Influence of contact force and rubber wheel hardness on material removal in abrasive belt grinding investigated by physical simulator.

The abrasive belt grinding process is applied to grind aero-engine blades benefiting from the elastic contact between the tool and workpiece. The local material removal is difficult to be accurately controlled, resulting in poor surface integrity. A better understanding of the relations between key process parameters and the material removal is needed. In this study, a physical simulator of the abrasive belt grinding process was developed. Different contact wheel hardnesses and contact forces were applied to grind the titanium alloys. A finite element model of multi-abrasive grinding was established to predict the material removal. The characteristics of the stress distribution on the rubber wheel under the dynamic contact state of abrasive belt grinding were obtained. The results show that the contact force has a significant effect on material removal when the contact force is less than a critical value. When the contact force exceeds the critical value, the hardness of the rubber wheel has a more significant effect. The changes on material removal obtained by the finite element model are consistent with the experimental results within the range of presented process conditions. This study provides a basis for selecting grinding contact force and contact wheel hardness. • A physical simulator was developed for investigating this compliant grinding process. • A numerical model of local material removal was established. • Influence of rubber hardness on material removal is nonlinear with pressure variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]