An Electrolyte Life Indicator for Plasma Electrolytic Polishing Optimization

Abstract

This work shows that electrolyte current-density as an indicator can assist in the optimized timing of the addition of the electrolyte to plasma electrolytic polishing (PEP) to keep it active and in operation. In this experiment, 2 wt% ammonium sulfate was used as an electrolyte to polish 1 cm × 1 cm stainless steel SUS304. The hot-bath heating method was successfully used to heat it from 60 to 90 °C, followed by suction filtration. The cathode was fixed at the beaker edge in the electrolyte and the input voltage was 340 volts. Once the gas-phase layer formed stably around the workpiece, the plasma went through the electrolyte to polish the workpiece surface. Then, the anode was slowly immersed into the electrolyte and the current-density measured. It was found that based on the current-density–temperature curve, for the timing of the addition of the electrolyte, the current-density difference could be used to decide whether it needed to be supplemented or not. When the temperature was from 75 to 80 °C and 85 to 90 °C, it was found that the 2 wt% ammonium sulfate solution should be supplemented. The result showed that the electrolyte life indicator, using the current-density, is a feasible method of practical technology for PEP.