Investigation of the Influence of the Airflow Around a Grinding Wheel on the Coolant Supply

Abstract

The fast rotation of the grinding wheel creates an airflow near its surface, which causes a deflection of the coolant jet. To obtain an efficient and reliable grinding process, it is necessary to consider the airflow when dimensioning the coolant supply. For this purpose, the airflow around rotating grinding wheels was analyzed and characterized. In this research the airflow velocities around the grinding wheel were measured using a Prandtl tube, high-speed records were used to analyze the interactions between coolant supply and the airflow and positions for an effective air deflection were examined. It is found that the influence of the airflow especially depends on the cutting speed and the porosity of the grinding wheel, the airflow is not constant along the width of the grinding wheel and without air deflection the coolant jet requires an exit velocity of at least 50% of the grinding wheel peripheral speed.