A multi-scale model revealed in the grinding process and its influence on the grinding force and surface integrity

The quality of ground surface is closely related with the interaction behavior between the ground component and the grains in grinding wheel. Normally, the grains have the characteristics of irregular shape, nonuniform size and random distribution. Thus, the material removal mechanism generated from the interaction behavior in grinding is difficult to directly observe through experiment. This research presents a multi-scale model to capture the interaction state of the grain-workpiece by determining the transient stage of each individual grain based on the actual grinding wheel structure and grinding condition. Different from the previous models of the single-grain grinding, it provides a fresh perspective to theoretically improve the quality of ground surface by incorporating the multi-scale interactive behavior, active transition, and continuous evolution of the grain-workpiece during the grinding process. The predicted forces are compared with the experimental data performed in the research, and also with those in literature. It shows that the maximum error is less than 14%. The proposed model enables it possible to address the multiple effects of grinding parameters, grain size, grain location, and distribution on the transient stage of the active grains in the grinding zone. Therefore, based on the proposed multi-scale model, the innovative approach is revealed to improve the quality of ground surface by modifying the interaction state of the grain-workpiece through the analytical analysis of multi-level parameters related with grinding wheel structure and grinding process.