Crack Detection in an Aluminium Oxide Grinding Wheel by Impact Hammer Tests

Grinding is widely used as the last step of the manufacturing process when a good surface finish and precise dimensional tolerances are required. However, if the grinding wheels have cracks, they may lead to a hazardous working environment and produce poor tolerance in machined products. Therefore, grinding wheels should be inspected for cracks before being mounted onto the machine. In this study, a novel method of finding possible internal cracks in the aluminium oxide grinding wheel will be explored by examining the natural frequency and displacement of wheels using an impact hammer testing method. Grinding wheels were cracked into two segments using a three-point bend fixture and then bonded intentionally to simulate cracks. The impact hammer test indicated that cracks in the grinding wheels caused a drop in natural vibration frequency and an increase in the maximum displacement of the accelerometer sensors.