The condition of active surface of a grinding wheel changes slightly or considerably in the process of metal grinding. The flank wear of cutting edges of grains widens the contact areas between grains and metals, and deteriorates the cutting ability of the wheel. On the contrary, the fracture and tearing-out of grains compensate the deterioration. The latter is so-called self dressing. In this report, the process of widening of the flank-wear area of grains in grinding, which is the result of both effects, the deterioration and the compensation, was analyzed under certain simple assumptions. An equation obtained in the analysis revealed a good agreement with the experimental data. Predictions on the characteristics of grinding wheels, which were derived from the equation, were illustrated.
