This paper presents an experimental research in which the thermal damage in inlet engine valves grinding was evaluated. Four different cutting fluids and two grinding wheel were tested and were analyzed the workpiece residual stress, the micro hardness and the optical observation of the workpiece microstructure. The cutting fluid and the grinding wheel types adopted resulted in different types of residual stress. The cutting oil resulted in compressive residual stresses, even using the conventional wheel. The CBN wheel, due to the best proprieties of its grains resulted in compressive residual stresses for all fluids tested by the reducing of the grinding energy and its easier dissipation from the grinding zone. The microstructure investigations showed that the source of the tensile residual stresses observed was the thermal cycles imposed. No microstructure alterations were detected. Although, the absence of microstructure alterations not always suggests that favorable residual stresses can be obtained.
Grinding; cutting fluids; grinding wheel; residual stresses; thermal damage; valves
