EFFECT OF FACE COOLING ON WORKPIECE TEMPERATURES USING 2D AND 3D FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF CREEP-FEED GRINDING

This work uses validated 2D and 3D finite element models of the creep-feed grinding operation to study the effects of face cooling on the workpiece temperatures. The results show that as the intensity of the face cooling is increased the maximum contact temperature decreases and the location of the maximum contact temperature shifts away from the finished workpiece material and towards the uncut workpiece surface. The finite element models are also used to study the maximum temperatures along the workpiece during a complete grinding pass. The temperature profiles show that there are four important temperature features on the workpiece, which are the cut-in, steady-state, temperature spike, and cut-out zones. Cut-in occurs when the grinding wheel initially engages the workpiece, steady-state occurs in the middle of the workpiece, the temperature spike occurs at the beginning of cut-out, and cut-out occurs as the grinding wheel disengages from the workpiece. Finally, the results show that face cooling need only be applied to the area immediately adjacent to the contact zone to be effective and that there is very little benefit to applying coolant to the entire front and back workpiece faces.