Abstract
Electrical discharge machining (EDM) was attempted on a ceramic matrix composite containing non-conductive alumina as a matrix and conductive titania as a second phase, and was found successful. As the current or duty factor increased, the material removal rate (MRR) increased and the surface roughness also increased. The EDMed surface was covered with a number of craters of a circular shape having 100-200 microns of diameter. The melting and evaporation was suggested for the EDM mechanism. The bending strength decreased 44% after EDM, but the Weibull modulus increased more than twice. Combination of EDM and barre이 polishing resulted in the maintenance of the bending strength level. Temperature distribution near a spark in the sample was computer-simulated by use of finite element method, and was found to have similar shape to the one which the observed craters have.