On the mechanism of material removal by free abrasive grinding of glass and fused silica

The dependence of the rate of material removal from glass and fused silica specimens on the carrier fluid used in free abrasive grinding was observed and other abrasion parameters, i.e. surface roughness, bed thickness and drag force, were measured. The similarity between the damage produced by silicon carbide particles during free abrasive grinding and that found after indentation with a sharp point encouraged the formulation of a rotation/ indentation model of abrasion. This semi-quantitative model showed good agreement with the experimental data.