Development of novel high-shear and low-pressure grinding tool with flexible composite

Abstract

ABSTRACT It is known that there are some grinding issues for difficult-to-machine materials, such as adhesion of the grinding wheel, grinding burns, and poor surface quality. In this work, a novel abrasive tool which was based on the principle of liquid body armor was developed with flexible composite to improve the grinding performance. During grinding, particles in the abrasive tool will produce a “hydro-cluster effects” to remove the micro convex of the workpiece surface in a high-shear and low-pressure manner. Rheological measurement of prepared shear thickening fluid (STF) and shear thickening abrasive fluid (STAF) showed that the prepared STF and STAF possessed superior shear thickening properties. In addition, the grinding experiments were carried out to investigate the performance of the novel abrasive tool. Surface roughness of the Inconel718 workpiece decreased from Ra 1.55 μm to Ra 0.38 μm within 90 min. The original pretreatment marks were completely eliminated and the better surface finish was achieved. The surface quality of Inconel718 was greatly improved after grinding. Experimental results verified the effectiveness of the novel high-shear and low-pressure abrasive tool. This work is quite potential to provide an alternative new abrasive tool for the grinding of difficult-to-machine materials in manufacturing industries.