Effect of wear behaviour of single mono- and poly-crystalline cBN grains on the grinding performance of Inconel 718

Abstract Polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PcBN) grains were fabricated by combining the monocrystalline cBN (McBN) nanoparticles and inter-abrasive ceramic materials via high temperature and pressure techniques. Grinding performance of Inconel 718 with single McBN and PcBN grains, including grinding force, force ratio, ground surface quality was investigated. Characterization of the wear morphology evolution of worn grains and scratches of PcBN grains were discussed. In addition, the fracture behaviour of PcBN grains was evaluated as the varying of the undeformed chip thickness. Results show that PcBN grains have the smaller grinding force and force ratio, more stable grain wear rate in comparison to McBN grains. Additionally, the better wear-resistance and grinding performance owing to its multi-cutting edges structure in terms of the grain wear morphology evolution were achieved for PcBN grains regardless of the undeformed chip thickness.