Grinding with directionally aligned SiC whisker wheel - loading-free grinding

A new grinding wheel has been developed, wherein very fine SiC whiskers are aligned normally to the grinding surface. However, the grinding wheel exhibits a tendency toward loading. In this study, a method to improve grinding efficiency was proposed. The loading of the grinding wheel could be remarkably reduced by the addition of a small amount of very fine abrasive grains to the grinding fluid. The experimental results showed that alumina of 0.6-mu m grain size is most suitable, and a concentration of 0.25% wt is sufficient to prevent the loading. The grinding efficiency and grinding ratio were remarkably improved by this method. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.