Theoretical models of the electrical discharge machining process. II. The anode erosion model

As a second in a series of theoretical models for the electrical discharge machining (EDM) process, an erosion model for the anode material is presented. As with our point heat‐source model in the previous article, the present model also accepts power rather than temperature as the boundary condition at the plasma/anode interface. A constant fraction of the total power supplied to the gap is transferred to the anode. The power supplied is assumed to produce a Gaussian‐distributed heat flux on the surface of the anode material. Furthermore, the area upon which the flux is incident is assumed to grow with time. The model is capable of showing, via the determined migrating melt fronts, the rapid melting of the anodic material as well as the subsequent resolidification of the material foation from plasma dynamics modeling could improve substantially our results.