Experimental Analyses into Dry Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Grinding of Difficult-to-Machine Tool Steel with Alumina Wheel

This paper describes experimental studies that were carried out to assess the enhancement in grinding productivity of AISI D2 tool steel by adopting the ultrasonic vibration-assisted dry grinding (UVADG) mode. Experimental works were conducted on a UVADG setup that was indigenously developed and manufactured. The grinding productivity in the UVADG mode was assessed by comparing the grinding forces, force ratio, surface roughness, bearing area curve (BAC), BAC ratio, ground surface morphology, and topography achieved in conventional dry grinding (CDG) and conventional wet grinding (CWG) modes. The UVADG mode at optimized amplitude and frequency results in lesser grinding forces and better surface integrity than CDG and CWG modes. With UVADG mode, the impact of overlapping induced by ultrasonic vibration resulted in a higher BAC ratio (88.71%) and a steeper BAC. This BAC ratio reflects the ground surface in UVADG mode, which is less susceptible to antifriction and antiwear characteristics than CDG and CWG modes. The experimental outcomes revealed that the UVADG mode has a greater potential for improving the grindability of AISI D2 tool steel. The current study also promotes the need for a sustainable grinding method for "difficult-to-machine" materials adopting UVADG mode.