Grinding force modeling and experimental verification of rail grinding

Abstract

Many factors could affect the grinding force during rail grinding processes. Therefore, the grinding force modeling is necessary for predicting the grinding forces under different rail grinding parameter conditions. In this study, 3D models of grinding wheels were constructed based on the surface topographies of real grinding wheels. By means of simulation of rail grinding processes using the DEFORM-3D, the influences of grinding parameters on the grinding forces were explored. Furthermore, in order to verify the simulation results, rail grinding experiments were conducted using a rail grinding friction testing apparatus. Both simulation and experimental results showed that the grinding force increased with the grinding pressure and the granularity of grinding wheel and decreased with the rotational speed of the grinding wheel. A correction factor ks of 0.894 was obtained using the least square method to reduce the error between the simulation and experimental results from 10.22 to 4.42%.