Performance evaluation of a sustainable metal working fluid applied to machine Inconel 718 and AISI 304 with minimum quantity lubrication

Abstract

Machining is a prominent manufacturing method used in automobile, aerospace, and marine industries. Most of the materials that are frequently consumed in such industries are difficult to machine via conventional techniques. Difficult-to-cut materials require advanced processing approaches, and better cooling and lubrication conditions. Thus, manufacturing industries tend to use petroleum-oil-based metal working fluids (POMWF) because of their desirable characteristics of cooling and lubrication when applied to machine difficult-to-cut materials. However, POMWFs adversely affect human health and environment throughout their life cycle. Recently, several scientists have demonstrated that the vegetable oils have tribological properties which make better cooling and lubrication media for machining operations. Hence, the authors have formulated a white-coconut-oil-based water-soluble MWF (COMWF) for use as an alternative to toxic and hazardous POMWFs. The performance of novel MWF was evaluated by applying the minimum quantity lubrication approach to machine Inconel 718 and AISI 304. Machining experiments were conducted under controlled cutting conditions to investigate the work-tool interface (WTI) temperature, cutting forces and to benchmark the proposed MWF to a commercially available synthetic ester based MWF (SEMWF). The newly developed green MWF enabled WTI temperatures and cutting forces that were more desirable than those obtained using the SEMWF. A thermophysical model was also created using commercially available software to simulate the WTI temperature and to visualize the chip formation of difficult-to-cut materials. The novel COMWF was effectively used to machine the selected difficult to cut materials (i.e., Inconel 718 and AISI 304); furthermore, its potential as a replacement for the hazardous POMWFs to ensure industrial sustainability was demonstrated.