Grinding force and energy modeling of textured monolayer CBN wheels considering undeformed chip thickness nonuniformity.

• Effects of undeformed chip thickness nonuniformity on grinding process are investigated. • Models of specific grinding forces and energy are developed. • Grinding force and energy increase with increased percentage of active grains. • Tool life and grinding efficiency are improved in grinding Inconel 718. The development of modeling and predicting grinding force and energy has great significance in improving tool life and grinding efficiency. As an important parameter to study the grinding mechanism, the undeformed chip thickness catches more and more attentions in modeling the grinding process, and the investigation on its nonuniformity still has much potential. In the current work, the surface topology measuring and modeling methodologies were described. Models of the specific grinding force and energy were developed. Grinding experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of undeformed chip thickness nonuniformity. It is found that the specific grinding forces increase with increased mean value, decreased standard deviation (or variable coefficient) and increased percentage of active grains. The specific grinding energy increases with decreased mean value, increased standard deviation (or variable coefficient) and increased percentage of active grains. The undeformed chip thickness nonuniformity has a certain effect on the specific grinding forces and energy but less significant than the percentage of active grains. Finally, the tool life and grinding efficiency are improved according to the developed models with acceptable errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]