Grinding is a commonly used finishing process to produce components of desired shape, size and dimensional accuracy. The ultimate goal is to have the maximum workpiece quality, minimum machining time and high economic efficiency by making a selective adaptation of the possible process strategy and chosen parameter selection. The focus of this study arose from a limitation that challenges the grinding industry. The production rate of the ground parts is generally constrained by surface topography and subsurface damage appearing as residual tensile stress, localized burns, and phase transformation induced micro and macro-cracking. This motivates the need for a reliable numerical modelling to simulate the grinding process. The numerical model sought should be able to predict not only the required grinding residual stresses but also the deformation history. The objective of this thesis is to build up a reliable finite element model for grinding-induced residual stress analysis and thus to explore thoroughly the mechanisms in terms of grinding conditions. The variations of the residual stresses and strains at integration points have been examined, and the effects of the friction coefficient (µ), Peclet number (Pe), non dimensional heat transfer coefficient (H) and different magnitudes of input heat flux (Q) on both the microstructure and the residual stress state are analyzed. Finally, based on the new findings in this research, a more comprehensive methodology is suggested for further study.
