On the prediction of surface burn and its thickness in grinding processes

Surface burn during grinding processes is a thermally induced damage creating unwanted changes and must be avoided. Previous studies correlated surface burn with a critical temperature as its threshold. In this study, metal oxidation at high temperatures is proposed as the mechanism responsible for burn, and a model is developed considering both temperature and exposure time to predict the occurrence of burn and its thickness. Grinding tests were carried out and the cross-sections of the samples were analyzed to validate the model. The model use was demonstrated satisfactorily for selection of burn free and high productivity grinding conditions.