This award provides partial support for a sabbatical visit by Professor G. Sathyanarayanan of Lehigh University to the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, to collaborate in manufacturing engineering research with Professor Gunter Spur and others of that University and the nearby Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems Engineering and Design Technology. The participating universities have longstanding research programs focused on the grinding of structural ceramics that will benefit from the stronger linkage established through this sabbatical visit. The proposed joint research will evaluate the effect of vibratory grinding on the rate of removal of ceramic material as well as the strength and surface integrity of the ground ceramics. The results will be used to develop a model of vibratory grinding as a prerequisite to controlling the process in a manufacturing setting. Structural ceramic materials possess extraordinary characteristics of hardness, strength and resistance to heat, wear and corrosion. However, the same characteristics make them difficult to be shaped. Machining flaws have been identified to be the major contributor in degrading the strength of structural ceramics. These flaws are most often cracks that are introduced during the grinding operation. While many of these flaws can be removed by secondary finishing, this adds to the production cost. New effective methods such as vibratory grinding are needed to produce finished structural ceramics that are competitive with metal components. The fundamental goal of this collaboration is to establish the necessary manufacturing science base for ceramic grinding, and thereby to enhance U.S. competitiveness in the finishing of structural ceramics.
