Grinding energy efficiency depends on the appropriate selection of cutting conditions, grinding wheel, and workpiece material. Additionally, the estimation of specific energy consumption is a good indicator to control the consumed energy during the grinding process. Consequently, this study develops a model of material-removal rate to estimate specific energy consumption based on the measurement of active power consumed in a plane surface grinding of C45K with different thermal treatments and AISI 304. This model identifies and evaluates the dissipated power by sliding, ploughing, and chip formation in an industrial-scale grinding process. Furthermore, the instantaneous positions of abrasive grains during cutting are described to study the material-removal rate. The estimation of specific chip-formation energy is similar to that described by other authors on a laboratory scale, which allows to validate the model and experiments. Finally, the results show that the energy consumed by sliding is the main mechanism of energy dissipation in an industrial-scale grinding process, where it is denoted that sliding energy by volume unity decreases as the depth of cut and the speed of the workpiece increase.

Peer Reviewed