Grinding Wheel Elasticity

Abstract

The deflection of individual abrasive grains in the cutting surface of a vitrified grinding wheel has been postulated to explain many fine grinding results; however, the magnitude of the deflection has never been firmly established. Experiments conducted to measure the deflection associated with an individual grain showed it to be of the same order of magnitude as the undeformed chip thickness. A model of a grinding wheel which allows both the deflection of the center of an individual grain and the deformation in the contact zone between the grain and the work material to be evaluated was developed. Contact zone deformation was found to be approximately twice as great as the deflection of the center of the grain.