R. Sagar, P. Sahu, AIT, Pathumathani, India
Low cutting zone temperature (CZT) during the cut-off operation, is desirable. Low CZT reduces the possibility of thermal damage to the work surface, and incidentally it increases the wheel life. In the present work, to reduce the CZT, Al metal powder was mixed with the abrasive. Abrasive wheels having composition with 0% Al, 5% Al, 10% Al and 15% Al powder were fabricated. After conducting experiments with mild steel and aluminum workpieces, effect of Al powder in CZT and wheel wear were studied. Finite element analysis of stresses as well as temperature was done. The profile of the dies were also compared. The logrithmic profile gave better results.
Summary: The material developed can be used for various applications. It can be used as a structural material where hardness and wear properties are important, it can also be used as a cutting material.. The manufacturing process is very simple. A wowen glass fiber is used as the base. A kevlar or carbon fiber can also be used. The finally ground mixture of Al-SiC powder after ball milling is mixed with an epoxy and is made to set over the glass fiber at room temp with the aid of metal dies. Finite element analysis is used to analyze the stresses and temperature distribution when this material is used as a cutting material. It is used for cutting mild steel marble etc with very good material removal rates with low wear of the cutting material. The Al powder helps in dissipation of heat. Hardness is provided by SIC. The dies with logrithmic profiles give the best results as this particular profile is helpful in transporting coolant in the cutting zone.
