Experimental investigation on the effects of machining parameters on surface integrity in form grinding of rail material

Abstract

Rail grinding is an essential measure for the maintenance of railway infrastructure, and the machined surface integrity of rail material plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety, stability and service performance of the railway network. In this paper, an electroplated diamond grinding wheel was employed to re-profile the rail surface. Meanwhile, single-factor experiments on the form grinding of rail material were designed and carried out by virtue of the self-developed rail grinding platform under dry grinding condition based on proper machining parameters. The effects of machining parameters on the surface roughness, subsurface micro-hardness, plastic deformation, and surface morphology were investigated, respectively. The experimental results revealed that the surface roughness and subsurface micro-hardness increase with the increase of feed speed and grinding depth, while decrease with the increase of wheel peripheral speed. The thickness of subsurface plastic deformation layer and the degree of plastic flow increase with the increase of grinding depth, and the thickness of subsurface plastic deformation layer ranges from 7 μm to 14 μm with the change of grinding depth.