Wear of perfectly sharp abrasive grinding wheels

Evidence is presented that indicates that grain fracture is the most important mechanism of material removal from perfectly sharp abrasive wheels during grinding. Fracture occurs as a consequence of tensile stresses induced into the abrasive grains by grinding forces to which they are subjected. Experimental work is extracted from the literature and compared to the model abrasive grains described in this paper. The relationship between the wear of grinding wheels and the induced stresses in model abrasive grains is described in detail. Good correlation is found between the maximum value of tensile stress induced in the abrasive grain and the appropriate wheel-wear parameter (grinding ratio) as obtained from the published literature. It is concluded that the magnitude of tensile stresses induced in the grain material is the best indicator of wheel wear during a grinding operation.