The grindability of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) reinforced ZrB2 was studied using resin bonded diamond grinding wheel under dry and wet conditions. A comparative study of grinding forces was performed at selected wheel surface speeds and depth of cuts for surface grinding. ZrB2-GNP showed lower normal grinding forces due to the reduced hardness. The presence of GNP reinforcement in ZrB2 resulted in lower tangential forces and reduced specific grinding energy due to the role of GNP as solid lubricant. The measured forces showed good correlation with the micro cutting model for ZrB2 and ZrB2-GNP under dry condition. The tangential forces showed same trend as normal forces at different depth of cuts and wheel surface speeds for both ZrB2 and ZrB2-GNP with average force ratios of 0.3 and 0.35 respectively. The presence of porosity in ZrB2 increased the normal grinding forces during wet grinding. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of the grinding chips indicated a mixture of both the ductile mode and the brittle mode of material removal with predominantly brittle fractured chips. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the presence of GNPs in ZrB2-GNP grinding chips. The topography of the grinding wheel showed higher wheel loading after the dry grinding than that of wet grinding. The wet grinding resulted in relatively lower surface roughness (Ra values) compared to that of dry grinding.
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