Wear characteristics evolution of corundum wheel and its influence on performance in creep feed grinding of nickel-based superalloy

Wheel wear is an unavoidable occurrence in the process of creep feed grinding nickel-based superalloys, leading to reduced geometric accuracy, productivity, and surface integrity. Therefore, quantifying wheel wear forms and grinding performance is essential to minimize adverse impacts and optimize grinding processes. This study investigates the evolution of wheel wear and its consequences on grinding loads, chip formation, and surface quality. The results indicate that as the material removal volume (MRV) increases in the life cycle of the grinding wheel, the accumulation of timing damage leads to various forms of wear, mainly including grain fractures, material adhesion, attritious wear, and wheel clogging. The macro effects of the grinding ratio exhibit an initial increase followed by a subsequent decrease. At the micro level, the height of grain protrusions decrease, causing deviation from the normal distribution. Upon reaching the steady wear stage with an MRV of 9990 mm³, the wear flat rate and wheel clogging rate increase to approximately 10 % and 16.7 %, respectively. This indicates a significant rise in grinding thermo-mechanical load, serving as key indicators for evaluating the durability of grinding wheel. The presence of dull grains and material adhesion exacerbates the rubbing and ploughing effects, causing a transition of chip morphology from continuous flow to shear deformation, while heightened plastic pile-up contributes to elevated surface roughness. The intense thermo-mechanical coupling results in the formation of redeposited material and burn defects on the surface.