Influence of gas permeability of abrasive tools on their structural and mechanical parameters

Abstract

Quality assurance and processing capacity are essential performance parameters of abrasive tools. It is of prime importance for grinding wheels operating at a speed of 35–60 m/s. In this case, the opportunities to increase the high-rate grinding efficiency without burns are associated with using high-porosity and low-hardness wheels. Artificial pore-forming agents are used to manufacture tools. Introduction of pore-forming agents decreases grinding forces and increases the maximum grinding depth without burns. The porosity of filled compound materials can be attributed to the conception of gas permeability. The gas permeability parameter describes the openness degree of such structures and the velocity of the air volumes passing through porous materials. The porosity and gas-permeability degrees of the material of high-porous ceramic-bond abrasive tools with various parameters, depending on the abrasive material type, porogen grain size and content, and the composite structure number have been studied. It appeared that the porosity degree of high-porous abrasive tools, made both of fused alumina and silicon carbide increases as the structure number, grain size, and content of burning porogens increases. Besides, the increase degree of fused alumina is a little higher than that of silicon carbide. The gas permeability degree depends on the factors mentioned above in nearly the same way. Compared to porosity, the effect of gas permeability increases due to an altered structure, grain size, and content of porogens is much higher, up to 6 times. In this case, the gas permeability value is primarily characteristic of the pore size; in other words, the speed and volume of the air or lubrication and cooling fluid penetrating the material structure increase correspondingly at nearly the same increase of the pore size by several times and at the same volume porosity degree. The gas permeability degree can be used for quantitative and qualitative description of the material structure of high-porous abrasive tools, as well as their structural and mechanical parameters. The operating parameters of tools can depend on the gas permeability level of their materials. Thus, the results of abrasive processing can be foreseen.