Grindability and Surface Integrity of Cast Nickel-based Superalloy in Creep Feed Grinding with Brazed CBN Abrasive Wheels

AbstractThe technique of creep feed grinding is most suitable for geometrical shaping, and therefore has been expected to improve effectively material removal rate and surface quality of components with complex profile. This article studies experimentally the effects of process parameters (i.e. wheel speed, workpiece speed and depth of cut) on the grindability and surface integrity of cast nickel-based superalloys, i.e. K424, during creep feed grinding with brazed cubic boron nitride (CBN) abrasive wheels. Some important factors, such as grinding force and temperature, specific grinding energy, size stability, surface topography, microhardness and microstructure alteration of the sub-surface, residual stresses, are investigated in detail. The results show that during creep feed grinding with brazed CBN wheels, low grinding temperature at about 100 °C is obtained though the specific grinding energy of nickel-based superalloys is high up to 200-300 J/mm3. A combination of wheel speed 22.5 m/s, workpiece speed 0.1 m/min, depth of cut 0.2 mm accomplishes the straight grooves with the expected dimensional accuracy. Moreover, the compressive residual stresses are formed in the burn-free and crack-free ground surface

Wear evolution and stress distribution of single CBN superabrasive grain in high-speed grinding

In this study, both finite element analysis (FEA) and experimental observations were used to investigate the single CBN grain wear in high-speed grinding of Inconel 718 superalloy. The wear characteristics for each grinding pass were numerically assessed utilizing the tensile and compressive strength limits of the cutting grain. Additionally, stress distribution within the grain, chip formation and grinding force evolution during multiple passes were investigated. The combined experimental and numerical results show that the CBN grain wear has two major modes: the macro fracture on the grain top surface propagating from the rake surface, and the micro fracture near the cutting edges. The resultant tensile stress is the main factor inducing grain wear. The cutting edges will be under self-sharpening due to the grain wear. With multiple micro cutting edges engaged in grinding process, the limited material removal region was divided into different sliding, ploughing and cutting dominant regions. Overall, the ratio of material elements removed by a cutting process ranges from 80% to 20%, and continue to decrease during the grinding process. With a stronger effect of the cutting process, larger fluctuation of the grinding force will commence, however its average value remains below that with stronger sliding and ploughing process characteristics

Heat transport capacity of an axial-rotating single- loop oscillating heat pipe for abrasive-milling tools

In order to enhance heat transfer in the abrasive-milling processes to reduce thermal damage, the concept of employing oscillating heat pipes (OHPs) in an abrasive-milling tool is proposed. A single-loop OHP (SLOHP) is positioned on the plane parallel to the rotational axis of the tool. In this case, centrifugal accelerations do not segregate the fluid between the evaporator and condenser. The experimental investigation is conducted to study the effects of centrifugal acceleration (0–738 m/s2), heat flux (9100–31,850 W/m2) and working fluids (methanol, acetone and water) on the thermal performance. Results show that the centrifugal acceleration has a positive influence on the thermal performance of the axial-rotating SLOHP when filled with acetone or methanol. As for water, with the increase of centrifugal acceleration, the heat transfer performance first increases and then decreases. The thermal performance enhances for higher heat flux rises for all the fluids. The flow inside the axial-rotating SLOHP is analyzed by a slow-motion visualization supported by the theoretical analysis. Based on the theoretical analysis, the rotation will increase the resistance for the vapor to penetrate through the liquid slugs to form an annular flow, which is verified by the visualization

Visualization Experiments of Radial-Rotating Oscillating Heat Pipe Filled with Methanol

Oscillating heat pipes (OHP) have highly efficient heat transfer capability. Some researchers have applied OHPs to cutting tools and rotating machines by embedding tubular OHPs in machines or by making flow channels on metal plates. Most studies are on heat transfer performance, and there are few studies on the heat transfer behavior of radial-rotating oscillating heat pipes (RR-OHP) under operating conditions. This paper conducted the visualization test of an RR-OHP filled with methanol by studying the flow patterns and motion modes at rotation speed (0-860 rpm) and heat flux (20000-40000 W/m2). When the heat flux is increased from 20000 W/m2 to 40000 W/m2, the flow patterns include flowless, slug flow, annular flow, and churn flow, and the motion modes contain oscillatory motion, cyclic motion, unilateral boiling, and bilateral boiling. The distribution map of the flow patterns and motion modes with the centrifugal acceleration and the heat flux was plotted, which shows the evolution of the flow patterns and the transformation of the motion modes of the RR-OHP, and elucidates the effect of the centrifugal acceleration and the heat flux on the flow patterns and motion modes

Heat Transfer Performance of an Axially Rotating Heat Pipe for Cooling of Grinding

Coolants are widely used to dissipate grinding heat in conventional grinding. This process, however, is not satisfactory as coolants often lose efficacy in grinding due to film boiling and can result in adverse health and environment effects. The present paper put forward the concept of a rotating heat pipe grinding wheel, attempting to reduce or eliminate the coolant amount and realize green machining. The heat transfer performance of rotating heat pipe grinding wheel was studied by using volume of fluid method in ANSYS/FLUENT. The influence of the input heat flux, filling ratio and rotational speed were investigated by a simulation method. Results show that the appropriate heat flux range for the rotating heat pipe grinding wheel was from 2000 to 100,000 W/m2, the ideal filling ratio was 50% and the rise of the rotational speed turned out to weaken the heat transfer coefficient. Finally, dry grinding experiments on Ti-6Al-4V were performed and the temperatures in both the rotating heat pipe and the grinding contact zone were monitored. The new designed rotating heat pipe grinding wheel showed a good prospect for application to green grinding of difficult-to-cut materials

Effects of In and Ga on Spreading Performance of Ag10CuZnSn Brazing Filler Metal and Mechanical Properties of the Brazed Joints

Ag-based brazing filler metals are preferred in many industries, but the high price of Ag restricts their wider application. Therefore, developing novel low-Ag brazing filler metals has aroused extensive interest. In this study, the effects of the In and Ga elements on the melting behavior and spreading property of Ag10CuZnSn filler metal and the microstructure and strength of the brazed joints were investigated. The results show that both In and Ga can significantly decrease the solidus and liquidus temperatures of the filler metal. The In element can dissolve into the liquid filler metal and the Ga element can decrease the surface tension of the melted filler metal, which, in turn, improves the spreading area. The In element prefers to dissolve into the Ag-rich phase, and the Ga element prefers to dissolve into the Cu-rich phase; both improve the strength of the filler metal through solid-solution strengthening. The shear strength of the 304 stainless-steel brazed joint reached a peak value of 396 MPa when the Ag10CuZnSn-1.5In-2Ga (wt%) filler metal was used. However, the excessive addition of In and Ga forms brittle intermetallic compounds (IMCs) in the brazing seam, which decreases the strength of the brazed joint

Start-up timing behavior of single-loop oscillating heat pipes based on the second-order dynamic model

Oscillating heat pipes have the potential to combine with the grinding wheel to enhance heat transfer in grinding process to avoid thermal damage of workpiece and grinding wheel. Since the time of grinding process is short, it raises a requirement for a good start-up behavior of oscillating heat pipes inside grinding wheel. In order to understand the start-up behavior, a new method is proposed based on the second-order dynamic theory to represent and evaluate start-up process. Several parameters (i.e., rising and settling time, percent-overshoot) are defined to value quantitatively the start-up process. Accordingly, three start-up modes are discovered with respect to the evaporator temperature, which are over-damped, under-damped and transient start-up modes. The start-up behavior is discussed with both pure fluids and nanofluids. Results show that as the heating power increases, the start-up speed enhances, and over-damped start-up mode develops to under-damped or transition start-up mode. The start-up speed of DI water is faster at low heating power, while acetone and nano-diamond solution without dispersant show faster start-up speed at high heating power. This methodology will help to compare the start-up timing of the OHP experiments in literatures, providing a more robust way to analyze start-up data