Abrasive

An abrasive is a mat erial, oft en a mineral, t hat is used t o shape or finish a workpiece t hrough
rubbing[1] which leads t o part of t he workpiece being worn away by frict ion. While finishing a
mat erial oft en means polishing it t o gain a smoot h, reflect ive surface, t he process can also
involve roughening as in sat in, mat t e or beaded finishes. In short , t he ceramics which are used t o
cut , grind and polish ot her soft er mat erials are known as abrasives.

Abrasives are ext remely commonplace and are used very ext ensively in a wide variet y of
indust rial, domest ic, and t echnological applicat ions. This gives rise t o a large variat ion in t he
physical and chemical composit ion of abrasives as well as t he shape of t he abrasive. Some
common uses for abrasives include grinding, polishing, buffing, honing, cut t ing, drilling, sharpening,
lapping, and sanding (see abrasive machining). (For simplicit y, "mineral" in t his art icle will be used
loosely t o refer t o bot h minerals and mineral-like subst ances whet her man-made or not .)

Files are not abrasives; t hey remove mat erial not by scrat ching or rubbing, but by t he cut t ing
act ion of sharp t eet h which have been cut int o t he surface of t he file, very much like t hose of a
saw. However, diamond files are a form of coat ed abrasive (as t hey are met al rods coat ed wit h
diamond powder).

Mechanics of abrasion

Abrasives generally rely upon a difference in hardness bet ween t he abrasive and t he mat erial
being worked upon, t he abrasive being t he harder of t he t wo subst ances. However, is not
necessary as any t wo solid mat erials t hat repeat edly rub against each ot her will t end t o wear
each ot her away; examples include, soft er shoe soles wearing away wooden or st one st eps over
decades or cent uries or glaciers abrading st one valleys.
Typically, mat erials used as abrasives are eit her hard minerals (rat ed at 7 or above on Mohs scale
of mineral hardness) or are synt het ic st ones, some of which may be chemically and physically
ident ical t o nat urally occurring minerals but which cannot be called minerals as t hey did not arise
nat urally. (While useful for comparat ive purposes, t he Mohs scale is of limit ed value t o mat erials
engineers as it is an arbit rary, ordinal, irregular scale.) Diamond, a common abrasive, for inst ance
occurs bot h nat urally and is indust rially produced, as is corundum which occurs nat urally but
which is nowadays more commonly manufact ured from bauxit e.[2] However, even soft er minerals
like calcium carbonat e are used as abrasives, such as "polishing agent s" in t oot hpast e.

Grit size ranging from 2 mm (the large grain) (about F 10 using FEPA standards) to about 40 micrometres (about F 240 or P
360).

These minerals are eit her crushed or are already of a sufficient ly small size (anywhere from
macroscopic grains as large as about 2 mm t o microscopic grains about 0.001 mm in diamet er) t o
permit t heir use as an abrasive. These grains, commonly called grit , have rough edges, oft en
t erminat ing in point s which will decrease t he surface area in cont act and increase t he localised
cont act pressure. The abrasive and t he mat erial t o be worked are brought int o cont act while in
relat ive mot ion t o each ot her. Force applied t hrough t he grains causes fragment s of t he worked
mat erial t o break away, while simult aneously smoot hing t he abrasive grain and/or causing t he
grain t o work loose from t he rest of t he abrasive.

Some fact ors which will affect how quickly a subst ance is abraded include:

Difference in hardness bet ween t he t wo subst ances: a much harder abrasive will cut fast er
and deeper

Grain size (grit size): larger grains will cut fast er as t hey also cut deeper
 Adhesion bet ween grains, bet ween grains and backing, bet ween grains and mat rix: det ermines
how quickly grains are lost from t he abrasive and how soon fresh grains, if present , are exposed

Cont act force: more force will cause fast er abrasion

Loading: worn abrasive and cast off work mat erial t ends t o fill spaces bet ween abrasive grains
so reducing cut t ing efficiency while increasing frict ion

Use of lubricant /coolant /met alworking fluid: Can carry away swarf (prevent ing loading),
t ransport heat (which may affect t he physical propert ies of t he workpiece or t he abrasive),
decrease frict ion (wit h t he subst rat e or mat rix), suspend worn work mat erial and abrasives
allowing for a finer finish, conduct st ress t o t he workpiece.

The mat erial allowing confused t o absorb

Abrasive minerals

Diamond powder paste

Abrasives may be classified as eit her nat ural or synt het ic. When discussing sharpening st ones,
nat ural st ones have long been considered superior but advances in mat erial t echnology are
seeing t his dist inct ion become less dist inct . Many synt het ic abrasives are effect ively ident ical
t o a nat ural mineral, differing only in t hat t he synt het ic mineral has been manufact ured rat her
t han mined. Impurit ies in t he nat ural mineral may make it less effect ive.

Some nat urally occurring abrasives are:

Calcit e (calcium carbonat e)

 Emery (impure corundum)

Diamond dust (synt het ic diamonds are used ext ensively)

Novaculit e

Pumice

Iron(III) oxide

Sand

Corundum

Garnet

Sandst one

Rot t en st one (Tripoli)

Powdered feldspar

St aurolit e

Some abrasive minerals (such as zirconia alumina) occur nat urally but are sufficient ly rare or
sufficient ly more difficult or cost ly t o obt ain such t hat a synt het ic st one is used indust rially.
These and ot her art ificial abrasives include:

Borazon (cubic boron nit ride or CBN)

Ceramic

Ceramic aluminium oxide

Ceramic iron oxide

Corundum (alumina or aluminium oxide)

Dry ice

Glass powder

St eel abrasive

Silicon carbide (carborundum)

Zirconia alumina

Boron carbide

Slags
 Manufactured abrasives

Abrasives are shaped for various purposes. Nat ural abrasives are oft en sold as dressed st ones,
usually in t he form of a rect angular block. Bot h nat ural and synt het ic abrasives are commonly
available in a wide variet y of shapes, oft en coming as bonded or coat ed abrasives, including
blocks, belt s, discs, wheels, sheet s, rods and loose grains.

Bonded abrasives

Assorted grinding wheels as examples of bonded abrasives.

A grinding wheel with a reservoir to hold water as a lubricant and coolant.

A bonded abrasive is composed of an abrasive mat erial cont ained wit hin a mat rix, alt hough very
fine aluminium oxide abrasive may comprise sint ered mat erial. This mat rix is called a binder and is
oft en a clay, a resin, a glass or a rubber. This mixt ure of binder and abrasive is t ypically shaped
int o blocks, st icks, or wheels. The most common abrasive used is aluminium oxide. Also common
are silicon carbide, t ungst en carbide and garnet . Art ificial sharpening st ones are oft en a bonded
abrasive and are readily available as a t wo sided block, each side being a different grade of grit .

Grinding wheels are cylinders t hat are rot at ed at high speed. While once worked wit h a foot pedal
or hand crank, t he int roduct ion of elect ric mot ors has made it necessary t o const ruct t he wheel
t o wit hst and great er radial st ress t o prevent t he wheel flying apart as it spins. Similar issues arise
wit h cut t ing wheels, which are oft en st ruct urally reinforced wit h impregnat ed fibres. High relat ive
speed bet ween abrasive and workpiece oft en makes necessary t he use of a lubricant of some
kind. Tradit ionally, t hey were called coolant s as t hey were used t o prevent frict ional heat build up
which could damage t he workpiece (such as ruining t he t emper of a blade). Some research
suggest s t hat t he heat t ransport propert y of a lubricant is less import ant when dealing wit h
met als as t he met al will quickly conduct heat from t he work surface. More import ant are t heir
effect s upon lessening t ensile st resses while increasing some compressive st resses and
reducing "t hermal and mechanical st resses during chip format ion".[3]

Various shapes are also used as heads on rot ary t ools used in precision work, such as scale
modelling.

Bonded abrasives need t o be t rued and dressed aft er t hey are used. Dressing is t he cleaning of
t he wast e mat erial (swarf and loose abrasive) from t he surface and exposing fresh grit .
Depending upon t he abrasive and how it was used, dressing may involve t he abrasive being simply
placed under running wat er and brushed wit h a st iff brush for a soft st one or t he abrasive being
ground against anot her abrasive, such as aluminium oxide used t o dress a grinding wheel.

Truing is rest oring t he abrasive t o it s original surface shape. Wheels and st ones t end t o wear
unevenly, leaving t he cut t ing surface no longer flat (said t o be "dished out " if it is meant t o be a
flat st one) or no longer t he same diamet er across t he cut t ing face. This will lead t o uneven
abrasion and ot her difficult ies.

Coated abrasives
A German Klingspor sandpaper showing its backing and FEPA grit size.

A coated abrasive comprises an abrasive fixed t o a backing mat erial such as paper, clot h, rubber,
resin, polyest er or even met al, many of which are flexible. Sandpaper is a very common coat ed
abrasive. Coat ed abrasives are most commonly t he same minerals as are used for bonded
abrasives. A bonding agent (oft en some sort of adhesive or resin) is applied t o t he backing t o
provide a flat surface t o which t he grit is t hen subsequent ly adhered. A woven backing may also
use a filler agent (again, oft en a resin) t o provide addit ional resilience.

Coat ed abrasives may be shaped for use in rot ary and orbit al sanders, for wrapping around
sanding blocks, as handpads, as closed loops for use on belt grinders, as st riking surfaces on
mat chboxes, on diamond plat es and diamond st eels. Diamond t ools, t hough for cut t ing, are oft en
abrasive in nat ure.

Other abrasives and their uses

Here the abrasiveness of toothpaste is detailed by its Relative Dentin Abrasivity (RDA)
Sand, glass beads, met al pellet s copper slag and dry ice may all be used for a process called
sandblast ing (or similar, such as t he use of glass beads which is "bead blast ing"). Dry ice will
sublimat e leaving behind no residual abrasive.

Cut t ing compound used on aut omot ive paint is an example of an abrasive suspended in a liquid,
past e or wax, as are some polishing liquids for silverware and opt ical media. The liquid, past e or
wax act s as a binding agent t hat keeps t he abrasive at t ached t o t he clot h which is used as a
backing t o move t he abrasive across t he work piece. On cars in part icular, wax may serve as bot h
a prot ect ive agent by prevent ing exposure of t he paint of met al t o air and also act as an opt ical
filler t o make scrat ches less not iceable. Toot hpast e cont ains calcium carbonat e or silica as a
"polishing agent " t o remove plaque and ot her mat t er from t eet h as t he hardness of calcium
carbonat e is less t han t hat of t oot h enamel but more t han t hat of t he cont aminat ing agent .

Very fine rouge powder was commonly used for grinding glass, being somewhat replaced by
modern ceramics, and is st ill used in jewellery making for a highly reflect ive finish.

Cleaning product s may also cont ain abrasives suspended in a past e or cream. They are chosen t o
be reasonably safe on some linoleum, t ile, met al or st one surfaces. However, many laminat e
surfaces and ceramic t opped st oves are easily damaged by t hese abrasive compounds. Even
ceramic/pot t ery t ableware or cookware can damage t hese surfaces, part icularly t he bot t om of
t he t ableware, which is oft en unglazed in part or in whole and act s as simply anot her bonded
abrasive.[4]

Met al pot s and st oves are oft en scoured wit h abrasive cleaners, t ypically in t he form of t he
aforement ioned cream or past e or of st eel wool and non woven scouring pads which holds fine
grit s abrasives.

Human skin is also subject ed t o abrasion in t he form of exfoliat ion. Abrasives for t his can be
much soft er and more exot ic t han for ot her purposes and may include t hings like almond and
oat meal.[5] Dermabrasion and microdermabrasion are now rat her commonplace cosmet ic
procedures which use mineral abrasives.

Scrat ched compact discs and DVDs may somet imes be repaired t hrough buffing wit h a very fine
compound, t he principle being t hat a mult it ude of small scrat ches will be more opt ically
t ransparent t han a single large scrat ch. However, t his does t ake some skill and will event ually
cause t he prot ect ive coat ing of t he disc t o be ent irely eroded (especially if t he original scrat ch
is deep), at which t ime, t he dat a surface will be dest royed if abrasion cont inues.
 Choice of abrasive

The shape, size and nat ure of t he workpiece and t he desired finish will influence t he choice of
t he abrasive used. A bonded abrasive grind wheel may be used t o commercially sharpen a knife
(producing a hollow grind), but an individual may t hen sharpen t he same knife wit h a nat ural
sharpening st one or an even flexible coat ed abrasive (like a sandpaper) st uck t o a soft , non-slip
surface t o make achieving a convex grind easier. Similarly, a brass mirror may be cut wit h a
bonded abrasive, have it s surface flat t ened wit h a coat ed abrasive t o achieve a basic shape, and
t hen have finer grades of abrasive successively applied culminat ing in a wax past e impregnat ed
wit h rouge t o leave a sort of "grainless finish" called, in t his case, a "mirror finish".

Also, different shapes of adhesive may make it harder t o abrade cert ain areas of t he workpiece.
Healt h hazards can arise from any dust produced (which may be ameliorat ed t hrough t he use of a
lubricant ) which could lead t o silicosis (when t he abrasive or workpiece is a silicat e) and t he
choice of any lubricant . Besides wat er, oils are t he most common lubricant s. These may present
inhalat ion hazards, cont act hazards and, as frict ion necessarily produces heat , flammable mat erial
hazards.[6]

An abrasive which is t oo hard or t oo coarse can remove t oo much mat erial or leave undesired
scrat ch marks. Besides being unsight ly, scrat ching can have ot her, more serious effect s.
Excessive abrasion or t he presence of scrat ches may:

diminish or dest roy usefulness (as in t he case of scrat ching opt ical lenses and compact discs
or dulling knives);

t rap dirt , wat er, or ot her mat erial;

increase surface area (permit t ing great er chemical react ivit y such as increased rust ing which is
also affect ed by mat t er caught in scrat ches);

erode or penet rat e a coat ing (such as a paint or a chemical or wear resist ant coat ing);

overly quickly cause an object t o wear away (such as a blade or a gemst one);

increase frict ion (as in jeweled bearings and pist ons).

A finer or soft er abrasive will t end t o leave much finer scrat ch marks which may even be invisible
t o t he naked eye (a "grainless finish"); a soft er abrasive may not even significant ly abrade a
cert ain object . A soft er or finer abrasive will t ake longer t o cut , as it t ends t o cut less deeply
t han a coarser, harder mat erial. Also, t he soft er abrasive may become less effect ive more quickly
as t he abrasive is it self abraded. This allows fine abrasives t o be used in t he polishing of met al
and lenses where t he series of increasingly fine scrat ches t ends t o t ake on a much more shiny or
reflect ive appearance or great er t ransparency. Very fine abrasives may be used t o coat t he st rop
for a cut -t hroat razors, however, t he purpose of st ropping is not t o abrade mat erial but t o
st raight en t he burr on an edge. The final st age of sharpening Japanese swords is called polishing
and may be a form of superfinishing.

Different chemical or st ruct ural modificat ions may be made t o alt er t he cut t ing propert ies of
t he abrasive.[7]

Ot her very import ant considerat ions are price and availabilit y. Diamond, for a long t ime considered
t he hardest subst ance in exist ence, is act ually soft er t han fullerit e and even harder aggregat ed
diamond nanorods, bot h of which have been synt hesised in laborat ories, but no commercial
process has yet been developed. Diamond it self is expensive due t o scarcit y in nat ure and t he
cost of synt hesising it . Bauxit e is a very common ore which, along wit h corundum's reasonably
high hardness, cont ribut es t o corundum's st at us as a common, inexpensive abrasive.

Thought must be given t o t he desired t ask about using an appropriat ely hard abrasive. At one
end, using an excessively hard abrasive wast es money by wearing it down when a cheaper, less
hard abrasive would suffice. At t he ot her end, if t he abrasive subst ance is t oo soft , abrasion does
not t ake place in a t imely fashion, effect ively wast ing t he abrasive as well as any accruing cost s
associat ed wit h loss of t ime.

Other instances of abrasion

Aside from t he aforement ioned uses of shaping and finishing, abrasives may also be used t o
prepare surfaces for applicat ion of some sort of paint of adhesive. An excessively smoot h
surface may prevent paint and adhesives from adhering as st rongly as an irregular surface could
allow. Inflat able t yre repair kit s (which, on bicycles part icularly, are act ually pat ches for t he inner
t ube rat her t han t he t yre) require use of an abrasive so t hat t he self-vulcanising cement will st ick
st rongly.

Inadvert ent ly, people who use knives on glass or met al cut t ing boards are abrading t heir knife
blades. The pressure at t he knife edge can easily creat e microscopic (or even macroscopic) cut s
in t he board. This cut is a ready source of abrasive mat erial as well as a channel full of t his
abrasive t hrough which t he edge slides. For t his reason, and wit hout regard for t he healt h
benefit s, wooden boards are much more desirable. A similar occurrence arises wit h glass-cut t ers.
Glass-cut t ers have circular blades t hat are designed t o roll not slide. They should never ret race
an already effect ed cut .

Undesired abrasion may result from t he presence of carbon in int ernal combust ion engines. While
smaller part icles are readily t ransport ed by t he lubricat ion syst em, larger carbon part icles may
abrade component s wit h close t olerances. The carbon arises from t he excessive heat ing of
engine oil or from incomplet e combust ion. This soot may cont ain fullerenes which are not ed for
t heir ext reme hardness—and small size and limit ed quant it y which would t end t o limit t heir
effect .

See also

Abrasion (mechanical)

Abrasive blast ing

Erosion

St eel abrasive

Tribology

Wear

References

1. PALANNA. ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY (https://books.google.com/books?id=QHZyoKCxwKAC&pg=PA

600) . Tata McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN 9781259081521.

2. "Abrasives engineering glossary" (http://www.abrasiveengineering.com/glossary.htm) . Archived (http

s://web.archive.org/web/20070402181503/http://www.abrasiveengineering.com/glossary.htm) from
the original on 2 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-06.

3. Grinding Stresses, Grinding Wheel Institute, 1964

4. "Care of laminate surface" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070224023247/http://duratech.co.nz/produ

cts/bisonne_laminates_and_sinkware/care_and_maintenance/) . Archived from the original (http://dur
atech.co.nz/products/bisonne_laminates_and_sinkware/care_and_maintenance/) on 2007-02-24.
Retrieved 2007-04-07.

5. Nutrimetics, Honey and Almond Scrub

6. "OSH Answers: Metalworking fluids" (http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/metalworking_fluid

s.html) . Retrieved 2007-04-06.