THE SURFACE TOPOGRAPHY OF A GRINDING WHEEL IS ONE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT THAT AFFECTS GRINDING. THIS PAPER DESCRIBES A METHOD OF MODELING THE TOPOGRAPHY OF DIAMOND ABRASIVE WHEELS OF DIFFERENT GRIT SIZES AND CONCENTRATION NUMBERS. THE WHEEL SURFACE WAS CHARACTERIZED BY SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (SEM) AND THE ASSOCIATED BACKSCATTERED ELECTRON (BSE) IMAGES. THE IMAGES WERE ANALYZED USING SPATIAL STATISTICS TO MODEL THE LOCATION AND EXPOSED AREA OF THE ABRASIVES ON THE WHEEL SURFACE. IT IS SHOWN THE NUMBER OF ABRASIVES AND THE EXPOSED AREA CAN BE MODELED BY POISSON AND NORMAL DISTRIBUTION, RESPECTIVELY.