Effect of Wire‐EDM Process on Machinability of C f –ZrB 2 –SiC UHTCMC
Umashanker Gupta, Adarsha Ranjan Mishra, Jalaj Kumar, Manish PatelABSTRACT
A first systematic study on the conventional wire electrical discharge machining (Wire‐EDM) of a C f –ZrB 2 –SiC composite fabricated through slurry infiltration followed by hot pressing. The machining performance was evaluated using equi‐energy ( E ) and anti‐electrolysis equi‐energy ( Ae 2 ) pulse strategies with plain and coated wires under both roughing and finishing modes. The cutting rate was found to be approximately similar for both plain and coated wires; however, the coated wire produced a narrower kerf in roughing conditions and a wider kerf in finishing compared to the plain wire. Machining with the Ae 2 pulse resulted in a higher material removal rate (MRR) and lower surface roughness, with the most pronounced observed when using the coated wire. Wire‐EDM produced various damage features in the UHTCMC, such as shiny recast layers with pores, cracks, burning, and splitting of carbon fiber, pitting, fiber‐matrix debonding, and so forth. The wire surface topography differed markedly between plain and coated wires; however, a systematic axial wear band was observed in both cases.