Molecular Dynamics Study of Nano-Grinding Behavior for Silicon Wafer Workpieces with Nanoscale Roughness Under Diamond Abrasive Rotation and Translation

This study aims to analyze the nano-grinding behavior of silicon wafer workpieces with nanoscale roughness by molecular dynamics simulations. The nano-grinding process of silicon wafer workpieces with varying root-mean-square roughness under different grinding depths is simulated, considering synchronous rotation and translation of the diamond abrasive. The material removal mechanism, thermodynamic properties and mechanical responses are revealed. The findings demonstrate that the material removal in the nano-grinding process can be influenced by surface roughness and grinding depth, leading to its classification into compression, ploughing and cutting regimes. Moreover, reducing the grinding depth and surface roughness also reduces temperature, von Mises stress and grinding force, thus mitigating surface damage to silicon wafer workpieces. However, a minimal initial root-mean-square roughness may result in reduced surface smoothness of silicon wafer workpieces after a single grinding.