Evaluation of Hard Materials Using Eco-Attributes

Abstract

Hard materials based on Alumina (AN), Silicon Carbide (SC), Boron Carbide/Nitride (BC/N), Zirconia (ZN), and alike are often used to produce abrasive grains and coat cutting tools. These materials improve the performance of grinding/machining operations by providing an enhanced productivity, a longer grinder/tool life, and a better surface finish. On the other hand, they might leave some burdens on the environment. Therefore, eco-attributes (i.e., energy consumption, CO2 emission, NOX/SOX emission, water usage, recycle fraction, etc.) of these hard materials should be used to make an informed decision. This study deals with this issue and provides an evaluation of AN, SC, BC/N, and ZN based hard materials in terms of CO2 emission, NOX emission, SOX emission, and water usage. The outcomes of this study are useful for analyzing grinding and other abrasive processes for achieving eco-manufacturing.

A Surface Generation Mechanism of Grinding

“…As mentioned before, the shape of the abrasive grains are highly stochastic in nature [3][4] creating uneven heights of the cutting edges located on the outermost circumferential surface of a grinding wheel. The same argument holds for the wear/truncation of the abrasive grains (e.g., see the work [14] where the authors have reported the experimental results showing the randomness in the wear of the materials (cBN and diamond) used to produce the abrasive grains [1][2]). As a result, one can use the abrasive grains' wear, truncation, loss, and shape-relevant stochastic information to create the uneven heights of the grains.…”

“…Grinding is a complex material removal process [1] where a grinding wheel gradually removes materials from the work-surface. Abrasive grains (made of very hard materials [2]) are bonded to form a grinding wheel [1]. The microscopic structures of the outermost circumferential surface of a grinding wheel, as well as the shape of the abrasive grains, are highly complex [3][4].…”

Holistic Pre-Feasibility Study of Comminution Routes for a Brazilian Itabirite Ore

“…GHG emissions associated with direct energy consumption were estimated using an emission factor of 0.0653 t/MWh, whose value is based on the Brazilian electricity mix for the base year of 2012 and obtained from the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innova tion database. GHG emissions associated with indirect energy consumption were estimated using emission factors of 1.54 t/t for steel [39] and 9 t/t for tungsten carbide, based on another material with a similar processing route [40]. Particulate material emissions were disregarded in this study.…”