Analysis of Transient Temperatures in Grinding

Temperatures generated in the workpiece during straight surface plunge grinding follow a transient behavior as the grinding wheel engages with and disengages from the workpiece, and throughout the entire grinding pass for workpieces which are shorter than needed to reach a quasi-steady state condition. In the present paper, a thermal model is developed for the transient temperature distribution under regular and creep-feed grinding conditions. Numerical results obtained using a finite difference method indicate that the workpiece temperature rises rapidly during initial wheel-workpiece engagement (cut in), subsequently reaches a quasi-steady state value if the workpiece is sufficiently long, and increases still further during final wheel-workpiece disengagement (cut out) as workpiece material is suddenly unavailable to dissipate heat. Cooling by a nozzle directed at the end face of the workpiece should significantly reduce the temperature rise during cut out.