Cylindrical grinding of Al/SiC metal matrix composites

This paper deals with an experimental study on the grindability of Al/SiC metal matrix composites in cylindrical grinding. Machining of metal matrix composites (MMCs) is an area to be focused and finishing processes such as grinding to obtain a good surface finish and damage-free surfaces are crucial for the application of these materials. Nevertheless, grinding of MMCs has received little attention so far, thereby a detailed study on that has been carried out. In the present work, experiments are carried out to study the effect of grinding parameters; wheel velocity, work piece velocity, feed and depth of cut and SiC volume fraction percentage on the responses; grinding force, surface roughness and grinding temperature. Surface integrity of the ground surfaces is assessed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). There are no cracks and defects found on the cylindrical ground surfaces at high wheel and work piece velocities, low feed and depth of cut.