Experimental and finite element analysis of temperature and energy partition to the workpiece while grinding with a flexible robot

Grinding processes performed with flexible robotic tool holders are very unlike conventional types of grinding because of low stiffness of the robot's structure. A special flexible robotic grinding process is used for in situ maintenance of large hydroelectric equipment for bulk material removal over large areas rather than as a finishing step, as is the case for most conventional grindings. Due to the low structural stiffness of tool holder, cutting is interrupted at each revolution of wheel during the grinding process. In this study, an investigation is carried out to determine the temperatures and energy partition to the workpiece for the above-mentioned flexible robotic grinding process by a three-dimensional finite element thermal model. Experiments were undertaken using embedded thermocouples to obtain the subsurface temperature at several points in the workpiece during the process. Then, energy partition to the workpiece was evaluated using a temperature-matching method between the experimental and numerical results. This ratio is used for predicting the temperature field at the wheel-workpiece interface with a relevant heat source function. Kinematics of cut and the flexible robot's dynamic behavior are considered in applying the heat input to the model. The energy partition to the workpiece in this specific flexible grinding process is found to be lower than for analogous conventional precision grinding processes. Two models, one from the literature and one from the power model of the process, are modified and proposed for determining the energy partition. The results showed that the energy partition ratio decreases by increasing the process power. Also, this ratio slightly decreases at higher feed speeds. In addition, lower temperatures were seen at higher powers due to the lower intensity of heat input over a larger contact area. Experimental observations show close agreement between simulated contact temperatures and measured results.