Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 56:187195 DOI 10.

1007/s00170-011-3162-4

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Plasma characterization of dry -EDM

S. Kanmani Subbu & G. Karthikeyan & J. Ramkumar & S. Dhamodaran

Received: 28 November 2009 / Accepted: 13 December 2010 / Published online: 20 January 2011 # Springer-Verlag London Limited 2011

Abstract An attempt was made to characterize the dry microelectric discharge machining (-EDM) plasma systematically by using optical emission spectroscopy. In order to characterize the plasma and its parameters such as plasma temperature, electron density, Debye length, and gamma parameter, the optical spectra were recorded for different energies and with different diameters of tool electrode. From the recorded spectra, using line pair method and modified Saha equation, plasma temperature and electron density, respectively were calculated. From these two, Debye length and plasma parameter were also calculated. These studies indicate that the plasma produced in dry -EDM is ideal. In addition to this, we found that the dry -EDM region is below the conventional EDM region in log electron density and log temperature plot. Morphological analysis was carried out on crater produced by different energies on the workpiece using a scanning electron microscope. The crater shape may dependent on the geometry of the tool tip, number of discharges, and energy of discharge. Keywords Dry -EDM . Plasma temperature . Electron density . Debye length . Plasma parameter

1 Introduction Electric discharge machining (EDM) is a non-conventional machining process which has been widely used to produce dies and molds [1]. The advantages of EDM over traditional methods are possibility to machine any material irrespective of hardness, complex cutting geometry, and to machine with high precision, but the material should be electrically conducting. In addition, EDM does not make direct contact between the electrode and the work piece where it can eliminate mechanical stresses and vibration problems during machining [2]. The miniaturization of the parts could be the next technological revolution. EDM is identified as an effective machining technique in the production of the microcomponents. EDM is a contact less process that exerts very small forces on both the workpiece and tool electrode. This makes it desirable for the machining of miniature parts since the forces exerted on the components are small and do not distort the workpiece [3]. Micro ()-EDM is machining of feature size smaller than 100 m on the material surface. For example -EDM has been used to fabricate inkjet nozzles with an aspect ratio more than 2 [4], high aspect ratio holes, about 6.5, on stainless steel surface with 15 m in diameter and slots which are into the surface of a ballpoint pen with dimensions of 40 m wide, 300 m long, and 100 m deep. In addition, liquid and gas microfilters and medical implants can also be fabricated [5]. In spite of having few disadvantages such as slow in process, produces high surface roughness and thermal distortion on machined surface, -EDM is useful in many industrial applications. To overcome the disadvantages and for further improvements, it is required to understand the discharge phenomena and plasma characteristics. So far, most of the studies have been carried out to investigate the discharge, and there are

S. Kanmani Subbu : G. Karthikeyan : J. Ramkumar Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India J. Ramkumar e-mail: jrkumar@iitk.ac.in S. Dhamodaran (*) Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India e-mail: dams@iitk.ac.in

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only a few theoretical cum numerical studies on EDM plasma due to involvement of complex physics [6, 7]. Experiential characterization of plasma can be done through plasma diagnostics techniques, such as Langmuir probe technique, electric magnetic field plasma, microwave diagnostics techniques, interferometers, and optical emission spectroscopy [8]. Each technique has its own merits and demerits. A drawback of the Langmuir probe technique and electric magnetic field plasma is that the insertion of a probe in the EDM plasma region is very difficult because the gap (plasma channel) between tool and electrode is very small. The microwave diagnostics technique and interferometer are seldom accurate having focusing, defocusing and reflection problems, and also it may heat the electrons and modify the process itself. Hence, optical emission spectroscopy is an applicable diagnostics for EDM plasma. With this method, the electron temperature, electron density, and the influence of the discharge parameters on the plasma have been measured quantitatively. Albinski et al. measured the temperature of electric discharge machining plasma from the relative intensities of element spectral lines by line pair method. The temperature was found to be in the range between 8,000 and 10,000 K with cosmetic paraffin as dielectric, and higher temperature values during the initial phase of discharge was also observed [9]. Masanori et al. cleared the mechanism of tool wear ratio in EDM by spectroscopic measurement of the vapor density of the tool material and observed that long pulse duration results in lower tool wear ratio by radiant fluxes and temperature of the arc plasma [10]. Natsu et al. measured the temperature distribution in EDM arc plasma by computing radiant fluxes using line pair method and Ables inversion. They investigated the influence of the electrode shape, gap distance, and discharge current on temperature distribution [11]. Descoeudres et al. investigated the effects of EDM parameters such as electrode material, dielectric, polarity, on time of the pulse by using time integrated spectra and plasma temperature, electron density, and non-ideality of plasma by using time-resolved spectroscopy [12]. They also investigated about EDM plasma with fast imaging and with time spatially resolved optical emission spectroscopy for estimating the profile of plasma temperature and electron density [13]. Natsu et al. investigated characteristics of the transition arc plasma by using a high-speed video camera and measured the plasma temperature and arc plasma expansion by spectroscopy [14]. Kojima et al. measured the arc plasma diameter in EDM by calculating the temperature and area with degree of ionization using spectroscopy [15]. Dry EDM is the electric discharge machining of materials in non-liquid dielectric medium (low vacuum, air, gases, etc.). Some advantages of the dry EDM process are low tool wear, lower discharge gap, lower residual

stresses, smaller white layer, and smaller heat-affected zone [16, 17]. Recently, Dhanik et al. modeled the -EDM crater with breakdown phase, plasma, and heating phase. In which particularly in plasma phase, plasma parameters such as plasma temperature and electron density were utilized for modeling the crater [18]. In spite of few literature on EDM plasma characterization using optical emission spectroscopy, there is a lack of literature on the characteristics of dry EDM plasma at microscale. Hence, in this paper we investigated the effect of various parameters on plasma characteristics and made an attempt to correlate with the craters generated. Plasma characteristics have been investigated using optical emission spectroscopy, where we record the photons emitted from the elements of the electrode materials during discharge. Plasma parameters such as plasma temperature, electron density, Debye length, and lambda parameter were calculated from the recorded optical emission spectra. In particular, plasma temperature was calculated from line pair method and electron density from modified Saha equation, and further Debye length and lambda parameter were calculated from the values of plasma temperature and electron density. Finally, we made an attempt to correlate the plasma characteristics with crater morphology.

2 Experimental setup The experimental setup is schematically shown in Fig. 1. A DT-110 high precision integrated multiprocess machine tool for the experiment made by Mikrotools, Singapore was used. A stainless steel block was used as workpiece, and tungsten with two different diameters (100 and 500 m) has been used as tool. The typical properties of the workpiece and tool are as shown in Table 1 [19]. Optical fiber probe location was optimized after analyzing spectrum captured in various optical probe locations. The background signal (dark spectrum) was recorded and subtracted from the run signal to provide proper emission signals. In each energy level, the plasma spectrum was
R Spectrometer

Tool (-) V C

Optical fiber Data acquisition system

Workpiece

(+)

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of electric discharge machining with spectrometer arrangement

Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 56:187195 Table 1 Properties of workpiece and tool Properties Density (g/cm3) Melting point (K) Electrical resistivity (ohm cm) Thermal conductivity (W/m K) Specific heat capacity (J/g C) W tungsten, SS stainless steel W (tool) 19.3 3,643 5.65E-6 163.3 0.134 SS (workpiece) 7.99 1,400 7.4 E-5 16.2 0.5

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captured about ten times for confirming the consistency of the spectrum. Optical emission spectra to characterize plasma were recorded for different energy levels as given in Table 2. The emission spectroscopy setup is composed of an optical fiber (diameter, 200 m) for light collection and coupled with a high-resolution spectrometer (HR2000 ocean optics miniature spectrometer) using an SMA905 connector. The spectrometer is a 2,048-element linear charge-coupled device array, and it is configured with a 25-m slit, groove density of the grating is 300, with a variable blaze wavelength and a spectral window between 200 and 1,100 nm. Due to the small size of the light emitting region, the arrangement shown in Fig. 1 is the simplest way to capture the plasma. Finally, the morphological analysis on the EDM spots was carried out with a ZEISS EVO 50 scanning electron microscope (SEM).

absolute intensity measurement the calibration of the absolute spectral sensitivity of the optical arrangement, therefore, is not necessary. At high enough discharge energy, after the arc discharge has developed fully, the plasma attains the local thermal equilibrium state [9]. In arc plasma, for atoms of the same kind, the relative intensities of spectral lines emitted by the plasma depend on only on the plasma temperature. Then, the plasma temperature can be obtained from the following equation:   Em Ei Amn gn li Ii 1 Te ln 1 k Aij gi lm Im where i is the wavelength of the light emitted from the plasma species due to transition from energy level i to j, Ii is the radiant intensity of emitted light of wavelength i, gi is the statistical weight of energy level i, Ei is the excitation energy at energy level i, Aij is the transition probability from energy level i to j and k is the Boltzmann constant. Similarly, the radiant intensity of emitted light of wavelength m due to transition from energy level m to level n is defined as Im. For the conditions in this study, the values of all these parameters except for radiant intensities Ii and Im in Eq. 1 can be obtained from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) database [21]. Thus, the plasma temperature can, therefore, be obtained by measuring radiant intensities, Ii and Im, corresponding to two different wavelengths. Plasma temperature measurement by this method has been reported to have fewer errors [9]. 3.2 Electron density

3 Measurement of plasma parameters 3.1 Plasma temperature Plasma temperature can be measured by several spectroscopic methods [20]. The method has to be chosen based on the type of spectrum emitted by plasma such as atomic lines, ionic lines, molecular bands, continuum emission. Most of the methods need the assumption of local thermal equilibrium. EDM plasma is arc plasma in local thermal equilibrium; the temperature of the arc plasma can be measured using the line pair method, which is a simple and accurate method compared to other methods [20]. Determination of temperature is based on the intensity ratio of two spectral lines emitted by atoms of the same element in local thermal equilibrium. Since it is a relative and not an
Table 2 Experimental conditions of dry -EDM Specimen no. Voltage (Volt) Capacitance (F) Energy (mJ) 1 100 0.1 0.5

The electron density signifies the number of free electrons per unit volume. Material removal in electric discharge machining process is primarily due to electron bombardment on the workpiece. Higher electron density would mean higher flux on the workpiece, hence plasma temperature and electron density together would play a significant role in martial removal. In fact, experimental values of plasma temperature and electron density have been used as input parameters for crater size model [18]. The Stark broadening and shift of H hydrogen Balmer line is used for electron density measurement [12]. Electron density was calculated based on full width at half maximum for the H spectral line. For the present case, there is no H line because EDM was performed in normal atmosphere (dry EDM). Therefore, Saha equation can be used to measure electron density in
2 120 0.1 0.72 3 140 0.1 0.98 4 100 0.4 2 5 120 0.4 2.88 6 140 0.4 3.92

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local thermal equilibrium [20], but the lack of the data for the neutral element density and uncertainties connected with the determination of the statistical sums. This can be avoided by using line intensities of the atomic and ionic lines. This leads to the development of a modified Saha equation for finding electron density by using radiant intensities of ionic and atomic elements of the same element peaks [22]. The modified Saha equation is ne 6:6 1021   Ia Ai gi Eion Ei Ea exp I i A a ga Te 2

ne electron density per cubic centimeter and Ia and Ii are radiant intensities of atomic and ionic lines of the same elements, Aa and Ai are transition probabilities form energy i to j levels of the atomic and ionic of same element per centimeter, ga and gi are the statistical weights of the ions and atoms of the same element, Ea and Ei are the excitation potential of the atomic and ionic lines of same element in eV and Eion is the ionization energy of the element. 3.3 Debye length and parameter 3.3.1 Debye length The Debye length is defined as the distance over which significant charge separation can occur [23]. The larger the Debye length is, the lesser the interaction in between the particles. Debye length can be calculated based on plasma temperature and electron density is, s "0 kTe lD ne q2 e 3

where ne is the electron density and D is the Debye length. A <1, in which the Debye length sphere (, a volume whose radius is Debye length, there is a sphere of influence and outside of which charges are screened) is sparsely populated, corresponds to strongly coupled plasma. Likewise, a >1, in which Debye sphere is densely populated, corresponds to weakly coupled plasma [24]. It can be also appreciated that strongly coupled plasma tends to be cold and dense, whereas weakly coupled plasma are diffuse and hot. In the case <<1, the plasma corresponds to ideal plasma. If the thermal energy of a charged species say electrons is much larger than that of their coulomb interaction then the interaction can be neglected and plasma can be regarded an ideal gas of charged particles and is called an ideal plasma. In ideal plasma, the particles are free to move and are not influenced by other parameters.

4 Results and discussions In EDM discharge, the electrical potential that drives current through air between two conducting electrodes produces spark discharges through the transition states of ionization and rapid growth of ionization channel. This process, known as the spark discharges or spark breakdown, refers to the transition of state between two charged electrodes to the plasma state. Therefore, the degree of ionization pass on the proportion of atoms that have either released or gained the electrons, which are commonly referred to as electron density or plasma density. Since electrons are lighter than ions and electrons attain thermal equilibrium faster than ions, plasma temperature is an indirect measure of thermal kinetic energy per electron. In general EDM process, the thermal kinetic of electrons is believed to be transferred to the electrode surface and produce shockwaves, leading to material erosion always through melting and evaporation. For that reason, measurements of plasma temperature and electron density are most important plasma diagnostic parameters in the context of material removal under low energy electric discharge. In this research work, the optical emission spectroscopy technique was used to record the radiant intensity of light emitted by the elements from the electrode materials. The emission spectra show underlying continuum at specific wavelengths a detailed section of a typical emission spectrum is shown in Fig. 2. Peaks are observed between 200 and 700 nm where stainless steel and tungsten were used as workpiece and tool materials, respectively. Both materials have strong persistent emissions in the transition zone of ultraviolet to visible range. The atomic and ionic lines as marked in the spectra have been identified matching the observed wavelength with standard NIST database. In Fig. 2, the emission peaks for chromium, iron,

where o is permittivity of free space (8.85421012 A2s4/ kg m), k is the Boltzmann constant (1.38071023 J/K) and qe is the elementary charge (1.60221019 coulombs), Te is the plasma temperature, ne is the electron density. Debye length of arc discharge, solar chromosphere, gas plasma, and ionosphere were reported as 0.7 m, 5 m, 0.1 mm, and 2 mm, respectively [24]. 3.3.2 Plasma parameter gamma The plasma parameter () is the dimensionless parameter equal to the number of particles contained in the Debye sphere, which has a radius equal to the Debye length [24]. We can classify the plasma by combining these two plasma parameters which is important for basic understanding of the degree to which the interaction determines the plasma behavior. 4p ne l3 D 4

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191

a
Fe II
Fe II

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Fig. 2 Typical emission spectrum of dry -EDM plasma of 0.5 mJ energy with a 100 m tool diameter

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carbon, and tungsten are marked. Since stainless steel was used as workpiece (anode) chromium, iron and carbon emission lines are significant, hence the plasma temperature was calculated by using the radiant intensities of chromium (474.72 and 519.27 nm) and iron (372.76 and 356.53 nm) peaks. Most of the lines in the spectrum are excited neutral atoms, rather than ions, which indicate that the plasma is cold. Figures 3 and 4 show the effect of energies on the spectrum. The experimental conditions such as tool/work-

Fig. 4 Effect of the energies on the emission spectrum of a 0.4 F capacitance and b 0.1 F capacitance with a 500 m tool diameter

a
FeII FeII
WII

140V-0.4F 120V-0.4F 100V-0.4F

CrI

piece material combination, tool electrode diameter, capacitance, and voltage are given in figure/caption. It is noted that as the energy increases, the spectral intensity also increases. At lower input energy, fewer electrons are excited to the higher atomic energy levels. Whereas, for higher input energy, more electrons are excited and subsequent de-excitation results in increased spectral intensity. The line pair method has been used to calculate the electron temperature. Figure 5 shows the measured plasma temperature as function of energy calculated from chromium (474.72 and 519.27 nm) and iron (372.76 and 356.53 nm) peaks. It was found that plasma temperature was almost constant with different energies and different

FeI FeI FeI

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4500

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FeII FeII

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3500

CI

500 m (W) - Cr Peak 100 m (W) - Cr Peak 500 m (W) - Fe Peak 100 m (W) - Fe Peak
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550

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650

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3000 0.0

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Fig. 3 Effect of the energies on the emission spectrum of a 0.4 F capacitance and b 0.1 F capacitance with a 100 m tool diameter

Fig. 5 Temperature as a function of energy calculated from chromium and iron peaks

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1.2x10

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Plasma parameter-Gamma

Electron Density [cm-3]

500 m (W) - Cr Peak 100 m (W) - Cr Peak 500 m (W) - Fe Peak 100 m (W) - Fe Peak

0.20 0.16 0.12 0.08 0.04 0.00 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5

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500 m (W) - Cr Peak 100 m (W) - Cr peak 500 m (W) - Fe peak 100 m (W) - Fe peak

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Fig. 6 Electron density as a function of energy calculated from chromium and iron peaks

Fig. 8 Plasma parameter gamma as a function of energy calculated from chromium and iron peaks

diameters of the tungsten electrode. The dry -EDM plasma temperature is found to be lower than the plasma temperature of conventional EDM with dielectric liquid. In the presence of dielectric liquid, the plasma (channel) gets focused on the workpiece; whereas, in dry EDM plasma is spread and hence lower the temperature [14]. Electron density is calculated by a modified Saha equation using ionic and atomic lines of the same elements. In this case, Cr II (481.1668 nm) and Cr I (519.27 nm) peaks Fe I (356.54 nm) and Fe II (243.24 nm) peaks have been used to calculate electron density. Irrespective of the elements used for the electron density calculation, it was found to be of the order of 1014 cm3. With the kind of errors in the density calculation, it was almost constant in spite of the change in energy and tool diameter. Figure 6 shows the electron density as a function of energy calculated using chromium and iron peaks. The Debye length was calculated by using Eq. 3 in which temperature and electron density values have been used. Figure 7 shows the Debye length as a function of energy calculated using chromium and iron peaks. Debye
1.2x10 1.0x10
-5

length was also almost constant reflecting the trend in the temperature and the electron density. The plasma parameter calculated by using Eq. 4 and plotted as a function of energy is given in Fig. 8. Dry -EDM produces plasma parameter <<1 which corresponds to ideal plasma [24]. Most of the lines in the spectrum are atomic lines rather than ionic lines, which indicate that the plasma is cold. It is to be noted that the plasma characteristics such as temperature, electron density, Debye length, and parameter are almost constant irrespective of energy and tool diameter. If the width of the plasma channel is much smaller than the tool diameter, an increase in tool diameter or energy would lead to more number of pulses maintaining average temperature and density of the plasma. Also, the
30
Brown dwarf Strongly Coupled Plasm a Jupitor core Weakly non-ideal Ideal plasma
Laser Plasma

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Glow discharge

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-6

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Fig. 7 Debye length as a function of energy calculated from chromium and iron peaks

Fig. 9 Classification of plasma according to density and temperature, including the present work data on dry -EDM, (highlighted)

Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 56:187195 Fig. 10 SEM image showing different crater sizes in different energies with a 100 m diameter tool. a 2 mJ. b 2.88 mJ. c 3.92 mJ. d 1.28 mJ

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129.56 m

134.5 m

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142.6 m

210.3 m

calculations are based on the optical spectra for about 20 s integrated with contribution from multiple sparks and not single spark. This is further supported by the increase in intensity of the recorded spectra as a function of energy. The plasma characteristics can directly indicate how efficiently the energy is transferred to the workpiece within the discharge time. Since the capacitance and voltage variation are very small, the discharge time and energy is also small leading to plasma parameter independent of energy. These are preliminary results and further detailed analysis with a wide range of input parameters is required for an in-depth understanding. Figure 9 shows the classification of the main types of natural and artificial plasma [25], including the present work on dry -EDM plasma (highlighted), in a log electron density - log temperature diagram. Ideal, weakly non-ideal,
Fig. 11 SEM image showing different crater sizes and different depths in different energies. a 2 mJ b 3.92 mJ

and strongly coupled plasma can be easily identified in this plot and it is to be noted that most of artificial plasma are ideal and natural plasma are strongly coupled plasma. EDM plasma is indeed amongst the most artificially created dense and cold plasma [26]. The dry -EDM plasma turns out to be an ideal plasma. -EDM plasma differs with macroEDM plasma by their electron densities typically about 1014 cm3 which is a few orders of magnitude smaller [27]. There is a huge variation in the characteristics of microand macroscale plasma itself. To the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of experimental data on wet EDM with tool diameters at the microscale. Our experimental setup is being improved to support wet EDM plasma measurements based on optical emission spectroscopy. However, it is important to note that there are several papers comparing wet and dry EDM in terms of machining various features. It

a
129.56 m

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has also been reported that, in comparison to conventional EDM, dry EDM improves the output results such as material removal rate, shape accuracy, and integrity of surface finish [2830]. 4.1 Morphological analysis Craters produced by dry -EDM process with various discharge energies have been studied using SEM. The micrographs show the craters on the workpiece. Figure 10ad shows significant differences on crater size and shape for different energies. The crater is visible, confirming the strong melting and evaporation in dry EDM process with increase in energy levels. If the energy increases from 2 to 3.92 mJ in dry -EDM, the size of the crater also increases and the shape of the crater tends to become more circular. A crater formed with low discharge energy (say less than 1.28 mJ) has been found to be elliptical in shape, and the depth of the crater also very low. The shape of the crater may also depend on a few other parameters, such as the number of discharges, tool geometry, and energy of discharge, to mention a few. It is observed that the crater size is larger than the tool diameter; as energy increases, the crater size also increases hence its confirming that overcut increases when energy increases. Figure 11 shows an SEM image of the crater on the surface produced by different energy levels. In SEM, specimen stage was tilted to 10 degrees for qualitatively showing the difference in depth at different energies. In dry EDM, most of the metal evaporate and the chance of resolidification of the molten metal is less compared to EDM with dielectric. In the present case, the craters are formed after several sparks and not a single spark. Some amount of molten metal has been redeposited on the surface of the workpiece around the crater.

density and temperature, the dry -EDM plasma was mapped in the log electron density log temperature plot. It was found that the discharge plasma at microscale could be classified as ideal plasma based on the gamma parameter; and (4) in dry -EDM, it was observed using SEM that an increase in discharge energy increases crater size, depth, and with a shape change from elliptical to circular. The crater shape is very much dependent on the geometry of the tool tip, number of discharges, and energy of discharge which is being investigated at present.
Acknowledgements SKS and GK are grateful to the institute fellowship. JR thanks DST for funding and SD is thankful to IITK for the initiation grant.

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5 Conclusions The present study is the first systematic investigation on the dry -EDM plasma using optical emission spectroscopy. Plasma temperature and electron density were calculated by line pair method and electron density measured by modified Saha equation, respectively. The Debye length and plasma parameter were also calculated and characterized the dry EDM plasma. The following conclusions are made: (1) the average plasma temperature and electron density of dry EDM plasma is 4,000 500 K and 10131014 cm3, respectively; (2) it was found that in dry -EDM plasma parameters, such as plasma temperature, electron density, Debye length and gamma parameter are almost constant and do not change with different energies and variation in diameter of the tool electrode; (3) from calculated electron

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