Philip Koshy


2019

DOI bib
Sink electrical discharge machining of hydrophobic surfaces
Chuanyong Guo, Philip Koshy, Felipe Coelho, P. Ravi Selvaganapathy
CIRP Annals, Volume 68, Issue 1

Abstract The phenomenon of hydrophobicity observed in such surfaces as lotus leaves is typically manifest by hierarchical structures on low-energy surfaces. Sustained interest in fabricating hydrophobic surfaces has resulted in a myriad of processes, which are but limited by their largely referring to soft materials and/or involving multiple process steps. The present work explored the application of electrical discharge machining (EDM) for the single-step manufacture of durable, metallic hydrophobic surfaces. Simple sink EDM in a hydrocarbon dielectric, with no special process kinematic or tooling requirements, is demonstrated to rapidly generate surfaces that are intrinsically water repellent, with contact angles approaching 150°.