Residual Grinding Stresses in Hardened Steel

Residual stresses resulting from surface grinding a hardened ball-bearing-type steel under closely controlled conditions were measured by the deflection method and the effects of wheel grade, unit downfeed, and grinding fluid upon the stresses generated were studied. The stress gradients close to the surface were found to be quite steep and, in a number of instances, both components of the biaxial stress were compressive at the surface. This behavior contrasts with previous dry-grinding experiments on annealed steel and indicates the possibility of generating compressive surface stresses in hardened steel by grinding.