Detailed modeling of cutting forces in grinding process considering variable stages of grain-workpiece micro interactions

Grinding forces are a key parameter in the grinding process, most previous studies on grinding forces, however, (i) were regardless of grain-workpiece micro interaction statuses and (ii) could only predict average/maximal grinding forces based on average/maximal cutting depths or chip thicknesses. In this study, a novel detailed modeling methodology of grinding forces has been analytically established, experimentally validated and utilised to study a specific issue that previous methods can not address. Based on the proposed method, grinding forces with detailed information (e.g. three components including rubbing, plowing and cutting forces) could be accurately predicted. Except for grinding forces, the proposed methodology also enable the availability of other grinding process details at the grain scale (e.g. the ratios of grains that are experiencing rubbing, plowing and cutting stages to the total engaging grain number). Validation experiment results have proved that, the proposed method could, to a large extent, describe the realistic grinding forces. Based on the proposed method, the effects of grinding conditions (including depths of cut, wheel speeds, workpiece feed speeds and grinding wheel abrasive sizes) on each component of grinding forces (rubbing, plowing, and cutting forces) have been analyzed. Some new findings, which could enhance the existing understandings of grinding forces and guide industrial manufacture, have been gained. The proposed method therefore is anticipated to be not only meaningful to provide a new way to model grinding forces in detail, but also promising to study other grinding issues (e.g. grinding heat, machined surface topography, grinding chatter), especially under the trend of miniaturization and microfabrication where grinding details at the grain scale are highly needed to optimise the micro grinding tool efficiency and micro-grinding accuracy.