t h a one-di-
l a r . G r a p h i c a l methods i n t r o d u c e d by B i n d e r and Schmidt,
m e n s i o n a l f i n i t e - d i f f e r e n c e model of t h e EDM-
a n a l o g methods and a p p r o x i m a t e a n a l y t i c a l methods 1101
wire electrode.
a r e a l t e r n a t i v e techniques t o transient heat t r a n s f e r
p r o h l e m s . A f i n i t e - d i f f e r e n c e a p p r o a c h can be i n t e r e s t -
i n g e s p e c i a l l y i f t e m p e r a t u r e dependency o f m a t e r i a l
p r o p e r t i e s ( e . g . t h e r m a l c o n d u c t i v i t y k , t h e r m a l capa-
c i t y c , d e n s i t y 0 1 a r e important o r if t h e influence
o f p h a s e c h a n g e s or m e t a l l u r g i c a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s a r e
t o b e i n v e s t i g a t e d . The Yemperature d i s t r i b u t i o n is
t h e n d e t e r m i n e d o n l y a t d i s c r e t e p o i n t s ( = n o d a l points
o r n o d e s ) and a t d i s c r e t e t i m e i n t e r v a l s . The t o t a l
s e t o f n o d a l p o i n t s ( = n o d a l network or mesh) d e s c r i -
b e s t h e geometry o f t h e s t r u c t u r e . Every r e g i o n d e f i n -
e d b y t h e network i s r e p r e s e n t e d by a c e r t a i n node, q"'and h c a n h e changed a c c o r d i n g t o t h e houndary con-
d i t i o n s and t h e h e a t l o a d imposed on t h e w i r e . The rno-
and t h e t e m p e r a t u r e i n t h a t node is assumed t o h e e q u a l
d e l c o n s i d e r s f i v e d i f f e r e n t z o n e s ( e . g . zone 1: w a t e r
t o t h e a v e r a g e t e m p e r a t u r e o f t h e r e g i o n which i t r e -
presents.
cooling o f t h e w i r e + no i n t e r n a l h e a t g e n e r a t i o n ,
zone 2: w a t e r c o o l i n g + J o u l e h e a t i n g , zone 3 : w a t e r
c o o l i n g + J o u l e h e a t i n g and t h e r m a l a c t i o n c a u s e d by
t h e d i s c h a r g e s , zone 4 : i d e n t i c a l t o zone 2. zone 5 :
i d e n t i c a l t o zone 1 ) .
n The t i m e i n t e r v a l A t h a s t o be s e l e c t e d i n a c c o r d a n c e
w i t h t h e EDM working c o n d i t i o n s and depends on t h e m a -
t e r i a l p r o p e r t i e s and t h e mesh s i z e Ax; t h i s i s checked
'Q> t h e program b e f o r e t h e c a l c u l a t i o n s a r e i n i t i a t e d .
The e f f e c t o f t h e w i r e v e l o c i t y Vw h a s been t a k e n i n t o
a c c o u n t by s h i f t i n g t h e c a l c u l a t e d t e m p e r a t u r e d i s t r i -
hution.
Using t h e same c o n d i t i o n s as i n t h e p r e v i o u s s e c t i o n
where a n a n a l y t i c a l s o l u t i o n of t h e h e a t e q u a t i o n s h a s
b e e n d e r i v e d , similar r e s u l t s a r e o b t a i n e d u s i n g t h e
f i n i t e - d i f f e r e n c e method (table 1 ) .
The t e m p e r a t u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n a l o n g t h e w i r e a x i s and
:he i n f l u e n c e of t h e w i r e v e l o c i t y i s p r e s e n t e d i n
f i g . 9 a t t = l f ~ - ~10-2s, s, 1 0 - l ~and 1s. The l a t t e r d i s t r i -
0 40 80 120 bution corresponds with steady s t a t e conditions.
The maximum w i r e t e m p e r a t u r e can e a s i l y be checked i f
position along wire axis (mm) t h e w i r e w i n d i n g v e l o c i t y is z e r o : due t o t h e g e o m e t r i -
c a l symmetry, t h e t e m p e r a t u r e g r a d i e n t i n t h e m i d d l e o f
FIG.7 Time-dependent t e m p e r a t u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n i n the t h e wire is equal t o z e r o . A t s t e a d y s t a t e c o n d i t i o n s ,
w i r e : i n f l u e n c e o f J o u l e h e a t and h e a t i n p u t :he t i m e d e r i v a t i v e o f t h e t e m p e r a t u r e i s a l s o z e r o .
by d i s c h a r g e s . T h e r e f o r e , t h e i n t e r n a l h e a t p r o d u c t i o n q"' i s removed
by c o n v e c t i o n o n l y . The maximum t e m p e r a t u r e c a n b e c a l -
The f i n i t e - d i f f e r e n c e e q u a t i o n f o r any node i may h e c u l a t e d d i r e c t l y o u t of t h e e n e r g y b a l a n c e :
o b t a i n e d by f o r m u l a t i n g an e n e r g y b a l a n c e f o r t h a t no-
d a l p o i n t . Using a f o r w a r d d i f f e r e n c e f o r t h e t i m e de-

r i v a t i v e of t h e temperature 2 a Tt I
t =p
TP+l P
A t

a n e x p l i c i t method t o o b t a i n t h e t e m p e r a t u r e d i s t r i - '.lhile t h e a n a l y t i c a l method g i v e s a n e x a c t s o l u t i o n o f

b u t i o n a t a t i m e t = ( p + l ) z A t c m b e d e r i v e d b a s e d on t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l equations governing the heat flow, t h e
t h e temperature o f t h e surrounding nodes a t a t i m e f i n i t e - d i f f e r e n c e method y i e l d s a n a p p r o x i m a t i o n o f
t = p At.
t h i s e x a c t s o l u t i o n . However, t h e l a t t e r method c a n
e a s i l y be a p p l i e d when i n t r o d u c i n g t e m p e r a t u r e c h a r a c -

96
 Zonr h-10000. W/ (K*m**2>
Is 5 0 m m q- .000E+00W/m**3
Z o n r h 5 0 m m h-10000. W/CU*m**2> q- .000€+00U/m**3 Zonr h-10000. W/CK*m**2>
21 2 5 m m q- .407E+lEW/m**3
20- 21 2 5 m m h-10000. W/CK*m**2> q- .407E+lEW/m**3 Zonr 3s 5 0 m m h- 10000. Y/ CK*m**2> q- .204E* 1I W/m**3
ZOM 3 8 50mm h-10000. W/ <K*m**2> q- .204E+llW/m**3 Zonr 4s 2 5 m m h-10000. W/ (K*m**2> q- .407€*10~/m**3
ZOM 4, 2Smm h- 10000. W/ (K*m**2> q- .407E+10W/m**3 Zonr 50mm h-10000. W/ CK*m**2> q- .000E+00W/m**3
Z o n r 5 s 5 0 m m h- 10000. W/ <K*m**2>
k- 110. +. 0000*<T-1,) W/<K*m>
q- .000€+00W/m**3 ro-
58
.
125mm
Vw- 5 m / m i n
p-
8500. k g / m * * 3
At-l.000n- A%-1.0 mm
388. +. 0000* CT-Too) J/ (ks*K> AX- 1- WWm
0-
.
12snm p - 0500. kg/m**3 At-l.000nr
150
150,

Vv- 0m/min 125.

100

7s.
25 5 0 .
t-lne

150
0
0 20 40 80 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
pornition along
x (nn)

w i r e oxirn
2s
0
0 20 40 60 80
t-la.
100 120 140 160 180 200
pornition 01-9 w i r . oxie
-
x (mm)

Zonr 11 50mm h- 2000. W/ CK*m**2> 9- .000E*00W/m**3

Zonr 2 s 2 S n m h- 2000. W/ (K*m**2> q- .407E+10W/m*~3

50 I
I
I
I
I _ . " _ I\
i
Z o n r 3s 5 0 m m
Zonr 41 2 5 m m
Zonr 5 s 5 0 m m
ro- 125mm.
h- 2000. W/ CK*m**2>
h- 2000. W/ (K*m**2>

-
h- 2000. W/<K+m**2>
9 8500. k g / m * * 3
9-
q-
q-
.204E+llW/m*+3
.407E+lBW/m*u3
.BBBE+BBW/m**3

25
t-lnrn -1 10+0.0s0 CT-T,) U/ CK*m>
0 Y (ma)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

150 I T ( % t-1000w
125 b

75

200
25 100
+.-IN
0 )x (mm) 0 *
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 190 200
FIG. 10 Influence o off t.he
+.he t e m n e r a t u r e ?eDen+ence
FIC.9 Temperature d i s t r i b u t i o n o f w i r e c a l c u l a t e d w i r e m a t e r i a l c h a r a c i e r i s t i c s on t::e tempera-
w i t h a f i n i t e - d i f f e r e n c e method. ture d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e w i r e e l e c t r o d e .
t e r i s t i c s o f m a t e r i a l p r o p e r t i e s or i f t h e e f f e c t o f
s u c c e s s i v e d i s c h a r g e s d i s t r i b u t e d o v e r t h e workpiece Zonr l r 50mm h-10000. W/ (K*m**2> 9- .000E.+00W/m+*3
h e i g h t h a s t o he e v a l r i a t e d . The f i n i t e - d i f f e r e n c e met- Zonr 21 25mm h-10000. W/CK*m**2> q- .407E+lEW/m*+3
hod demands more compnter c a l c u l a t , i o n t i m e ( s t r o n g l y
i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e mesh s i z e Ax and t h e t i m e i n t e r v a l
Zonr 31 50- h-10000. W/(K*m**2> 9; .407E+10W/m**3
qIp-200 W during t i - 5 . O c l r to-20~-
A t ) b e c a u s e t h e t e m p e r a t u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n a t a time t i s Zonr 41 2 5 m m h-10000. W/ CK*m**2> q- .407E+lBW/m**3
c a l c u l a t e d by s u c c e s s i v e s t e p s s t a r t i n g from t = O . An
a n a l y t i c a l s o l u t i o n immediately y i e l d s t h e temperature
Zonr 58 50mm h-10000. W/ (K*m**Z> 4- .000E+00W/m**3
k-110 W/ ( K * d
d i s t r i h u t i o n a t any time t ; t h e m a j o r t i m e consuming
p a r t c o n s i s t s i n f o r m u l a t i n g and programming t h e ana-
l y t i c a l solution.
0-380 J/ <kg*k>
PO-
Vw-
.Sm/min
125mm -
P 8500. k g / m * * 3
at-0.005mr ax-0.5mm
An e x t e n s i o n o f t h e program c o n s i s t s i n i n c o r p o r a t i n g
t h e t e m p e r a t u r e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e m a t e r i a l , such 150
as k = f ( T ) and c = f ( T ) . While t h e s e t e m p e r a t u r e de-
p e n d e n c i e s hamper a n a l y t i c a l s o l u t i o n s , t h e y do n o t i m - 12s
pose s p e c i a l problems when u s i n g a f i n i t e - d i f f e r e n c e
technique. 100
F i g . 1 0 shows some r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d w i t h l i n e a r tempera- 75
t u r e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f k and c . The t e m p e r a t u r e depen-
dence o f t h e s p e c i f i c e n e r g y c and t h e t h e r m a l conduc- 50
t i v i t y k do have a r a t h e r l i m i t e d i n f l u e n c e upon t h e
t e m p e r a t u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n , b e c a u s e of t h e small tempera- 2s
t u r e range o f t h e wire ( T : 0 ... 200OC). If h i g h e r tem-
0
peratureswould be reached ( e . g . lower h e a t t r a n s f e r XFm)
c o e f f i c i e n t and/or higher internal heat generation) the 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 1 4 0 160 180 200
i n f l u e n c e o f t h e t h e r m a l c a p a c i t y would i n c r e a s e con- poeition along w i r e oxie
t r i b u t i n g t o a n a t t e n u a t i o n o f t h e maximum t e m p e r a t u r e . FTG.ll E f f e c t of randomly d i s t r i b u t e d d i s c h a - g e s on
The t e m p e r a t u r e dependency of t h e t h e r m a l c o n d u c t i v i t y the wire temperature.
k h a s p r a c t i c a l l y no i n f l u e n c e a t a l l .
I n t h e a n a l y s i s t h e s p a r k s a r e assumed t o be d i s t r i b u - A f o r t i o r i a t i m e and l o c a t i o n c o n c e n t r a t i o n of d i s -
t e d u n i f o r m l y a l l o v e r t h e w i r e volume. A f i r s t a t t e m p t c h a r g e s w i l l f u r t h e r emphasize t h e o c c u r e n c e o f l o c a l l y
h a s been made t o e v a l u a t e t h e e f f e c t of t h e l o c a t i o n of e l e v a t e d t e m p e r a t u r e s and t h e r e f o r e enhance t h e p o s s i -
i n d i v i d u a l s u c c e s s i v e d i s c h a r g e s . For t h a t p u r p o s e t h e
' I i l i t y of w i r e r u p t u r e . I n a f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n i t
J o u l e h e a t i n g q i s assumed t o be g e n e r a t e d e v e n l y over is s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h i s e f f e c t of t h e d i s t r i h u t i o n of
the t o t a l wire Jength during t h e pulse duration t i . s u c c e s s i v e p u l s e s should be taken i n t o account.
3n t h e c o n t r a r y a p a r t i c u l a r d i s c h a r g e w i t h p u l s e d u r a -
t i o n t i i s a p p r o x i m a t e d by an i n t e r n a l h e a t g e n e r a t i o n
qSp. d i s s i p a t e d i n j u s t one f i n i t e c y l i n d e r s e l e c t e d 5 . Conclusions
s t o c h a s t i c a l l y somewhere a l o n g t h e workpiece h e i g h t .
I n o t h e r words t h e a c t u a l c o o r d i n a t e s of t h e s p a r k l o - 1. P r a c t i c a l e x p e r i m e n t s showed t h a t t h e t h e r m a l l o a d
c a t i o n s a r e randomly d i s t r i b u t e d o v e r t h e workpiece imposed on t h e w i r e e l e c t r o d e p r e c e e d i n g a r u p t u r e
h e i g h t . During t h e p u l s e i n t e r v a l t i m e , qsp i s assumed e x c e e d e d t h e a v e r a g e power d i s s i p a t i o n d u r i n g normal
t o b e z e r o . A t y p i c a l r e s u l t o f t h i s model i s p r e s e n t e d c u t t i n g c o n d i t i o n s . A s a c o n s e q u e n c e , t h e r m a l as-
i n f i g . 1 1 Showing t h e c a l c u l a t e d tem e r a t u r e d i s t r i b u - p e c t s seem t o g o v e r n t h e r u p t u r e phenomenon. There-
t i o n s a t t i m e i n t e r v a l s t=10-3,, 1 0 - 9 s . 10-1s. f o r e a t h e r m a l model s i m u l a t i n g t h e ED?-wire c u t t i n g
The t e m p e r a t u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h e w i r e a l o n g i t s p r o c e s s c a n be h e l p f u l 1 i n d e t e r m i n i n g t h e i n f l u e n c e
l e n g t h a x i s is i n f l u e n c e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y . e v e n when ran- o f d i f f e r e n t machining p a r a m e t e r s and m a t e r i a l pro-
domly d i s t r i b u t e d d i s c h a r g e s a r e c o n s i d e r e d . The Lempe- perties.
r a t u r e d i f f e r e n c e s r e s u l t i n g from t h e t i m e and l o c a t i o n 2 . Two d i f f e r e n t , a p p r o a c h e s were used c a l c u l a t i n g t h e
d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h e s p a r k s i s important. ( r a n g e ~ 1 9 0"C). t e m p e r a t u r e d i s t r i b u t , i o n of t h e w i r e . A t t h c c o s t of

97
 an increased computer c.p.u.-time, the finite-diffe- APPENDIX 1
rence method yields similar results as the analyti-
cal solution but may be better suited for further Following boundary conditions must he considered for
refinements of the thermal model (temperature depen- the three regions (temp.T T ,T resp., fig.4) :
dent material properties, influence of successive 1' 2 3
discharges). upper part : dT 1 (x"--)
3. Steady state is reached after some 0.1 sec. The stu- dx = '
dy of the model can thus be limited to those time

I
intervals. The most important parameter governing Tl(x=Ol = T (X=O)
2
the maximum wire temperature appears to be the con-
vective heat transfer coefficient h. Appropriate dTl(x=O) dT (x=O)
-=- 2
flushing conditions during the erosion process are parts 1,2,3: dx dx
important to avoid wire rupture. The wire velocity
Vw influences the temperature distribution but prac- T (x=L) = T (X=L)
tical speed values renain too small to reduce the 2 3
maximum wire temperature significantly (fig.12). l'be mess dT2(x=L) dT (x=L)
density P and the thermal capacity c may also in- -=- 3
fluence the thermal time constant T. However, they dx dx
cannot be selected at will in view of the limited
number of wire electrode materials. The effect of
different values for the thermal conductivity is
also neglectable because the thermal resistance by
conduction is very small compared with the equiva- Solutions for T1.T2,T3 are :
lent resistance by convection.
4. Due to the quite limited temperature increase of the T1 = C1 exp(alx)
wire, the importance of the temperature dependency
of the thermal material properties ( k , ~ )remains T? = C2 exp(alx) + Cyj exp(a2x)+q"'i
fairly limited. However, if higher ranges are reach-
ed, they show a tendency to reduce the maximum ten- T3 = C4 exp(a2x)
perature.
5. A first attempt to examine the effect of successive
discharges has been proposed. This refinement of the where : m f (m2+4r/k)1'2
thermal model reveals a relatively large variation a1,2 = 2
of the temperature along the wire axis and proves 1 - exp(al.l)
that a time and space concentration of discharges and : C1 =
can cause wire rupture. Further investigation to 2' exp(alL) (m2+j.a/k)1/2
refine this model will be necessary.
1
REFERENCES
e~p(a~L)(m~+4l/k)~/~
I11 Van Dijck F . , Physico-mathematical Analysis of the
Electro Discharge tlachining Process, Dissertation
K.U.Leuven (1973).
[21 Tanimura T., Heuvelnan C.J., Veenstra P.C., The
properties of the Servo Gap Sensor with ':)ire Spark-
Erosion Machining, Annals of the CTRP, Vo1.25/1,
1977, p.59-63.
3 Kinoshita W , , Fukui !I.,Gamo G., Control of !+ire-
E D ~ I Preventing Electrode from breaking, Annals of
the CIRP, VO1.31/1. 1982, p.111-114.
4 Balleys F., Pemoval rate vs. accuracy in wire cut,
ISEV 5, 21-24 .rune 1977, Switzerland, p.157-159.
5 Dauw D., Snoeys R., Jennes M., Vanherck P., - exp( j(~-x)/7) erfc((L-x)2Kt+j/at/Z)& (m/,j+1)
Coenegracht D., High Speed Pulse Discrimination
for real-time EDM Analysis, ISEV V J L , 12-14 A p r i l + exp(-rat/k+m(L-x)/Z erfc( (L-x)/7K++mm/2);
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where j =/m2 + 4 k'
6 Snoeys X., Dauw D., Jennes -3.. Survey of EDM Adap-
tive Control and Detection Systems, Annals of the and I2 is similar to I , except that (L-x) must be
CIRP. Vo1.31/2, 1987, p.483-489. replaced by c-xf.
7 Ruelens t l . , Van Deun J., Analyse van draadvonkero- nistance between current supplies : 100 mm
sie voor gereedschapsstaal, Thesis 'c.lJ.Leuven, Workpiece height : H = 50 mm
(1983). Convection heat transfer coefficient : h = 10.000W/m2Y
8 Incropera F., De ilitt n., Fundamentals of Heat Thermal conductivity k = 110 H / m K
Transfer, John Viley Ft Sons. Specific heat c = 380 J/kgK - Mass density P-8500 k d m 3
'.tire diameter d=0.2!imm - Yire velocity Vw = 5 m/mln
9 Carslow H.S., Jaeger J.C., Conduction of Heat in Joule heat generation qT = 4 W/mm3
S o l i d s , 2nd Ed., Oxford at the Clarendon Press, Heat generation due to discharges qd = 16 'nl/mn3
1967.
10 3ohsenow \ + . I T . , Xartnett .J.P., riazelos P., ::andbook Maximum wire temperature T,("C)
of Heat Transfer, IlcGraw-HI11 Rook Company, 1973.
time t Analytical solution Finite-difference
ZOM 11 2 5 m m h-10880. W/<K*m**2> q- .00BE+BBY/m**3 method
Zonr 21 2 5 m m h-10000. W/(K*m**2> q- 407E+18W/m**3 (ms) At = lms bx = lmm
Zon- 31 5 0 m m h-10000. W/<K*m**2> q- 204E+llY/m**3
I
1
I
Zone 41 2 5 m m h-10000. W/ (K*m**Z> q- .407E+10W/m**3 6.2
Zonr 512 5 0 m m h-10000. W/ (K*m**2> q- . B00€+08W/m**3
1
2 11.8
fi.O
12.1
k- 110 V/CK*m> 01 380 J/Ckg*K)
4 22.5 23.0
Po- . 125- P- 8500. kg/m**3 8 40.9 41.7
A b 1 . 0 0 0 m r A x - 1 . 0mm
T(oc't
125
Vw-Sm/min
1-
16
32
64
&3:$

119.8
69.6
100.4
120.2
128 124.8 124.8
256 125.0 125.0
754 I/ I\ TAnLE 1 : Comparison of the maximum wire temperature
using an analytical solution and a finite-
difference method.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Special thanks to the Charmilles Technologies S.A.
corporation for supporting this research project; espe-
FIG.12 Tnfluence of the wire velocity Vw on the maxi- cially D r . B. Rommeli is acknowledged for his comments
mum wire temperature at steady-state condi- which were very much appreciated.
tions.

98