Study on three-dimensional topography modeling of the grinding wheel with image processing techniques

Abstract

A novel method for three-dimensional characterization and topography modeling of alumina abrasive grains and single crystal corundum grinding wheel trimmed by a diamond roller is proposed in this paper. An alumina abrasive grain is modeled with a random and arbitrary pyramid determined by the relative position of its five vertices. It is revealed that the relative position is related to the apex angle and volume ratio of abrasive particles. Considering the strong randomness of abrasive grain properties, high-precision characterization of the distribution, size and shape of abrasive grains is extracted through image processing techniques such as identification, segmentation, marking, and removal of connected domains. Meanwhile, a new set of parameters is defined to quantify the identified topographical features of abrasive grains on the wheel surface. It is illustrated that the angle of abrasive grains and its area ratio that can be extracted from dressing tests of the grinding wheel play a dominant role in the establishment of the grinding wheel model. Finally, three-dimensional topography model of the grinding wheel is built with the distribution, size and shape models of active abrasive grains and broken abrasive grains. The results show that the simulated topography model agrees well with the experimental measurements regardless of the distribution, area ratio, size, density or number of abrasive grains.