Solutions Knowledge Products Measurement Service About Us Contact Us English Home / Solutions / Grinding Burn Detection Grinding Burn Detection Grinding thermal damages, also known as grinding burns, will shorten the fatigue life of critical, dynamically loaded components and can lead to severe failures. Grinding burns occur when the energy from grinding produces too much heat. Grinding burn decreases hardness and causes tensile residual stress. The grinding process has many parameters that affect grinding quality. Grinding burns may occur if any of following parameters are not optimal: Force Cutting speed Cutting fluid Wheel wear Wheel dressing Why grinding burn detection is important The surface of a freshly ground component may appear to be fine, but unseen damages below the surface, when undetected, can lead to serious problems for the end user. Grinding burns will: shorten the fatigue life cause severe failures in dynamically loaded, critical components change stress and microstructure Undetected grinding burn may cause: Internal quality failure on production line extra costs: rework, scrap External quality failure warranty cases brand value loss Grinding burn detection methods Grinding burn can be detected non-destructively with following methods: Barkhausen noise analysis (BNA) which detects hardness changes and residual stress caused by grinding burns X-ray diffraction method (XRD) which measures residual stresses caused by grinding burns Nital etching (NE) where over heated area will appear darker when part is etched See following table for method comparison: Feature BNA XRD NE Objective – Reliable – Fast – Evaluation through coatings – – Can easily examine large areas – Influenced by both stress and microstructure – Can be automated – Environmentally friendly – Barkhausen noise analysis Barkhausen noise analysis is a non-destructive method involving the measurement of a noise-like signal induced in a ferromagnetic material by an applied magnetic field. There are two main material characteristics that directly affect the intensity of the Barkhausen noise signal: hardness and stress. The Barkhausen noise method reacts to even the smallest burns as burned areas increase the signal. With the Barkhausen noise method, it is possible to measure through coatings which makes it an indispensable method for detecting grinding burns on critical components, like landing gears. Read More X-ray diffraction Grinding burn causes residual stress. The Non-destructive X-ray diffraction method allows measuring the absolute residual stress value. X-rays have high energy and short wavelength when compared to visible light making them ideal for probing the interplanar distances in crystalline materials. Read More Nital Etching Nital etch inspection to detect signs of grinding burn involves a chemical mixture of nitric acid and ethanol which will corrode the gear sample and reveal microstructure variations in steel. The overheated area will appear darker than the surrounding area after the test. Stresstech provides turnkey solutions for grinding burn detection With Stresstech products, grinding burn detection can be performed effortlessly in production lines, laboratories, and even in the field. Learn More Articles About Grinding Burn Detection: Stresstech Bulletin 3: Detection methods of grinding damages Stresstech Bulletin 4: Grinding damages Stresstech Bulletin 5: Grinding Quality Control of Camshafts Barkhausen Noise as an Alternative to Nital Etch for the Detection of Grind Temper on Gears Questions about grinding burn detection? We can help! Our engineers have years of experience helping customers find the right solutions for their needs. Contact Us Stresstech Oy FINLAND Tikkutehtaantie 1 40800 VAAJAKOSKI FINLAND Tel: +358 14 333 000 Fax: +358 14 333 0099 Email: info@stresstech.com American Stress Technologies, Inc. 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