Which of the following CANNOT be generally utilised as an abrasive material in the grinding process?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

RRB JE CBT 2 (Mechanical Engineering) ReExam Official Paper (Held On: 04 Jun, 2025)

Answer 1

Explanation:

Abrasive Material in Grinding Process

Grinding is a machining process that utilizes abrasive materials to remove material from a workpiece's surface and achieve the desired surface finish and dimensional accuracy. The abrasive materials used in grinding are characterized by their hardness, toughness, and ability to withstand the high temperatures and forces generated during the grinding process.
Commonly used abrasive materials include substances such as aluminium oxide, silicon carbide, and diamond, which are selected based on the application requirements, the material being ground, and the desired surface finish. However, not all materials can function as effective abrasives. The ability of a material to be utilized as an abrasive depends on its hardness relative to the workpiece material and its mechanical and thermal properties.

Super Alloy

Super alloys, also known as high-performance alloys, are a class of materials that exhibit excellent mechanical strength, resistance to thermal creep deformation, good surface stability, and resistance to corrosion or oxidation. These properties make them highly suitable for extreme environments, such as those found in aerospace, power generation, and chemical processing industries.
However, super alloys are not typically utilized as abrasive materials in grinding processes. This is because their primary characteristics—such as toughness and resistance to wear—are designed to withstand extreme conditions rather than to abrade or wear down other materials. In addition, the mechanical properties of super alloys, such as their ductility and toughness, make them unsuitable for effective material removal in grinding. Abrasive materials need to be significantly harder than the workpiece material to effectively cut or wear away the surface, and while super alloys have excellent mechanical properties, they do not possess the extreme hardness required for abrasive applications.
Furthermore, the production and use of super alloys are costly, which makes them economically unviable as abrasive materials in grinding applications. Instead, cost-effective and highly efficient abrasives like aluminium oxide, silicon carbide, and diamond are preferred due to their superior hardness and abrasive properties.