TABLE OF CONTENTS Grinding of materials is accompanied to a greater or lesser degree by wear of the grinding wheel. Historically, wheel performance has been judged mainly in terms of its wear resistance, but wheel wear is only one of many factors which should be taken into account.
The practical significance of wheel wear depends upon the particular type of grinding. For precision grinding using conventional abrasives, the termination of the grinding wheel 'tool life' and the need for redressing is likely to be determined either by excessive forces and wheel dulling due to attritions wear at the grain tips, or by loss of finish, form, or size due to 'bulk' wheel wear. More of the wheel may be consumed by periodic dressing than by wear, but the wheel itself is usually not a significant cost factor. By contrast, wheel consumption has more significant economic consequences for grinding with superabrasive wheels and for heavy-duty grinding with conventional wheels, owing to high abrasive costs with the former and high rates of wheel wear with the latter.
Grinding wheel wear is a complex process. The overall wheel wear is the culmination of numerous individual wear events from encounters of abrasive grains with the workpiece. Research studies have identified and quantified the prevailing wear mechanisms and the influence of various factors. Lubrication by the grinding fluid is one of the most significant factors affecting wheel wear, mainly through its influence on the chemical reactions which occur at the grinding zone. Wheel-wear behavior can be...
