Mathematical modeling of ceramic bond bridges in grinding wheels

Ceramic-bonded grinding wheels with cubic boron nitride (CBN) as grain material belong to the most efficient grinding tools available. They feature a high hardness combined with a high thermal stability and the applicability to grinding ferrous materials. However, the appropriate volumetric composition of grain and bonding material is an expensive and time-consuming process based on experience. Our objective is the mathematical modeling of grinding wheel structures for the prediction of compositions which fulfill given grinding requirements such that using trial and error methods can be avoided. For this purpose, we focus on a three-dimensional element of a grinding wheel which we call volumetric structure element. In this paper, we briefly describe our overall modeling approach and present in detail how we model the ceramic bond. For the latter, we combine analytical and discrete calculations, embedded into an iterative algorithm which ensures to meet bond volume fractions prescribed by grinding wheel specifications.