Modeling of Electrochemical Machining of Nickel-Based Single Crystal Super Alloy by Combining Numerical and Design of Experiments Methods

The electrochemical machining process is an anodic dissolution process. Due to the inherent nature of the process and the complex physical, chemical, and hydrodynamic phenomena that occur during the process, it is difficult to model the process parameters. Therefore, a highly repeatable and appropriate method in terms of time and cost is important for modeling. In this paper, the simulation of the process is firstly performed by the numerical method and the Comsol software. The voltage, tool feed rate and electrolyte concentration are considered as input parameters and machining overcut and the material removal rate are considered as the response variables. 15 experiments were selected using the Box-Behnken design method to implement the response surface methodology. Then, the simulation was performed according to the experimental design in the Comsol software. Nickel-based single crystal superalloy workpiece is selected due to its improved mechanical properties. As a result, two quadratic mathematical models showing the relationship between two response variables with the input parameters are obtained. The adequacy and accuracy of these two mathematical models have been examined by the analysis of variance, correlation coefficient, and related graphs. Therefore, the combination of numerical simulation and design of experiments for modeling and investigating the effect of input parameters of electrochemical machining of the nickel-based single-crystal superalloy has been implemented in a favorable manner.