Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical

Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering

Manufacture
http://pib.sagepub.com/

Modelling and experimental investigation on the effect of nanopowder-mixed dielectric in

micro-electrodischarge machining of tungsten carbide
M P Jahan, M Rahman and Y S Wong
Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture 2010 224: 1725
DOI: 10.1243/09544054JEM1878

The online version of this article can be found at:

http://pib.sagepub.com/content/224/11/1725

Published by:

http://www.sagepublications.com

On behalf of:

Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Additional services and information for Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering
Manufacture can be found at:

Email Alerts: http://pib.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts

Subscriptions: http://pib.sagepub.com/subscriptions

Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav

Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

Citations: http://pib.sagepub.com/content/224/11/1725.refs.html

>> Version of Record - Nov 1, 2010

What is This?

Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013

 1725

Modelling and experimental investigation on the

effect of nanopowder-mixed dielectric in
micro-electrodischarge machining of tungsten carbideg
M P Jahan, M Rahman* , and Y S Wong
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore

The manuscript was received on 30 October 2009 and was accepted after revision for publication on 19 February 2010.

DOI: 10.1243/09544054JEM1878

Abstract: Micro-electrodischarge machining (micro-EDM) is one of the most effective

methods used in die and mould industries for machining difficult-to-cut tool and die mate-
rials such as tungsten carbide (WC). The quality and integrity of the surface finish resulting
from the micro-EDM process in die and mould making can have a significant impact on the
product performance. The present study intends to investigate the feasibility of improving
the surface finish in micro-EDM of WC in a dielectric mixed with graphite (Gr), aluminium
(Al), and alumina (Al2 O3 ) nanopowders. The mechanism of powder-mixed micro-EDM is pre-
sented theoretically in terms of the effect of additive powder characteristics on the dielectric
breakdown and gap width. In addition, the effect of the nanopowders’ mixed dielectric on
surface topography, average surface roughness (Ra ), peak-to-valley roughness (Rmax ), material
removal rate (MRR), and electrode wear ratio (EWR) was studied experimentally. It has been
shown theoretically that the presence of a conductive or semi-conductive powder lowers the
breakdown strength and increases the spark gap during powder-mixed micro-EDM. The sur-
face finish and topography was improved significantly owing to the increased spark gap and
uniform discharging in powder-mixed micro-EDM. In addition, the lower breakdown strength
of dielectric and increased spark gap contribute to higher MRR and lower EWR in addition to
improved surface finish. Among the three types, semi-conductive graphite nanopowder was
found to provide a smooth and shiny surface with lower Ra and Rmax , whereas the spark gap and
MRR was found to be higher when aluminium powder was used. The non-conductive alumina
powder was found to have very little effect on the performance of powder-mixed micro-EDM
of WC. Finally, from analytical and experimental study, it has been concluded that the particle
size, concentration, density, and thermal and electrical conductivity of powder materials are
the most influencing factors in powder-mixed micro-EDM of WC.

Keywords: nanopowder-mixed dielectric, fine-finish micro-EDM, modelling, surface finish,

powder characteristics, tungsten carbide.

1 INTRODUCTION strength, and toughness is difficult using conventional

In recent years, there has been extensive use of
electrodischarge machining (EDM) and micro-EDM
technology in tool, die, and mould-making indus-
tries, since machining of tool and die material
such as tungsten carbide (WC) with high hardness,
*Corresponding author: Department of Mechanical Engineer-
ing, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge Crescent,
Singapore.
email: mpemusta@nus.edu.sg
machining processes [1]. EDM or spark machining,
removes electrically conductive materials by means of
rapid, repetitive spark discharges from electric pulse
generators with the dielectric flowing between the
tool and the workpiece. However, the main draw-
back of using EDM in industries is that EDM of
hard metals usually yields a relatively poorer surface
finish and integrity including craters, micro cracks,
and unfavourable residual stress owing to the ther-
mal action [2]. Although a number of studies have
been carried out to improve the surface quality in

JEM1878 Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture

Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013

1726 M P Jahan, M Rahman, and Y S Wong
the EDM of WC, in most of the cases for improv-
ing the surface quality of WC, diamond grinding and
polishing are used after EDM [3]. Many manufactur-
ers worldwide are still using hand lapping to finish
the EDM surface in order to achieve a high level of
surface finish [4]. However, the post-machining pro-
cesses need extra cost and thus increase the unit
production cost [5]. Moreover, this process of hand
lapping or polishing is difficult to apply in micro-
components, micro-moulds, and micro-dies, as there
is a chance of destroying the structures. Investigations
have been carried out for improving the surface fin-
ish in EDM using several fine-finish methods such
as planetary EDM, multi-electrode EDM, and high-
resistance coated electrode [6]. The problems with
planetary EDM are that the gap capacitance increases
with the electrode area, and the allowable machined
surface area is comparatively smaller. Similarly, in the
case of multi-electrodes there may remain some traces
of waves owing to the electrode scanning path of the
unit electrode.
In all of the abovementioned processes of fine-
finish EDM, there is no change in the working gap
between the electrodes and therefore no significant
improvement in the surface finish. Among all the
methods of improving the surface finish in EDM,
powder-mixed EDM has been found to affect the spark
gap between the electrodes in addition to the dis-
charging process, thus significantly influencing the
performance of the process. In this hybrid process, the
electrically conductive powder is mixed in the dielec-
tric of EDM, which reduces the insulating strength
of the dielectric fluid and increases the spark gap
between the tool and workpiece [6–8]. An enlarged
spark gap distance makes the flushing of debris effec-
tive and more uniform. As a result, the process
becomes more stable, thereby improving the material
removal rate (MRR) and surface finish [9]. Moreover,
the surface develops high resistance to corrosion and
abrasion [10, 11].
One of the earliest researches on powder-mixed
EDM has been reported by Erden and Bilgin [12] who
investigated the addition of a powdered form of cop-
per, iron, aluminium, and carbon into commercial
kerosene oil as impurities. The results indicated that
added powder improves the breakdown characteris-
tics of dielectric fluid. Machining rate increases with
the increase in powder concentration as there is a
decrease in time lags at high purity concentration.
Jeswani [13] investigated the effect of graphite pow-
der into kerosene oil at a concentration of 4 g/L in
the EDM of steel and reported that the interspace
for electric discharge initiation was increased while
breakdown voltage was lowered. Mohri et al. [14] used
silicon powder of uniform size 10–30 µm to investigate
the effect of powder mixed dielectric fluid in EDM.
They also performed machining at lower discharge
Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013
current and discharge duration and were able to
achieve a surface with a roughness less than 2 µm.
However, to achieve this performance, an even distri-
bution of debris and short discharge time are required.
Narumiya et al. [15] reported that aluminium and
graphite powder generates better surface roughness
than silicon powder at specific machining conditions.
On the other hand, Kobayashi et al. [16] reported that
silicon powder improves the surface finish of SKD-61
tool steel. Yan and Chen [17] studied the process
with an aluminium and silicon carbide powder-mixed
dielectric to EDM on SKD-11 and Ti–6Al–4V and
reported improvement in MRR and an increase in sur-
face roughness. Uno and Okada [10] reported that
silicon powder-mixed dielectric reduces the impact
force acting on the workpiece and results in smaller
undulation of craters, giving a glossy surface. Wang
et al. [18] investigated with Al and Cr powder in
kerosene fluid which reduces isolation and increases
the gap between tool and workpiece, thus stabiliz-
ing the process. Tzeng and Lee [8] applied Al, Cr,
Cu, and SiC with working fluid and performed EDM
on SKD-11 material. It was reported that machin-
ing performance is significantly affected by concen-
tration, size, density, electrical resistivity, and the
thermal conductivity of the added powder. It was
found that for a fixed concentration, highest MRR was
achieved with the smallest particle size. Moreover it
was also revealed that, owing to its higher density,
Cu powder has almost no effect in EDM. Pecas and
Henriques [19] applied silicon powder at a concentra-
tion of 2 g/L and found that operating time and surface
roughness decreases. It was also reported that aver-
age surface roughness depends on machining area
and machining time. In addition, an experimental
investigation on the effect of graphite and boric acid
powder-mixed kerosene dielectric on the machining
performance during EDM of prismatic steel using
copper electrodes has been reported [20]. It has been
shown that the type and concentration of the pow-
ders mixed into the dielectric and the pulse time have
a significant influence on the machining performance
outputs in EDM.
Although there has been extensive research on
improving the surface finish of EDMed surface, very
little research have been conducted for micro-EDM.
Chow et al. [21] applied powder-mixed EDM for
machining of micro-slit in a titanium alloy (Ti–6Al–4V)
and obtained better performance in terms of MRR
and surface finish. However, although the study
concentrated on fabricating micro-structures, con-
ventional EDM machining parameters were used.
Tan et al. [22] investigated the effect of nanopow-
ders additives with concentrations of 0.02–0.16 g/L
on the surface roughness and discharge gap dis-
tances during the micro-EDM drilling of micro-holes
in AISI 420 stainless mould steel. It has been reported
JEM1878
 Investigation on the effect of nanopowder-mixed dielectric 1727

that the optimum powder concentration is much qE = Fc = columbic force acting on the particle (N);
lower during powder-mixed micro-EDM compared Fl is the lift force; Fd is drag force; Fe is force due
with conventional EDM. They also reported that to applied electric field; f [denotes direction only] is
SiC and Al2 O3 nanopowders can reduce the surface direction of friction experienced on the powder parti-
roughness during the micro-EDM of stainless steel. cle that causes drag force, and mg is weight of particle.
It has been found from the extensive literature For a spherical particle under the condition of low
survey that most of the research has been carried out Reynolds numbers, i.e. slow uniform velocity, the lift
on improving the surface finish in the conventional force Fl is calculated as [25]
EDM process using powder-mixed dielectric. Very few π
studies have been conducted on the powder-mixed Fl = uDp3 ρω (1)
8
micro-EDM process. Furthermore, most of the stud-
ies focused on the experimental investigation on the where u is uniform velocity of dielectric flow; Dp is
effect of powder characteristics during the process. diameter of the particle, ρ is density of the fluid, and
Although there has been some mathematical mod- ω is angular velocity of the particle.
elling [23] as well as neural network modelling [24] on According to the ‘Stokes theorem’, the drag force
the surface roughness in EDM, no study has reported owing to slow uniform velocity of particle is [26]
on the modelling on the mechanism of powder-mixed
micro-EDM or the effect of powder additives on the Fd = 6π ηrv (2)
surface roughness. Therefore, an analytical study on where η is viscosity, v is velocity, and r is particle
the mechanism of powder-mixed micro-EDM and the radius.
effect of powder characteristics in micro-EDM is still The force on a polarized spherical particle of radius r
required. Furthermore, most of the research focused on an electric field with two parallel electrodes is
on improving the surface finish of different types of calculated as [26]
tool steel, as it is widely used in die and mould indus-
tries. However, very little research has been carried εp − εl
Fe = r 3 εl EgradE (3)
out on powder-mixed EDM or micro-EDM of tungsten εp + 2εl
carbide or its composites, although they are exten-
where εp is permittivity of particle material and εl is
sively used in tool and die industries. Therefore, the
permittivity of liquid dielectric.
present study presents analytical modelling on the
The sign of Fe remains unchanged for reverse
mechanism of powder-mixed micro-EDM. The effect
voltage polarity [26].
of different powder material (Gr, Al, Al2 O3 ) character-
The other acting forces are columbic force owing to
istics on the spark gap, surface topography, surface
the charge carrying of the particles.
finish, MRR, and EWR during the micro-EDM of WC
has also been investigated experimentally. V2
Fc = qE = rVE = r (4)
d
There is also self-weight mg of the particle acting
2 ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE MECHANISM OF
downwards.
POWDER-MIXED MICRO-EDM

2.1 Forces acting on a particle in electric and 2.2 Effect of powder particles on the dielectric
shear field breakdown

Figure 1 shows the schematic diagram of the forces 2.2.1 Assumptions

acting on a powder particle suspended in the dielec- 1. Consider the system as a cell with two plane parallel
tric fluid in powder-mixed micro-EDM. In the figure, electrodes (Fig. 2(a)).

Fig. 1 Schematic representation of forces acting on a single powder particle

JEM1878 Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture

Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013

1728 M P Jahan, M Rahman, and Y S Wong

Fig. 2 Schematic representation of forces acting on a single powder particle during PM micro-EDM

2. The spherical particle is assumed in origin (0, 0, 0) Then the equation for diffusion velocity of particle
of the system. becomes
3. There is stress concentration at a place (x, 0, 0) kT dN (x)
where the particle will move. vdiff (x) = − (8)
6π ηrN (x) dx
4. The force Fe is directed towards a place of maxi-
mum stress (as εp > εl ) (Fig. 2(b)). In equilibrium condition, considering Ve = Vdiff
5. For simplicity of calculating the velocity of particle
under electric field, consider r2 dE(x) kT dN (x)
C1 E(x) =−
6π η dx 6π ηrN (x) dx
εp − ε l
εl = C1 and gradE = dE/dx. Or
εp + 2εl
dE(x) kT dN (x)
C1 r 3 E(x) =− (9)
6. Only the transverse components of forces are taken dx N (x) dx
into consideration, as the velocity of particle is
considered in one direction. The equation of breakdown strength after adding
7. The weights of the particles are neglected as they powder in dielectric can be derived by integrating
are very small (for micro/nano particles). the equation (9) I(for Ei : initial voltage for con-
centration Ni , and Ebr : breakdown voltage for final
Taking the transverse component of the forces acting concentration Nf )
on the particle
1
2   
C1 r 3 Ebr − Ei2 = −kT ln Nf − ln Ni (10)
dE 2
Fe + Fd = 0 or, r 3 C1 E − 6π ηrv(x) = 0 (5)
dx Solving for the value of the Ebr
  
The solution for velocity of the particle under the 2 2kT 1 Nf
Ebr = Ei2 − ln (11)
electric and shear field (solving equation (5)) C1 r 3 Ni

r2 dE(x) Thus, breakdown strength depends mainly on parti-

ve (x) = C1 E(x) (6) cle size, r and particle concentration, N , as (2kT )/C1
6π η dx
comprises constant terms. As the value of (2kT )/C1
However, the particles simultaneously accumulate on the right-hand side of the equation is constant,
in regions with highest field strength (high stress it can be concluded that Ebr decreases with increas-
concentration) and diffuse into regions with lower ing particle concentration N in logarithm scale and
concentration owing to the concentration gradient at remains unchanged for no change in concentration,
the diffusion velocity of particle vdiff of [27] that means no added powder.
If the permittivity of the powder particle and dielec-
D dN (x) tric is considered, i.e. the value of C1 , equation (11)
vdiff (x) = − (7) becomes
N (x) dx    
2 1 εp + 2εl 1 Nf
where D is the coefficient of diffusion and N (x) is the Ebr = Ei2 − 2kT ln (12)
εl εp − εl r3 Ni
concentration of the particle.
According to the Stokes–Einstein equation [26] Therefore, in addition to particle size and concen-
tration the dielectric breakdown strength Ebr also
kT depends on the permittivity of the powder particle,
D= εp and permittivity of dielectric liquid, εl .
6πrη

Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture JEM1878

Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013

 Investigation on the effect of nanopowder-mixed dielectric 1729

2.3 Effect of powder particles in gap width The equation of electric field intensity at the protru-
sion tip becomes
2.3.1 Assumptions
  
1. A spherical micro/nano particle is assumed to be 1 Q0 V  
Ep ≈ β2 + gd + r + h p
initially in contact with the anode. gd 4π εr d2
2. The particle is initially uncharged but becomes
gd
   
charged on the separation from the anode when 2
where, β2 = log 2 gd rp (16)
the electrical field is applied rp
3. gd
X
However, without
 powder particles the
equation of
The combined field at the micro-peak for the addition V gd 2 
of powder particle is [28] Ep was: Ep ≈ β1 d where β1 = rp log 2 d1 /rp .
1
   The important thing is that the critical electric
1 Q0 X field required for a spark to occur should be the
Ep ≈ β +V (13)
gd 4π εr d same for both cases with and without powder particle
addition.
where β is the field enhancement factor for small
Therefore
protrusion, gd is the distance between bottom of the
    
particle and micro-peak, hp is the height of the pro- 1 Q0 V   V
trusion, X is the distance between the centre of the Ep ≈ β2 + gd + r + h p ≈ β1
gd 4π εr d2 d1
particle and electrode plane, and d is the distance
between the electrodes. Solving the above equation for d2
The first term is attributable to the presence of
the charge and the second term arises through the   
β 1 + r + hp /gd
field distortion. The field enhancement factor β d2 =    where, β = β2 /β1
depends on the geometry of micro-peak and is given 1/d1 − βQ0 /4π εrgd V
by [29, 30] (17)

 
gd 2
Simplifying, if the 4πβQ 0
β= log 2 gd rp (14) εrgd V is neglected in the denom-
rp inator which is attributable to the charge of powder
where rp is the radius of micro-peak. particle, then 4πQεR
0
is very small.
The charge of the spherical micro-particles under The equation for the gap width including the effect
the electric field is [28] of powder material becomes
 
Q0 = Z π εd Er 2 (15) r + hp
d2 = βd1 1 + (18)
gd
where Z is the charge factor depending on geometry,
for plane electrode Z is 6.58; r is the radius of the Equation (18) clearly demonstrates that the numeri-
particle; εd is the permittivity of the dielectric; E is cal value of gap width d2 will be higher than d1 . Thus,
macroscopic field = (V /d). gap width increases with the inclusion of powder
As a result of increased electric field with the inclu- particles.
sion of powder particles, the machine control system
will set the inter electrode gap to an increased value of
‘d2 ’. Putting X = gd + r + hp (from Fig. 3). 3 EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION OF THE
ANALYTICAL FINDINGS

1. From the derived equation of breakdown

strength of powder-mixed

 dielectric
1 εp +2εl 1 Nf
Ebr = Ei −2kT ε εp −ε
2 2
r3
ln Ni , it can be said
l l
that ‘Ebr ’ depends on particle radius ‘r’ and change
in concentration ‘N ’, permittivity of the particles
and dielectric. For no addition of powder particles
or unchanged concentration (Nf = Ni ), the value
of Ebr = Ei , which means no change in breakdown
strength.
Fig. 3 Schematic diagram of a powder particle in the 2. From the derived
 equation of spark gap d2 =
r+h
gap [25] βd1 1 + g p , it has been found that, d2 > d1 ,
d

JEM1878 Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture

Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013

1730 M P Jahan, M Rahman, and Y S Wong
which indicates that spark gap increases after
adding powder particles. The spark gap also
depends on the particle size, as field enhance-
ment factor ‘β’ is a function of particle size ‘r’ and
geometry of the craters.
To verify the findings from analytical study, exper-
imental investigations have been conducted on the
effects of different nanopowder characteristics on
the performance of fine-finish powder-mixed micro-
EDM of tungsten carbide. The performance of the
powder-mixed process was evaluated by spark gap,
average surface roughness, peak-to-valley roughness,
material removal rate (MRR), and electrode wear ratio
(EWR).
4 MACHINE TOOL AND MATERIALS
A multi-purpose miniature machine tool has been
developed for high-precision micro-machining at the
National University of Singapore, which is capa-
ble of micro-EDM, micro-turning, micro-milling,
micro-grinding, and micro-ECM by changing suit-
able attachment. The maximum travel range of the
machine is 210 mm (X ) × 110 mm (Y ) × 110 mm (Z )
with a resolution of 0.1 µm in X , Y , and Z directions
and full closed-feed-back control ensures accuracy of
up to sub-micron level.
In this study of the powder-mixed micro-EDM
of WC, the dielectric circulation system has been
designed carefully. Since the debris particles created
from WC are magnetic, a magnetic filter with a mag-
net material of ‘Ferrite C5’ is used to separate the
debris and to allow the non-magnetic nanopowder
particles to pass through. The core of the magnetic
Fig. 4 Schematic diagram of the setup designed for powder-mixed micro-EDM
Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013
filter collects the debris as small as 0.7 µm in diameter.
After the filtering of debris particles, only powder-
mixed dielectric is recirculated by means of a pump.
Figure 4 present the schematic diagram of the set-up
with the modified dielectric circulation system for
powder-mixed micro-EDM.
The workpiece material used in this study was
tungsten carbide with a composition of WC-10wt%Co.
The tool electrode material used was tungsten elec-
trode (99 per cent W) of 500 µm diameter. The tung-
sten electrode has been used for its high melting
point and high wear resistance. The dielectric fluid
used was the commercially available ‘Total FINA
ELF EDM 3’ oil, having relatively high flash point,
high auto-ignition temperature and high dielectric
strength. A low-pressured side flushing system was
used to avoid any tool deflection or vibration of
the workpiece. For the powder-mixed micro-EDM,
graphite (Gr), aluminium (Al), and alumina (Al2 O3 )
nanoparticles are used. The important characteris-
tics of the powder particles are listed in Table 1 [31].
The experimental conditions for the fine-finish micro-
EDM using different nanopowder-mixed dielectric are
presented in Table 2.
5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
5.1 Spark gap
In order to obtain a fine surface finish in micro-EDM,
very low discharge energy is used. In RC-generator
the discharge energy can be reduced to a great extent
using stray capacitance and very low gap voltage, as
discharge energy Eds = (1/2)CV 2 [32]. It has been
reported in several studies that the spark gap tends
JEM1878
 Investigation on the effect of nanopowder-mixed dielectric 1731

Table 1 Properties of the powder materials [31]

Particle size Density Thermal conductivity Electrical conductivity Melting point Specific heat
Powder (nm) (g/cm3 ) (W cm−1 K−1 ) (µ−1 cm−1 ) (◦ C) (J kg−1 K−1 )

Gr 55 2.25 1.50 3 × 10−3 3652 710

Al 18 2.70 2.38 0.377 660 910
Al2 O3 25 3.89 0.35 1 × 10−8 2054 880

Table 2 Experimental conditions for powder-mixed
micro-EDM of WC
Workpiece material WC-10wt%Co
Tool electrode Tungsten, φ 0.5 mm
Dielectric fluid Total EDM 3 oil
Powder materials Graphite, aluminium, Al2 O3
Powder concentration 0.03, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 2.0
in EDM oil (g/L)
Pulse generator type RC-type
Pulse generator setting Voltage: 80 V, capacitance: stray C (7 pF),
resistance: 1 k
to reduce with the reduction of gap voltage during
fine-finish micro-EDM, as the spark gap has an intrin-
sic relationship with gap voltage [33]. In addition
to gap voltage, there are several factors which may
influence the spark gap during machining, such as
dielectric fluid, flushing condition, servo settings, and
presence of debris particles [6]. Figure 5 shows the
effect of powder materials concentration on the spark
gap in sinking and milling micro-EDM for adding
graphite, aluminium, and alumina nanopowders in
the dielectric. It has been observed that, except for
the alumina-mixed dielectric, the spark gap increases
significantly with the increase of powder concentra-
tion for the graphite and aluminium-mixed dielectric.
During the micro-EDM, the presence of conductive
or semi-conductive powders in the working gap can
drastically lower the breakdown strength of dielec-
tric, facilitate the ignition process, and thus eventually
results in a higher spark gap [5]. Moreover, it has
been observed that the spark gap also depends on the
characteristics of the powder materials. It has been
found that the alumina powder has no significant
effect on the spark gap. The reason can be explained
by the thermo-physical properties of the alumina
powder. It can be seen from Table 1 that the density
of alumina powder is higher compared with graphite
and Al powder. Therefore, settling of powder occurs
during the machining as higher density of alumina
overwhelmed the suspension capacity of EDM oil.
Therefore, although a stirrer is used to maintain the
uniformity of the dielectric concentration, most of
the alumina deposited at the bottom of the dielec-
tric tank. It can be seen from Fig. 5 that there is only a
small increase in the spark gap at higher concentration
of alumina powder. In addition, it can be seen from
Table 1 that the thermal and electrical conductivity of
alumina is much lower compared with graphite and
Al powder. Therefore, alumina powder has less effect
on the breakdown characteristics of the dielectric. On
the other hand, the higher thermal and electrical con-
ductivity of the Al powder is the prime reason for
providing a higher spark gap, as adding more con-
ductive powder in the dielectric can drastically lower
the breakdown strength and hence increase the spark
gap. However, the lower density of graphite powder
makes it capable of mixing uniformly with the dielec-
tric, which can make the discharging more uniform.
The spark gap increased gradually with the increase
of concentration for the graphite nanopowders. It
has been observed that, although particle size influ-
ences the spark gap and the gap increases with particle
size [8], the electrical and thermal conductivity are the
main influencing parameters affecting the dielectric
breakdown. This can be confirmed from the fact that,
although graphite nanopowders (55 nm particle size)
are much higher than Al particles (18 nm), owing to
lower electrical and thermal conductivity it provides a
lower spark gap.
5.2 Average surface roughness
It is important that during finishing micro-EDM,
proper flushing sometimes may not be possible
if the gap between the workpiece and the elec-
trode becomes too small. Therefore, powder-mixed
micro-EDM can significantly influence the surface
roughness, especially in the finish micro-EDM, as
it has been found that the spark gap increases sig-
nificantly with the addition of powder materials in
dielectric oil. During the powder-mixed micro-EDM,
owing to increase in the gap distances, the electri-
cal discharges are well distributed, which reduces
the energy released from a single spark at a lower
spark gap [6, 34]. The concentrated discharge energy
at the lower spark gap results in broader crater size in
addition to arcing and short-circuiting. On the other
hand, a fine surface with smaller craters due to dis-
tribution of discharge energies is found after applying
powder-mixed dielectric.
Figure 6 shows the effect of different powder char-
acteristics and their concentration on the average
surface roughness for sinking and milling micro-
EDM of WC at 80 V, stray capacitance (7 pF). It has

JEM1878 Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture

Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013

1732 M P Jahan, M Rahman, and Y S Wong

Fig. 5 Variation of spark gap with different powder materials concentration: (a) for die-sinking and
(b) milling micro-EDM

Fig. 6 Variation of average surface roughness with different powder materials concentration: (a) for die-
sinking and (b) milling micro-EDM

been found that, among the three powders, graphite
powder-mixed dielectric provides a better surface
finish both in sinking and milling micro-EDM. It has
been observed that, although the Al powder has higher
thermal and electrical conductivity compared with
graphite powder, it provides higher surface roughness
than that of graphite powder. There may be sev-
eral reasons behind this behaviour. First, the density
of Al powder is higher than that of graphite pow-
der, which prohibits it from mixing uniformly with
the dielectric. Therefore, discharge energies are more
uniformly distributed among the powder particles in
case of graphite powders, which make it suitable
for generating smaller and shallow craters. On the
other hand, the Al powder has a tendency to agglom-
erate owing to the electrostatic force or Van Walls
force when added to dielectric [35]. Therefore, sev-
eral researchers used surfactant for preventing the
agglomeration of Al powder during powder-mixed
dielectric [34]. The agglomeration tendency of Al pow-
der has been proved in the experimental study also
by observing the surface topography of the machined
surface after applying different powder-mixed dielec-
tric. Figures 7 and 8 show the scanning electron
microscope (SEM) image of the surface topography
of sinking and milling micro-EDM using graphite and
Al nanopowder-mixed dielectric respectively at differ-
ent concentration levels. Some deposited and reso-
lidified Al powder has been found on the machined
surface and it increases with powder concentration in
the dielectric. The lower melting point of Al powder
compared with graphite powder may be the rea-
son for resolidification of powder materials on the
machined surface in addition to the settling tendency
of Al powder. The presence of Al powder has been
confirmed by executing Energy-dispersive X-ray spec-
troscopy (EDX) spectrum analysis of the machined
surface (Fig. 9). Moreover, higher conductivity of
Al powder may be another reason for its deposition
on the machined surface. It has been indicated in
earlier studies that very high electrical conductivity
of Al powder may not necessarily be suitable for very

Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture JEM1878

Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013

 Investigation on the effect of nanopowder-mixed dielectric 1733

Fig. 7 SEM images showing the surface topography of aluminium powder-mixed sinking and milling
micro-EDM at different concentration

Fig. 8 SEM images showing the surface topography of graphite powder-mixed sinking and milling micro-
EDM at different concentration

fine-finish micro-EDM, although it can provide higher
spark gap and MRR [6, 19].
On the other hand, from Fig. 8 it has been found
that the surfaces provided by graphite powder-mixed
dielectric are smoother and free of surface defect thus
providing lower average surface roughness. More-
over, an EDX spectrum analysis has been done on the
machined surface obtained in milling micro-EDM by
graphite powder-mixed dielectric in order to analyse
the surface composition changes after powder-mixed

JEM1878 Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture

Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013

1734 M P Jahan, M Rahman, and Y S Wong
Fig. 9 EDX spectrum analysis of the machined surface in
aluminium PM milling micro-EDM for (a) concen-
tration of 0.2 g/L (Fig. 7(d)), (b) concentration of
2 g/L (Fig. 7(f))
micro-EDM (Fig. 10). It has been found that there
is very little variation in the composition of differ-
ent materials on the machined surface between 0.2
and 2 g/L concentration when using graphite mixed
dielectric. However, it can be found from Fig. 9 that
the surface obtained using Al powder-mixed dielectric
suffers from inclusions of both Al and carbon on
the surface. In addition to some deposited Al, the
C percentage also increases on the surface after
micro-EDM. The percentage of Al increases from 0
to 0.44 per cent, whereas the C percentage increases
from 12.94 to 23.72 per cent. The extra carbon may
come from the dielectric oil and dislodged from the
WC workpiece in a form of burr and become deposited
during resolidification of aluminium particles.
Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013
Fig. 10 EDX spectrum analysis of the machined surface in
graphite PM milling micro-EDM for (a) concentra-
tion of 0.2 g/L (Fig. 8(d)), (b) concentration of 2 g/L
(Fig. 8(f))
The reasons for achieving smooth surface using
graphite nanopowders can be explained by means of
the thermo-physical characteristics of graphite pow-
der shown in Table 1. It has been found that being a
semi-conductor, the temperature effect on its resis-
tivity can significantly influence the scattering effect
[6] during the fine-finish micro-EDM. The conduct-
ing electrons increase with the increase of tempera-
ture during micro-EDM, which reduces the electrical
resistivity and results in lowering the breakdown
strength. In addition, owing to its higher thermal con-
ductivity, more heat is distributed and dissipated to
the workpiece surface to limit the size of the craters
produced. The lower density of graphite powder
JEM1878
 Investigation on the effect of nanopowder-mixed dielectric
Fig. 11 Variation of peak-to-valley roughness with different powder materials concentration: (a) for die-
sinking and (b) milling micro-EDM
makes it suitable to mix uniformly and float within
the dielectric fluid. Moreover, the excellent lubricity
of graphite may also have some effect on the surface
finish [6], as the wetting of particles by the melted
surface may improve the surface finish in addition to
making the surface glossier. Among the three powder
materials, alumina seems to have no significant effect
on the surface roughness during the micro-EDM of
WC owing to its poor thermal and electrical proper-
ties. Although alumina has some ability to act as an
abrasive, the abrasive action is found to be secondary
in powder-mixed micro-EDM [36]. Conversely, it
has been found that the surface roughness tends
to increase at higher concentration of alumina, as
deposited alumina on the spark gap can causes arcing
due to its low electrical conductivity.
Moreover, it has been found that both for graphite
and Al powder, the average surface roughness
decreases first with the increase of powder concen-
tration in the dielectric up to a certain limit, then
again tends to increase. There are several reasons
for higher roughness at high concentration of the
powder materials in the dielectric. First, at very
high concentration, the dielectric loses its ability to
distribute all the powder materials uniformly. There-
fore, powder settling is a common problem at higher
concentration [19]. In addition, at higher concentra-
tion of conductive powders, the bridging of powder
particles may occur, which results in arcing and
short-circuiting more frequently. The bridging effect
can result in more concentrated discharge energy
and accumulate carbon on the surface of workpiece,
finally deteriorating the surface roughness [34].
5.3 Peak-to-valley surface roughness
For fine-finish micro-EDM, both the crater size and
distribution of crater is important as these two
parameters together determine the peak-to-valley
JEM1878
Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013
1735
roughness or maximum surface roughness (Rmax ). In
the EDM process if the melted materials overflow the
crater border thereby forming a deep crater with a high
border height, then the overlapped craters may reflect
light in multiple directions, which may result in dull
appearance of the machined surface [19]. Moreover,
the short gap distances in fine-finish micro-EDM can
result in frequent arcing, which can increase the Rmax
values. Figure 11 shows the effect of different powder
materials and their concentration on the Rmax values
during the fine-finish sinking and milling micro-EDM
of tungsten carbide. It has been found that, among
three powders, graphite powder-mixed dielectric is
more capable of lowering the Rmax values both in
case of sinking and milling micro-EDM. Aluminium
particles are also found to lower the Rmax values.
However, it has been found that, the lowest values
of Rmax are different for graphite and Al powders. It
has been found that the lowest Rmax of 0.26 µm was
obtained in 0.2 g/L concentration for graphite pow-
der. On the other hand, for Al powder the lowest
Rmax of 0.3 µm was obtained at 0.6 g/L. This may be
because graphite powder with comparatively lower
density can easily mix uniformly with the dielectric
and provide improved performance. It has also been
shown that the Rmax values decrease with the con-
centration up to a certain level, then again tend to
increase. As discussed earlier, this may be due to
the settling problem of powder materials at higher
concentration.
Another important observation is that both the val-
ues of Ra and Rmax are lower in milling micro-EDM
compared with sinking and the trend of reducing the
Rmax values is significant in die-sinking micro-EDM
compared with milling. This is attributable to the
fact that the presence of powder reduces the elec-
trostatic capacity which usually forms at lower gap
voltage in die-sinking owing to the stationary tool
and workpiece [37]. On the other hand, in milling
Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
1736 M P Jahan, M Rahman, and Y S Wong
Fig. 12 Variation of MRR with different powder materials concentration: (a) for die-sinking and (b) milling
micro-EDM
micro-EDM owing to electrode scanning movement,
the capacitance cannot form between the electrode
and workpiece. In addition, it has been found that
the alumina powder also has some influence on the
reduction of Rmax values during the milling micro-
EDM. This is because the alumina powder in the gap
can provide some abrasive finishing during the scan-
ning motion of the electrode, which is considered as
the secondary effect [5, 36]. However, the effect is
very low compared with the effect of thermo-physical
properties of the powder particles.
5.4 Material removal rate
In addition to defective surface finish, another prob-
lem of fine-finish micro-EDM at lower discharge
energy is the machining stability. Due to lower spark
gap in finish micro-EDM, the flushing of all the
debris particles from the machined zone becomes
difficult. These remaining debris particles cause sec-
ondary sparking and result in unstable machining.
Therefore, owing to a long machining time, the
MRR decrease drastically. Powder-mixed dielectric
has been found to be very effective in the reduction of
instability during fine-finish micro-EDM, thus reduc-
ing the machining time and increasing the MRR. There
are several effects of powder particles that help in
enhancing the MRR. First, the spark gap increases
significantly, which facilitate the removal of debris
particles from the machined zone and brings new
materials under machining. In addition, there is sig-
nificant reduction in machining instability owing to
reduction of arcing and short-circuiting at a higher
spark gap [38], which reduces the machining time
and increases MRR. The principal mechanism is that
the addition of powder particles resulted in a reduc-
tion of electrical discharge power density and gap
explosive pressure for a single pulse [5]. Therefore,
it results in uniform distribution of discharging in
Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013
workpiece materials, which produces smaller and
uniform craters instead of a deep single crater. How-
ever, the overall MRR increases due to the significant
reduction of machining time and instability.
Figure 12 shows the effect of the powder materials’
concentration on the MRR during the fine-finish sink-
ing and milling micro-EDM of WC. It can be seen from
Fig. 12 that among the three powders, the Al pow-
der suspended dielectric provides the highest MRR
followed by the graphite powder. This is attributed
to the higher electrical and thermal conductivity of
Al powder compared with the other two powders. It
can be seen from Table 1 that the electrical conduc-
tivity of Al powder is much higher that that of graphite
powder, which helps in the reduction of the dielectric
resistivity. Therefore, the breakdown of the dielectric
occurs more quickly, which significantly reduces the
machining time. In addition, due to a higher spark
gap provided by the Al powder, the debris can be
flushed away from the machined zone more quickly
and easily. Another reason for increased MRR in
Al powder suspended dielectric may be comparatively
lower particle size of the Al powder. The average parti-
cle size of Al is 18 nm, which is much lower that that of
graphite (55 nm). It has been stated in earlier stud-
ies that larger particle size has a combined effect of
low electrical power density, fewer particles striking,
and poor improvement in the discharge transitivity,
which results in comparatively lower MRR [8]. In
addition, from the view point of minor abrasive action,
the higher density and lower particle size of Al powder
may contribute to an increase in MRR, although the
effect is very negligible [8].
However, it has been observed that for both the
Al and graphite powders, the MRR tends to decrease
at higher concentration in die-sinking micro-EDM
unlike milling micro-EDM. This is owing to the reason
that at higher concentration the powder particles tend
to get deposited at the bottom of the dielectric tank
JEM1878
 Investigation on the effect of nanopowder-mixed dielectric
and on the workpiece. As the electrode is stationary
in die-sinking micro-EDM, these deposited particles
on the workpiece can result in arcing thus reducing
the MRR. On the contrary, in milling micro-EDM, the
MRR also tend to increase at higher concentration
as the scanning motion of the electrode counterbal-
ances the settling effect of powder particles. It is
important to note that there is no significant improve-
ment in the MRR when alumina powder is used in
the dielectric. Therefore, it can be said that the ther-
mal and electrical conductivity of the powder particles
rather than hardness are the important properties of
powder material that influence the performance of
powder-mixed micro-EDM significantly.
5.5 Electrode wear ratio
Figure 13 shows the effect of different powder materi-
als and their concentration on the EWR during the
fine-finish sinking and milling micro-EDM at 80 V
stray capacitance. It has been found that although the
EWR decreases with the addition of powder particles
for graphite and Al powder, it does not vary signifi-
cantly with the increase of powder concentration in
the dielectric. It has been found that for the die-
sinking micro-EDM, graphite powder provides the
lowest EWR, whereas the EWR is lowest for Al powder
in milling micro-EDM. This can be explained by the
fact that, during sinking micro-EDM using graphite
nanopowder, there a carbon layer may form on the
surface of the electrode facing the workpiece, which
restricts electrode materials to be removed. It has
been reported in several studies that during electro-
discharge machining there may be some deposition
of carbon and iron particles on the tool surface facing
the workpiece [39]. However, in milling micro-EDM
with graphite powder, owing to the scanning move-
ment of the electrode, fewer depositions of carbon
particles cause more electrode wear. On the other
Fig. 13 Variation of EWR with different powder materials concentration: (a) for die-sinking and (b) milling
micro-EDM
JEM1878
Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013
1737
hand, the higher spark gap provided by the Al powder
reduces the amount of ineffective pulses significantly
thus reducing the EWR in both sinking and milling
micro-EDM. In addition, it has been found that there
is no significant effect of alumina powder on the EWR.
This is because alumina powder usually has no sig-
nificant effect on the dielectric breakdown and spark
gap. Therefore, there is no change in the discharge
transitivity and uniformity. Moreover, there is very
little improvement in the instability, which causes
more EWR.
6 CONCLUSIONS
This study concentrates on improving the surface
finish of tungsten carbide in fine-finish micro-
EDM using graphite, aluminium, and alumina
nanopowder-mixed dielectric. The study also focused
on investigating the effects of different powder char-
acteristics analytically and experimentally during the
powder-mixed micro-EDM of WC. Based on the ana-
lytical study and experimental investigations, several
conclusions can be drawn.
1. During the powder-mixed micro-EDM, the break-
down strength ‘Ebr ’ decreases with the increase of
powder materials concentration ‘N ’ in dielectric.
For no addition of powder particles or unchanged
concentration (Nf = Ni ), the breakdown strength
Ebr = Ei , which means no changes in breakdown
strength. Moreover, the spark gap ‘d’ increases
after the addition of powder particles in the
dielectric.
2. The presence of a conductive or semi-conductive
powder in the spark gap can drastically lower the
breakdown strength of the dielectric to facilitate
the ignition process and thus eventually result in a
larger spark gap. The larger spark can facilitate the
Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
1738 M P Jahan, M Rahman, and Y S Wong
flushing process, thus providing a better surface
finish, higher MRR, and lower EWR in powder-
mixed micro-EDM.
3. The discharging process becomes uniform as the
sparking is uniformly distributed among the parti-
cles, reducing the electric density of a single spark.
Arising from the uniform distribution of spark-
ing among the powder particles, relatively shallow
craters are produced on the workpiece surface to
result in improved surface finish during the PM
micro-EDM of WC.
4. Among the three powder particles a semi-
conductive graphite powder provides smooth and
defect-free surface with lowest Ra and Rmax . The
lowest value of Ra (49 nm) and Rmax (0.26 µm)
was found in powder-mixed milling micro-EDM
with graphite nanopowder. Conductive aluminium
powder was found to provide a higher spark gap
and MRR compared with semi-conductive graphite
powder. On the other hand, non-conductive
alumina nanopowder does not contribute sig-
nificantly to the performance of the fine-finish
micro-EDM of tungsten carbide.
5. Particle concentrations, density, and thermal and
electrical conductivity of the powder particles are
influencing factors in fine-finish powder-mixed
micro-EDM of tungsten carbide. Both graphite and
aluminium powders of 0.2–0.6 g/L concentration
have been found to provide improved perfor-
mance, although the spark gap and MRR increases
with further increase of concentration.
© Authors 2010
REFERENCES
1 Mahdavinejad, R. A. and Mahdavinejad, A. ED
machining of WC-Co. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2005,
162–163, 637–643.
2 Casas, B., Torres, Y., and Llanes, L. Fracture and fatigue
behavior of electrical discharge machined cemented car-
bides. Int. J. Refract. Metals Hard Mater., 2006, 24,
162–167.
3 Koshy, P., Jain, V. K., and Lal, G. K. Grinding of
cemented carbide with electrical spark assistance. J.
Mater. Process. Technol., 1997, 72, 61–68.
4 Ramasawmy, H. and Blunt, L. 3D surface topography
assessment of the effect of different electrolytes during
electrochemical polishing of EDM surfaces. Int. J. Mach.
Tools Mf, 2002, 42, 567–574.
5 Tzeng, Y. F. and Chen, F. C. Investigation into some
surface characteristics of electrical discharge machined
SKD-11 using powder-suspension dielectric oil. J. Mater.
Process. Technol., 2005, 170, 385–391.
6 Wong, Y. S., Lim, L. C., Rahuman, I., and Tee, W. M.
Near-mirror-finish phenomenon in EDM using powder-
mixed dielectric. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 1998, 79,
30–40.
Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013
7 Zhao, W. S., Meng, Q. G., and Wang, Z. L. The appli-
cation of research on powder mixed EDM in rough
machining. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2002, 129, 30–33.
8 Tzeng, Y. F. and Lee, C. Y. Effects of powder character-
istics on electro discharge machining efficiency. Int. J.
Advd Mfg Technol., 2001, 17, 586–592.
9 Kansal, H. K., Singh, S., and Kumar, P. Paramet-
ric optimization of powder mixed electrical discharge
machining by response surface methodology. J. Mater.
Process. Technol., 2005, 169, 427–436.
10 Uno, Y. and Okada, A. Surface generation mechanism
in electrical discharge machining with silicon powder
mixed fluid. Int. J. Electl Mach., 1997, 2, 13–18.
11 Uno, Y., Okada, A., Hayashi, Y., and Tabuchi, Y. Surface
integrity in EDM of aluminum bronze with nickel pow-
der mixed fluid. J. Jap. Soc. Electl Mach., 1998, 32,
24–31.
12 Erden, A. and Bilgin, S. Role of impurities in electric dis-
charge machining. In Proceedings of 21st International
Conference on Machine tool design and research 1980,
pp. 345–350 (Macmillan, London).
13 Jeswani, M. L. Effects of the addition of graphite pow-
der to kerosene used as the dielectric fluid in electrical
discharge machining. Wear, 1981, 70, 133–139.
14 Mohri, N., Saito, N., and Higashi, M.A. A new process of
finish machining on free surface by EDM methods. CIRP
Annls, 1991, 40(1), 207–210.
15 Narumiya, H., Mohri, N., Saito, N., Otake, H.,
Tsnekawa, Y., Takawashi, T., and Kobayashi, K. EDM
by powder suspended working fluid. In Proceedings of
9th ISEM, Nagaya, Japan, 1989, pp. 5–8.
16 Kobayashi, K., Magara, T., Ozaki, Y., and Yatomi,
T. The present and future developments of elec-
trical discharge machining. In Proceedings of 2nd
International Conference on Die and mould technology,
1992, Singapore, pp. 35–47.
17 Yan, B. H. and Chen, S. L. Characteristics of SKD11 by
complex process of electric discharge machining using
liquid suspended with aluminum powder. J. Jap. Inst.
Light Metals, 1994, 58(9), 1067–1072.
18 Wang, C. H., Lin, Y. C., Yan, B. H., and Huang, F. Y.
Effect of characteristics of added powder on electric dis-
charge machining. J. Jap. Inst. Light Metals, 2001, 42(12),
2597–2604.
19 Pecas, P. and Henriques, E.A. Influence of silicon pow-
der mixed dielectric on conventional electrical discharge
machining. Int. J. Mach. Tools Mf., 2003, 43, 1465–1471.
20 Çogun, C., Özerkan, B., and Karaçay, T. An exper-
imental investigation on the effect of powder mixed
dielectric on machining performance in electric dis-
charge machining. Proc IMechE, Part B: J. Engi-
neering Manufacture, 2006, 220(8), 1035–1050. DOI:
10.1243/09544054JEM320.
21 Chow, H. M., Yan, B. H., Huang, F. Y., and Hung, J. C.
Study of added powder in kerosene for the micro-
slit machining of titanium alloy using electro-discharge
machining. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2000, 101,
95–103.
22 Tan, P. C., Yeo, S. H., and Tan, Y. V. Effects
of nano-sized powder additives in micro-Electrical
JEM1878
 Investigation on the effect of nanopowder-mixed dielectric
Discharge Machining. Int. J. Precision Engng Mf, 2008,
9, 22–26.
23 Kurnia, W., Tan, P. C., Yeo, S H., and Tan, Q. P. Surface
roughness model for micro electrical discharge machin-
ing. Proc IMechE, Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture,
223(3), 279–287. DOI: 10.1243/09544054JEM1188.
24 Pradhan, M. K., Das, R., and Biswas, C. K. Compar-
isons of neural network models on surface roughness
in electrical discharge machining. Proc IMechE, Part B:
J. Engineering Manufacture, 223(B7), 801–808. DOI:
10.1243/09544054JEM1367.
25 Rubinow, S. I. and Keller, J. B. The transverse force on a
spinning sphere moving in a viscous fluid. J. Fluid Mech.,
1961, 11, 447–459.
26 Kok, J. A. Electrical breakdown of insulating liq-
uids, 1961, pp. 43–45 (Centrex Publishing Company,
Einhoven).
27 Ushakov, V. Y. Insulation of high-voltage equipment,
first edition, 2004, pp. 65–70 (Springer, Germany).
28 Chatterton, P. A., Menon, M. M., and Srivastava, K. D.
Processes involved in the triggering of vacuum break-
down by low velocity microparticles. J. Appl. Phys., 1972,
43, 4536–4542.
29 Watson, P. K. Electrostatic and hydrodynamic effects
in the electrical breakdown of liquid dielectrics. IEEE
Trans. Electl Insulation, 1985, 20(2), 395–399.
30 Dhanik, S. and Joshi, S. S. Modeling of a single resistance
capacitance pulse discharge in micro-electro discharge
machining. J. Mfg Sci. Engng, 2005, 127, 759–767.
31 Nanostructured & Amorphous Materials, Inc.
(NanoAmor), available from http://www.nanoamor.com
JEM1878
Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at DUKE UNIV on February 27, 2013
1739
32 Masuzawa, T. Micro-EDM. In: Proceedings of
the Thirteenth International Symposium on Electro-
machining, Bilbao, Spain, 2001, pp. 3–19.
33 Amorim, F. L. and Weingaertner, W. L. The influence
of generator actuation mode and process parameters on
the performance of finish EDM of tool steel. J. Mater.
Process. Technol., 2005, 166, 411–416.
34 Wu, K. L., Yan, H. H., Huang, F. Y., and Chen, S. C.
Improvement of surface finish on SKD steel using
electro-discharge machining with aluminum and sur-
factant added dielectric. Int. J. Mach. Tools Mf, 2005, 45,
1195–1201.
35 Feng, J. Q. and Hays, D. A. Relative importance
of electrostatic forces on powder particles. Powder
Technol., 2003, 135–136, 65–75.
36 Kansal, H. K., Singh, S., and Kumar, P. Technology
and research developments in powder mixed electric
discharge machining (PMEDM), J. Mater. Process.
Technol., 2007, 184, 32–41.
37 Bleys, P., Kruth, J. P., Lauwers, B., Schacht, B.,
Balasubramanian, V., Froyen, L., and Humbeeck, J. V.
Surface and sub-surface quality of steel after EDM. Adv.
Engng Mater., 2006, 8(1–2), 15–25.
38 Blatnik, O., Valentincic, J., and Junkar, M. Percent-
age of harmful discharges for surface current density
monitoring in electrical discharge machining process.
Proc IMechE, Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture,
221(12), 1677–1684. DOI: 10.1243/09544054JEM816.
39 Marafona, J. Black layer characterisation and electrode
wear ratio in electrical discharge machining (EDM).
J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2007, 184, 27–31.
Proc. IMechE Vol. 224 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture