Polishing Performance of Muğla White Marble with Different Abrasives

Abrasives play a critical role in the polish process of natural stone. Therefore, they can significantly affect the performance of polishing. In the thematic literature, there is no detailed study investigating the effect of abrasives from two different manufacturers in the same form on the natural stone polishing performance and wear characteristics of abrasive grain. The current study aims to fill this gap. Two abrasives are used on natural stone polishing process. Marble samples are polished in the same abrasive series, at constant belt and head pressure. Polishing performances of the abrasives are investigated based on surface roughness, surface gloss and the wear mechanism of abrasive grain. The study revealed that the Abrasive B present higher polishing performances in terms of the surface roughness and gloss on marble sample. The SEM analysis presented that the wear mechanisms of SiC grain are mainly attributed to abrasive wear, fracture wear and plucked out of abrasive. Additionally, it is concluded that polishing performance of the natural stone is highly affected by abrasive grain shape and grain distribution.