Comparison of grinding performance under different eco-friendly environment

Abstract

High heat generation at the grinding zone may cause several grinding difficulties. To control these thermal problems, generally, grinding fluid is applied; however, it increases the chance of environmental pollution. In the present work, an attempt is made to control grinding zone temperature by using eco-friendly environment, such as compressed air and ice cooled compressed air. Grinding experiments are conducted on low alloy steel specimens using alumina wheel under dry, compressed air and ice cooled compressed air environment. From experimental results, it is found that tangential force and normal force reduce more under ice cooled compressed air. With the use of ice cooled compressed air, wheel loading is the least of all other conditions tested, and large quantity of shear type chips are observed indicating good grindability. Hence, it may be recommended to use ice cooled compressed air as an eco-friendly grinding fluid to control grinding zone temperature.