ORIGINAL ARTICLE Experimental investigations and its dimensional analysis–based modeling of the UAECDM process Ranjeet Singh Rathore 1 & Akshay Dvivedi 1 Received: 23 May 2020 /Accepted: 28 October 2020 # Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract The ultrasonic-assisted electrochemical discharge machining (UAECDM) process uses thermal, chemical, and ultrasonic energy together during the machining process. The energy produced from the discharge is used in the work material to produce micro- feature, but the entire energy is not used solely for material removal. Hence, it also affects the tool electrode wear (TEW) along with the material removal rate (MRR). An attempt has been made in this article to investigate the effect of process parameters related to the UAECDM process performance. From the experimental results, it was found that the ultrasonic vibrational amplitude influences the MRR and TEW most compared to other process parameters such as pulse on time (T on ), electrolyte concentration, and applied voltage. In addition, mathematical models are developed using dimensional analysis to predict TEW and MRR. It is based on process parameters affecting TEW and MRR, including the tool electrode and work material’s thermal- physical properties. The results obtained from the mathematical models are quite similar to experimental results, and it has been found that the models can be used for further process’s effects on performance characteristics. Keywords Dimensional analysis . MRR . Modeling . TEW . UAECDM 1 Introduction Ultrasound is a physical wave that propagates at frequencies higher than 20 kHz, i.e., above the human audible sound. Hence, it is suitable for various applications, namely medical, joining, and machining. Ultrasonic vibrations are provided to machine hard and brittle materials as direct input in the ma- chining process, such as the ultrasonic machining (USM) pro- cess. As shown in Fig. 1, the USM facility comprises an ul- trasonic generator, transducer, and horn. These units are coupled in sequence to provide high amplitude at the horn end. The tool is mounted at the horn end to utilize the maxi- mum vibrational energy for the machining. The power inten- sity that passes through the cross-sectional area of the tool depends on both ultrasonic frequency and amplitude. But, high aspect ratio is difficult to reach during the USM process and is usually associated with low MRR [1, 2]. Ultrasonic vibrations can also be used to assist various conventional and non-conventional processes during machin- ing. The literature reveals that the integration of ultrasonic vibrations with conventional machining reduces the forces required, and also increases the product quality. Pujana et al. investigated the ultrasonic vibration’s effect during the ma- chining in Ti6Al4V alloy. During the ultrasonic-assisted dril- ling (UAD) process, the same chip geometry was observed with the formation of the null burr. Due to the strain-softening effect, the feed forces decreased by 10–20%. The temperature at the tooltip, however, increases compared to traditional dril- ling [3]. During the ultrasonic-assisted milling process, Ni et al. developed an analytical model for evaluating the contact rate between tool and work material. It was observed that the cutting forces decreased by 35% due to the intermittent cutting effect. Surface quality of the finished product also improved during machining of the Ti6Al4V alloy [4]. Lofti et al. ana- lyzed the ultrasonic vibration’s effect in the tool chip contact friction by simulation and experimentation. It was found that the coefficient of friction and contact length decreases due to intermittent contact of the vibrated tool because of the thermal conduction time reduced at the interface of the tool chips [5]. * Ranjeet Singh Rathore rathorers2001@gmail.com Akshay Dvivedi akshaydvivedi@gmail.com 1 Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, India https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-020-06320-8 / Published online: 9 November 2020 The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (2020) 111:3241–3257