International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 43 (2003) 965–972

An investigation on solid lubricant moulded grinding wheels

S. Shaji ∗, V. Radhakrishnan 1

Manufacturing Engineering Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, Chennai 600 036, India

Received 12 July 2002; received in revised form 24 February 2003; accepted 27 February 2003

Abstract

The conventional flood coolants employed in grinding suffer many limitations in performing their functions. They cannot be
recommended in the light of ecological and economic manufacture. Application of solid lubricant in grinding has proved to be a
feasible alternative to the fluid coolants, if it could be applied in a proper way. Towards finding out an improved method of
application of solid lubricant, attempts on development of solid lubricant moulded grinding wheels with various bonding and
lubricants have been reported here. Such wheels with resin bonding were successfully made and improved process results were
obtained. But the wheel wear depended on the type of the lubricant used.
 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Grinding; Lubrication; Coolant; Graphite; Calcium fluoride; Solid lubricant

1. Introduction normally met by them, through some other means. Use

The functions of cutting fluid in grinding are critical
in ensuring product quality, because of the intense heat
generation and the consequent risk of thermal damage
associated with the process [1,2]. Liquid coolants,
applied in flood form, are the conventional choice to ach-
ieve cooling and lubrication in grinding. Many limi-
tations have been observed in this approach, though it
is a means for effective removal of grinding swarf and
wheel cleaning. The ‘air barrier’ inhibits the flow of cut-
ting fluids into the grinding zone [2]. Even if a little
quantity reaches there, ‘film boiling’ is another limitation
to the heat control [3]. When the grinding zone tempera-
ture exceeds a certain limit, lubricity of the fluid is
degraded [4]. Grinding fluids also incur a significant
share of the total manufacturing cost [5,6]. Moreover,
the use of it is not advisable as it can have negative
impact on workers’ health [7,8]. All these factors prompt
investigations on the development of new abrasive tech-
nologies with fluid minimization or elimination stra-
tegies by substituting the functions, which have to be
∗
Corresponding author. Present address: Government Engineering
College, Trivandrum, Kerala 695 035, India.
E-mail address: shajisenadhipan@rediffmail.com (S. Shaji).
1
Present address: School of Mechanical and Production Engineer-
ing, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639 798.
of biodegradable and cryo-coolants and the concept of
minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) are the alternative
approaches in this direction [2,9].
If friction at the wheel–workpiece interaction can be
minimized, by providing effective lubrication, the heat
intensity responsible for thermal damage can be reduced
to some extent. Advancement in modern tribology has
identified many solid lubricants, which can sustain and
provide lubricity over a wider range of temperatures
[10,11]. If suitable solid lubricant can be successfully
applied to the grinding zone in a proper way, it should
yield better process results than conventional grinding.
These authors have investigated the feasibility of appli-
cation of graphite as lubricant in surface grinding [12].
In this preliminary study, graphite was applied in a suit-
able paste form to the working surface of the wheel, with
a special attachment. The effective role of graphite as
lubricant was evident from the improvement of process
results related to frictional factors. But the wheel clog-
ging in the absence of proper flushing and non-uniform-
ity of lubricant admission were found to be a major hin-
drance in obtaining more desirable results. If lubricant
can be applied in a more refined and defined way, just
sufficient for effective lubrication, improved process
results could be expected.
An ideal way of application of solid lubricant in grind-
ing is to have a built-in supply of lubricant from the

0890-6955/03/$ - see front matter  2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0890-6955(03)00064-6
966 S. Shaji, V. Radhakrishnan / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 43 (2003) 965–972
wheel itself. This paper deals with investigations on
solid lubricant moulded grinding wheels by including
lubricant in the wheel structure during the moulding
stage. Trials were done to develop wheels of vitrified
and resin bonding with various compositions of solid
lubricants. Besides graphite, calcium fluoride (CaF2),
which is also a commonly used high temperature solid
lubricant, has been tried [10,11].
2. Development of wheels
2.1. Trials with vitrified bonded wheels
The majority of grinding wheels used in general
engineering industry are of vitrified bond. Vitrified bond
is made of clay or feldspar which fuses at high tempera-
ture to form a glass like structure. Vitrified bonds are
strong, rigid, impart good finish and are insensitive to
water or other grinding fluids. For making the wheel,
the ingredients such as abrasive grains, bonding material,
porosity media, water etc. are uniformly mixed and prop-
erly moulded. These green wheels are baked at very high
temperature for a long duration, followed by slow coo-
ling [13–16]. Several trials were done to make solid
lubricant moulded vitrified bonded wheels with A60K5
wheel composition by mixing solid lubricant powder
along with the usual ingredients, during the moulding
stage. Trials were done to make graphite and CaF2
moulded wheels separately, with lubricant composition
of 5% and 10% by weight, but failed due to various
reasons.
The vitrifying temperature is of the order of 1400 °C.
Graphite starts to oxidise at about 550 °C. If the firing is
done in the presence of oxygen, graphite will decompose
loosing its lubricative property and the resulting products
would affect the bonding strength of the wheel. As a
suitable reduction furnace was not available, attempts to
make the graphite moulded wheels were done by embed-
ding the lubricant moulded green wheel in graphite mass
itself with sufficient packing thickness such that the
chances of oxidation would not affect the wheel. But
the wheels produced were multi-coloured, showing the
occurrence of oxidation. These wheels could not with-
stand the speed testing at the standard conditions. CaF2
moulded wheels were also made in the same way, but
they also failed in the speed test. At high temperature,
CaF2 might react with the silicate ingredients, producing
products which weakened the bond structure.
2.2. Trials with resin bonded wheels
Resin bonded wheels are manufactured in a similar
manner to the vitrified wheels, but the bonding medium
is thermosetting synthetic resin and the baking tempera-
ture is of the order of 150–200 °C only. These wheels
are soft structured and are used for high speed grinding,
rough grinding, cutting-off operations etc. The wheel
wear rate is high and the wheel softens when exposed
to grinding fluids [13–16]. The low baking temperature
involved in resin bonding prompted the trials with solid
lubricants included in the wheel structure during mould-
ing. An A60L5BM4 (250–76.2–25 mm size) wheel was
taken as the standard wheel. This wheel consists of
ingredients of 91% abrasive grain and 9% bonding
material by weight. Three graphite moulded wheels were
made by adding graphite in 3%, 6% and 9% by weight
to the standard wheel ingredients. Similarly, three CaF2
moulded wheels were also made by adding CaF2 in 5%,
10% and 15% by weight to the standard wheel. The
possibility of weakening the bond strength constrained
the inclusion of graphite in lower proportion. However,
CaF2 increases adhesiveness and enhances the bonding
strength at higher temperature [17]. All wheels withstood
speed testing at standard conditions.
3. Analysis of critical process parameters
In any machining set-up, a systematic analysis of pro-
cess parameters is essential to find out their relative
influence on the direct process outputs or on the second-
ary variables which have direct impact on the process
results. Taguchi’s method of experimental design has
become a powerful tool for serving this purpose and
thereby optimising the process outputs [18,19]. Grinding
is a complex manufacturing process, with a large number
of interacting variables, and the process outputs depend
on the wheel characteristic, workpiece characteristic,
machine characteristic and the operating conditions. In
a given grinding set-up of wheel, workpiece and
machine, the relative influence of process parameters on
process outputs or on other secondary variables has been
analysed here, based on Taguchi’s approach, in order
to proceed with further experimentation. Taking normal
force, tangential force and surface roughness as quality
characteristics and speed, feed, infeed and mode of
dressing as factors of study on three levels, Taguchi’s
L9 orthogonal array was followed for the analysis.
Experiments were conducted in a horizontal surface
grinding machine with bearing steel (En-31) as work-
piece and employing the standard wheel A60L5BM4.
The relative influence of various factors was determined
through the ANOVA based on S/N data.
Infeed was found to be the most influential factor on
both normal and tangential forces (about 85%). As the
forces developed in the process directly depend upon the
undeformed chip thickness, the prominent influence of
the infeed on forces is understandable [20,21]. In the
case of surface roughness, though the mode of dressing
was found to have a prominent influence, its relative
contribution was substantially less (about 40%), when
 S. Shaji, V. Radhakrishnan / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 43 (2003) 965–972 967

compared to that with vitrified wheels (about 75%) [22].
The soft structure of resin bonding is sensitive to thermal
loading. Wheel wear is dominated by thermal softening
of bonds and their failure, rather than grain fracture and
subsequent bond fracture due to mechanical stress in the
case of vitrified wheels [13–15]. As the wear rate is
higher in the case of resin wheels, the mode of dressing
will not have much influence on the process results,
except at the initial stage of cutting.
4. Experimentation
Based on the preliminary findings on the influence of
process parameters, experiments for the performance
analysis of the newly developed wheels were done in
one dressing mode only, varying the infeed in steps. The
experimental conditions are shown in Table 1. The fac-
tors selected for the study are force components, force
ratio, specific energy, surface roughness, wheel wear and
intermittent forces in continuous test. For force measure-
ments a three- component quartz dynamometer
(Kistler—type 9257B) with charge amplifier (Kistler—
type 5019B) and a two-channel oscilloscope connected
directly to a PC were employed. The forces reported are
those when the process was in stable state with almost
steady pulses. Surface roughness (Ra) of the ground part
was taken using a Talysurf.
5. Results and discussion
The comparative performance analyses of the solid
lubricant moulded wheels with the standard wheel were
done separately for graphite and CaF2 moulded wheels.
Figs. 1 and 2 show the comparisons of normal and tan-
gential force components obtained (per unit width of the
wheel) for different wheels, when both types of work-
pieces were ground. Grinding forces are important para-
meters by which performance of any grinding process
can be evaluated. These forces may consist of compo-
nents due to primary ploughing, secondary ploughing,
shearing, micro fracturing, wheel loading and friction
between the grain flats, the bonding material, redeposited
debris etc. and the workpiece [23]. The relative contri-
butions of these elements depend upon the type of work
material, abrasive characteristics, wheel surface con-
dition, process parameters and the presence of grinding
fluid. In all the cases under study, force components
increased with infeed as expected. This agrees with the
various physical and empirical models reported which
mention that force components are directly proportional
to the mean undeformed chip thickness, which in turn
is directly proportional to the infeed [20,21]. The pro-
ductive components of the forces, which result in
material removal such as shearing, micro fracturing and
secondary ploughing etc. are non-frictional in nature and
are more or less proportional to the infeed. The non-
productive components of forces, which are mostly fric-
tional in nature, are almost independent of infeed [23].
Normal force or radial force component influences all
the parameters pertaining to the performance of a grind-
ing wheel. This force presses the abrasive grains into
the work surface and penetrates the surface, leading to
material removal. At higher infeeds, the normal force
increases causing more material removal. This force is
also responsible for wheel wear, as when the thrust on
the wheel exceeds certain limits, the grain fracture and
bond fracture will occur. It also affects the surface
roughness and the geometrical and dimensional accuracy
of the finished component. Wheel clogging by grinding
swarf also causes an increase in the normal force, by
hindering the effective penetration of grains into the
work surface. The normal forces obtained were lower
with the lubricant moulded wheels compared to the stan-
dard wheel, in all the cases. The normal force compo-
nents due to the frictional effects are reduced due to the
effective lubrication by lubricant moulded wheels. In the
earlier study on the external application of lubricant with
vitrified wheels, the normal forces obtained in some

Table 1
Experimental conditions

Machine BLOHM Horizontal spindle surface grinding machine, 6.5 kW

Wheel 1. Standard: A60L5BM4, CUMI make
2. Graphite moulded wheels with 3%, 6% and 9% graphite by weight included in the wheel
3. CaF2 moulded wheels with 5%, 10% and 15% CaF2 by weight included in the wheel
(All wheels are of 250–76.2–25 mm size)
Workpiece material 1. Medium carbon steel (En-2), HRC 22
2. Bearing steel (En-31), HRC 60
Cutting speed 42 m/s
Feed 10 m/min
Infeed 10–80 µm in steps of 10 µm
Method of grinding Dry
Dressing conditions With single point diamond dresser, 1 carat, at wheel speed of 2500 rpm in dry condition with 20 µm
dressing depth, 苲150 mm/min cross feed and without any spark out pass
968 S. Shaji, V. Radhakrishnan / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 43 (2003) 965–972

Fig. 1. Comparison of normal forces (per unit width of the wheel) in the case of lubricant moulded wheels with different workpieces.

Fig. 2. Comparison of tangential forces (per unit width of the wheel) in the case of lubricant moulded wheels with different workpieces.
 S. Shaji, V. Radhakrishnan / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 43 (2003) 965–972
cases were higher than those in normal grinding, due to
the non-uniform supply of lubricant and increased
chances of wheel clogging [12]. But here, an efficient
way of lubricant supply, which minimized wheel clog-
ging by grinding swarf, might reduce the normal force
to some extent. As the wear rate is higher with resin
wheels, fresh grains might also more frequently come
into contact with the workpiece on subsequent passes,
preventing the increase of forces due to grain dullness.
The tangential force component determines the power
requirement in the process. The intensity of heat gener-
ation depends upon this force and it is primarily
important as far as the grinding temperatures and surface
integrity aspects of the products are concerned. The
lubricant effectiveness in minimizing the frictional
effects at the wheel–workpiece interaction in the case of
lubricant moulded wheels is evident from the reduced
tangential forces compared to the standard wheel. But
higher quantities of lubricant inclusion do not reduce
forces significantly compared with the lowest quantity.
This might be due to a possible saturation in lubricant
effectiveness.
The ratio of tangential force to normal force (Ft/Fn)
is termed grinding coefficient [24] or grinding force ratio
[20,21]. In grinding, the normal force is approximately
double the tangential force, unlike in other machining
Fig. 3. Comparison of grinding force ratio in the case of lubricant moulded wheels (different workpieces).
969
processes like turning and milling [16,24]. This is due
to grinding process characteristics such as very large
negative rake angles of the grit, excessive rubbing action
and adverse chip accommodation space which leads to
wheel loading. This force ratio, though it does not give
the actual coefficient of friction (m), is a similar term
like m and gives an indication of the frictional effects in
the grinding zone [24]. Fig. 3 shows the comparison of
grinding force ratio for different lubricant moulded
wheels. This ratio is generally lower in all the cases of
lubricant moulded wheels, compared to the standard
wheel, substantiating the effective lubrication by solid
lubricant in those cases. This ratio has been reported as
differing considerably depending upon the material of
the workpiece and indicates the workpiece behaviour in
the process [20,21]. The present results show that for
the same material the grinding environment providing
effective lubrication changes this ratio remarkably. This
may be attributed to the behaviour of the material in the
presence of solid lubricant.
Fig. 4 shows the comparison of specific energy, which
is the energy required per unit volume of material
removal, obtained with various types of wheels. The
‘size effect’, which is the drastic increase of specific
energy at comparatively lower infeeds could be clearly
observed in all the cases [14,16]. The energy require-
970 S. Shaji, V. Radhakrishnan / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 43 (2003) 965–972
Fig. 4. Comparison of specific energy in the case of lubricant moulded wheels (different workpieces).
ment in material removal can be classified as due to the
sliding, ploughing and chip formation components. The
size effect in grinding is due to the variation of relative
amount of these components in contributing towards the
unit material removal. Sliding can be due to elastic con-
tact between the abrasive grit and workpiece and rubbing
of wear flat of grains, bonding material, grinding debris
etc. with the workpiece. Ploughing causes metal to be
displaced sideways around the grain rather than be
removed as chip. These non-productive energy compo-
nents depend mostly upon the ductility and hardness of
the workpiece, sharpness of the grains and the local
lubrication [23]. At relatively smaller infeeds, domi-
nation of sliding and ploughing components with rela-
tively less chip formation calls for higher specific energy
[14]. The percentage contribution of these components
in the total specific grinding energy at higher infeeds is
reduced, because these factors of energy are more or less
independent of infeed after certain limit. In the case of
lubricant moulded wheels, local lubrication by solid
lubricants reduces the sliding and primary ploughing
component of forces to some extent and results in
reduced specific energy, especially at lower infeeds. At
higher material removal or infeeds the specific energy
converges to more or less the same value (~15 J/mm3).
This agrees with Malkin and Anderson’s [25] postulation
that at higher infeeds the ploughing component of grind-
ing energy approaches zero and in the limit, the specific
cutting energy (which is the sum of ploughing energy
and chip formation energy) corresponds to the specific
energy required for chip formation. Chip formation
energy is assumed to be constant for a particular
material. For ferrous material it is 13.8 J/mm3, irrespec-
tive of the hardness of the material [14].
Fig. 5 shows the comparisons of workpiece surface
roughness. Surface topography of the wheel determines
the nature of the tribological interaction between the
wheel and workpiece. Workpiece surface roughness is
the minute scratches formed by the interacting wheel
surface under the dynamic conditions of the process. The
surface roughness scatter is not wider for various types
of wheels. This is due to the fact that for a particular
wheel, the surface condition of the wheel is more or less
the same for all conditions of infeed, due to the increased
wear of the resin bonding. The wheel lost its dressed
surface condition immediately after the initial passes.
But, in the case of vitrified wheels, it can maintain the
surface condition of the wheel for a longer duration as
its wear rate is less [12].
Fig. 6 shows wheel wear for different wheels. The
wear of graphite-moulded wheels was higher, but that
of CaF2-molded wheels was lower, when compared to
the standard wheel. The presence of graphite may
weaken the bonding, leading to higher wear. It is notice-
 S. Shaji, V. Radhakrishnan / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 43 (2003) 965–972 971

Fig. 5. Comparison of workpiece surface roughness obtained under different grinding conditions.

Fig. 6. Wheel wear obtained with different wheels.

Fig. 7. Intermittent forces obtained in continuous grinding test.

able that the wear is very high with 9% graphite

inclusion. The difference in trend with CaF2 might be
due to the fusion bonding nature of CaF2 [17]. It is also
noticeable that wear with 15% CaF2 inclusion is more
than that with 10% CaF2 inclusion. This might be due
to a saturation in the bonding strength due to the pres-
ence of CaF2 at some limit and any further increase of
lubricant inclusion would be weakening the bond. This
is also on par with the saturation in the lubricant effec-
tiveness observed earlier.
Fig. 7 shows the force pattern obtained from intermit-
tent measurements during continuous grinding test. The
test was done with bearing steel workpiece, giving 10
µm infeed for every upgrinding pass. Forces were meas-
ured in every 25th pass. The force values are more or
less the same throughout the test. This is in contrast to
the case with vitrified wheels, where forces increased to
certain extent in continuous test [24]. As the wheel wear
rate is higher with resin wheels, during continuous grind-
ing, fresh grains might frequently come into interaction.
But with vitrified wheels, where the wheel wear is domi-
nated by the mechanical fracture, load on the wheel
increases till the critical force required for the friability
of grains occurs.
972 S. Shaji, V. Radhakrishnan / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 43 (2003) 965–972
6. Conclusion
As an alternative way to extract the advantages of
solid lubricant application in grinding throughout the
usage of the wheel, solid lubricant moulded resin wheels
were developed with graphite and CaF2 separately, by
including solid lubricants during the moulding stage of
the wheel. Trials to make such wheels with vitrified
bonding failed due to higher vitrifying temperature and
non-availability of a good reduction furnace for firing.
The effectiveness of lubricants was evident from the
improved process results related to friction. The wheel
wear depended on the type of the lubricant used. It was
higher with graphite and lower with CaF2. Saturation in
lubricant effectiveness could be observed on increase of
the quantity of lubricant.
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