CBN grain wear during eco-benign grinding of nickel-based superalloy with oscillating heat pipe abrasive wheel

Cubic boron nitride (CBN) has high hardness and superior thermal conductivity, and it was used to fabricate an oscillating heat pipe abrasive wheel (OHPGW) for the eco-benign grinding of hard-to-machine materials. Furthermore, the wear behavior of the CBN grains and the related lifecycle of the OHPGW are important. In this study, a comparative analysis was conducted to reveal the wear behavior of CBN grains on OHPGWs and conventional wheels. Under the enhanced heat transfer effect of the OHPGW, the CBN grain wear behavior, development of the CBN protrusion heights, and the ground surface quality were investigated. The CBN grains on the abrasive wheel experience initial, stable, and fast wear periods in conditions of attrition, micro-fracture, and macro-fracture. Owing to the low grinding heat and temperature acting on the OHPGW, the CBN grains mostly undergo attrition during the stable period, while CBN grains on the conventional wheel mainly undergo micro and macro-fractures. As the wear of the CBN grains progressed, the average protrusion height of the CBN grains decreased. The scattering of the protrusion height distribution decreased at first and then increased when entering the fast wear period. Consequently, the surface topography and roughness initially improved and then deteriorated with the development of the protrusion height distribution of the CBN grains.