Calculation of Current Distribution and Electrode Shape Change by the Boundary Element Method

Abstract

The boundary element method coupled with a Newton-Raphson iteration technique is used to determine current distributions in electrochemical systems, particularly for applications involving electrode shape change such as electro-plating and electrochemical machining (ECM). The derivation of the system of equations with the appropriate boundary conditions is presented. Primary and secondary current distributions are calculated for applications including simulta-neous deposition and dissolution on opposing electrodes. In the case of copper electrorefining, a comparison between theory and experiment is made. An example of surface leveling in ECM is also given. The quantitative determination of current distribution and the simulation of changing electrode shape in appli-cations such as electroplating and electrochemical ma-chining are of industrial interest. It is well known that only the current distribution of rather simple geometries with linear boundary conditions can be solved with analytical techniques. In all other cases, numerical methods must be used. Prentice (1) gives