This paper deals with the application of the ultrasonic reflection method of non-destructive evaluation to monitor the condition of a grinding wheel surface. As the grinding process continues, the grinding wheel wear and loading changes the texture of the grinding wheel surface which changes the reflective characteristics of the grinding wheel surface. Ultrasonic signals are made to impinge on the surface of a grinding wheel and the amplitude of the reflected waves is evaluated to reveal the changes in the surface condition of the grinding wheel. A variation of the intensity of reflected waves with the increase in wheel wear helps us determine the redressing time for the grinding wheel. The intensity of the echo amplitude clearly indicates the changes in the grinding wheel condition. This indicates the suitability of this method for in process monitoring of the grinding wheel surface condition to evaluate the dressing time in order to avoid the production of defective products. © 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

N. Arunachalam

Department of Mechanical Engineering

B. Ramamoorthy

AIR-COUPLED ULTRASOUNDS

DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS

GRINDING PROCESS

GRINDING WHEEL WEAR

IN-PROCESS MONITORING

In-wheel

NON DESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION

Reflected waves

SURFACE CONDITIONS

Ultrasonic signals

Condition monitoring

Grinding (machining)

GRINDING WHEELS

Nondestructive examination

Process monitoring

Rating

Surface roughness

ULTRASONIC REFLECTION

Ultrasonic testing

WHEEL DRESSING

IIT Madras is a public technical and research university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Founded in 1959, it is recognised as an Institute of National Importance.

IIT Madras has been ranked as the top engineering institute in India for four years in a row by the National Institutional Ranking Framework of the MHRD

It currently offers undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees across 16 disciplines in Engineering, Sciences, Humanities and Management. About 596 faculty belonging to science and engineering departments and centres of the Institute are engaged in teaching, research and industrial consultancy.

IIT Madras

International Journal of Abrasive Technology

The surface quality of the components produced in a grinding process mainly depends on the grinding wheel topography. To maintain the quality of the component, the condition of the grinding wheel should be monitored and the periodical dressing has to be done to retain the shape and the sharpness of the cutting edges. In the present paper, the machine-vision-based texture analysis methods are introduced to discriminate the surface condition of the grinding wheel. The grinding wheel images are acquired using a charge coupled device (CCD) camera at different intervals of time during the process and the texture of the grinding wheel image is analysed using appropriate statistical and fractal methods. The variation of the parameters with the condition of the grinding wheel surface is analysed and presented. The evaluated parameters are clearly discriminating the texture of the grinding wheel at every stage. The methods presented in this paper can be used to assess the grinding wheel condition effectively. © IMechE 2007.

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture

Texture analysis for grinding wheel wear assessment using machine vision

A practical method for assessing the condition of wheel surfaces by determining the air flow around the wheel with back-pressure measurements using a pneumatic gauge is described. Different wheel surface profiles were compared and the change in wheel topography from a freshly dressed condition to a glazed condition was ascertained from the back-pressure measurement. This simple and rapid method is suitable for determining when wheel re-dressing is necessary to achieve better performance. © 1981.

Wear

Surface condition monitoring of grinding wheels by pneumatic back-pressure measurement

Applied Surface Science

Application of laser speckle analysis for the assessment of cementitious surfaces subjected to laser cleaning

International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture

Application of region growing method to evaluate the surface condition of grinding wheels

Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering

Machining Process Monitoring and Control: The State-of-the-Art

A preliminary investigation on the application of air-coupled ultrasound to evaluate surface condition of the grinding wheel

Journal	International Journal of Abrasive Technology
ISSN	17522641
Open Access	No