Abstract
Abrasive composites are very important, since they are widely used in industrial machining processes, responsible for both fine and rough grinding of the work material. For this reason, there is great interest in the research of materials for abrasive wheels, since advances in this area are restricted to the industries, without disclosure to the academic community. This study aims to compare the Young’s modulus and the Impact strength of the produced materials, parameter that can be related to the material’s hardness, thus defining its applicability. The abrasive materials produced are defined by a structure containing 46% vol. of aluminum oxide grain (mesh #46), 22% vol. of phenolic resin binders with different levels of hexamethylenetetramine (14.55% and 8.97%), curing agent responsible for the crosslinking of the resins and 32% vol. of pores. The materials were mixed and pressed at room temperature, and the curing process happened at 60°C/6h, 80°C/8h and 160°C/4h. The Young’s modulus were determined by non-destructive testing using the impulse excitation technique and the results obtained were compared to those obtained by the dynamic mechanical analysis. The abrasive composite materials produced from the mixture with higher hexamethylenetetramine content presented greater Young’s modulus and greater rigidity as demonstrated by the impact strength too, which should be associated with the influence of its content in the composition. The use of a resin with a higher content of this agent for the production of abrasive wheels will result in a higher stiffness tool compared to tools that do not use excess hexamethylenetetramine.
