Grinding of hard and brittle ceramic coatings: Force analysis

In this work, a grinding force model has been proposed and a correlation between the analytical model and the experimental grinding forces obtained during finishing of plasma sprayed ceramic coatings has been investigated. Thermally sprayed ceramic coatings have low fracture toughness and develop micro brittle fracture under moderate mechanical loading. In this investigation, grinding of air plasma sprayed alumina, zirconia, and titania coatings were studied theoretically and experimentally. It was observed that the ground surface contained micro-cracks and debris of irregular fragmented chips owing to the micro-brittle fracture. A grinding force model is proposed to incorporate the fracture behavior of the ceramic coating. This was substantiated through experimental values showing low grind