Small-quantity cooling lubrication in creep-feed grinding: Surface quality and residual stress analysis

Abstract

Small-quantity cooling lubrication (SQCL) has emerged as a promising eco-friendly alternative to conventional flood cooling in creep-feed grinding processes. This study delves into the influence of various cooling conditions (dry, SQCL, and flood cooling) on the creep-feed grinding dynamics of 420 stainless steel specimens. Key parameters, including friction coefficient, surface texture, and through-thickness residual stresses, are investigated. Both SQCL and flood cooling exhibit marginal reductions in the friction coefficient compared to dry conditions, owing to their lubricating properties. With a smoother surface finish, SQCL grinding exhibits an average roughness of 42 % lower than that of dry grinding. Furthermore, increasing cutting depth and feed rates lead to elevated residual stresses on the specimen's surface, with SQCL cooling demonstrating substantial reductions compared to dry conditions. The SQCL cooling condition yields surface residual stresses 46–48.28 % lower than those observed in the dry condition. This study sheds light on the efficacy of SQCL as an alternative cooling method in enhancing surface quality and mitigating residual stresses in creep-feed grinding processes.

Keywords

• grinding process
• Cooling methods
• Surface roughness
• Residual stress
• Stainless steel