Abstract
Surface grinding is an industrial machining process aiming
to remove excess material of a workpiece by means of an
abrasive wheel which rotates at high speed over its surface. Most of the energy used in the grinding
process is converted into heat, and it is accumulated within
the contact zone between the wheel and the workpiece [1].
The high temperatures reached can thermally damage the
quality of the workpiece, burning the workpiece, causing
metallurgical phase transformations, softening (tempering)
the surface layer with possible rehardening, onsetting residual tensile stresses, and causing cracks. Therefore, the
determination of the temperature field evolution inside the
workpiece is of great industrial importance. In order
to avoid thermal damage, coolant is usually delivered to the
porous grinding zone at a high velocity, so friction is reduced
and cooling by convection occurs. Some recommendations
for the optimization of the coolant usage are found in.
