Research Projects

Grinding is a heat-intensive process used for material removal, aiming for close dimensional tolerances and a good surface finish. However, it is heat-intensive due to the interaction between abrasives and the worksurface. The chips in the grinding process have a lower specific heat capacity, leading to poor surface finish, subsurface microstructural changes, burn marks, and cracks. To minimize these negative effects, an efficient cooling system is needed. Flood cooling, the most common cooling technology, has become a focus of environmental and human welfare concerns in green manufacturing. Alternative cooling methods like dry grinding and grinding assisted by minimal quantity lubrication are investigated. Precooling-assisted dry machining, which involves cooling the workpiece before machining, has been studied in other machining processes. However, the advantages of this technique have not been fully realized in grinding. This work proposes a novel in-situ cooling technique for the workpiece, allowing continuous cooling without any fluids, promoting sustainability. The cooling performance will be quantified through simulations and experiments, and a comparison with flood cooling will be made to justify the benefits and limitations of the proposed cooling strategy.