The Impact of the Hydrogen Index of the Process Fluid on Diamond Abrasive Wheel Performance

The hydrogen ion concentration (pH) of the process fluid, in the environment of which the tool and the workpiece contact and the polarization of the fluid occurs during friction, affects the process of diamond abrasive processing of tool materials. When processing hard alloy with a diamond tool, fluids with a neutral pH of 7 should be used, while for grinding oxide ceramics, process fluids with an elevated pH value of 8–9 are recommended. The use of polarized, specifically ion-activated process fluids during the machining process with a diamond tool on porous and conductive oxide-carbide ceramics makes it possible to decelerate wheel wear and bring down specific grinding energy consumption by up to 2 times.