Thermal performance of profile rotating heat pipe grinding wheel using nanofluids

Abstract Form grinding is a high efficiency machining technology for products as fir-tree blade slots. The excessive heat generated in the grinding contact zone is the key issue for form grinding. In this paper, profile rotating heat pipe grinding wheel (PRHP-GW) was proposed to help dissipate the grinding heat, nanofluids were applied to enhance its thermal performance. The heat transfer performance of PRHP was experimentally studied. Diamond and Al₂O₃ nanofluids with different mass concentration and nanoparticle size were applied and compared with deionized water. The experiments were performed under the conditions of different heat input, rotational speed and different filling ratio. At a same filling ratio, there was a significant reduction in thermal resistance with nanofluids as compared with deionized water. Diamond nanofluid with nanoparticle size of 20 nm and a mass concentration of 1.0 wt.% showed the best heat transfer performance for the PRHP. During grinding of Ti-6Al-4V, PRHP-GW shows better heat transfer performance than the normal grinding wheel. The comprehensive heat transfer performance of diamond nanofluids is the best, followed by Al₂O₃ nanofluid, and then deionized water. The results of this paper will provide new ideas for heat transfer enhancement of profile grinding and possibly realize environmentally friendly grinding.