Application of Lubrication Theory to Fluid Flow in Grinding: Part I—Flow Between Smooth Surfaces

Abstract

The present paper, which consists of two parts, proposes models of fluid flow in grinding with nonporous wheels. In this first part, a smooth wheel is employed instead of a rough grinding wheel to simplify the analysis. Fluid flow is investigated for laminar and turbulent regimes using the classical Reynolds equation of lubrication and a modified Reynolds equation for turbulent flows, respectively. The applicability of the proposed models is discussed and verified experimentally in terms of the developed hydrodynamic pressure. It is found that the classical Reynolds equation reliably predicts the hydrodynamic pressure if the Reynolds number Re (based on the minimum gap size) is lower than about 300. Experimental results for 300<Re<1500 agree with the proposed turbulent flow model. This suggests that the flow in this range of Re is turbulent, and that the fluid inertia is negligible. The influence of wheel roughness is investigated in Part II.