Effect of the belt grinding on the surface texture: Modeling of the contact and abrasive wear

Belt grinding is a finishing manufacturing process, which usually follows a hard turning operation. Experimental investigations show that the belt grinding process improves the surface texture and leads to compressive residual stresses. To study the contact between the belt constituted by abrasive grains and the surface, in particular to understand the physical of abrasion, a three-dimensional numerical model is established and presented in this paper. This method provided important and essential information to understand the way the abrasive grains remove the material in the belt and workpiece interface. Important data induced: the normal load distribution, the local coefficient of friction, which depends on the attack angle and then the tangential load on each abrasive grain could be computed. The pressure distribution, the surface deformation and the distribution of real contact area could be also determined by this model.