Ultrasonic assisted turning of AISI 52100 steel using nanoparticle-MQL method

Abstract

This paper focused on experimentally and statistically the determination effects of varied turning methods and cooling conditions on surface roughness, workpiece surface texture, tangential direction cutting force (Ft), and cutting tool-workpiece interface temperature in the machining of AISI 52100 material. In this study, Ultrasonic-assisted turning (UAT) and conventional turning (CT) were used as a machining method, dry and minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) as a cooling condition. High cutting force and high cutting tool-chip interface temperature occur during the machining of AISI 52100 steel under CT operations make machining conditions difficult. In addition, under CT of AISI 52100, which has high abrasion resistance and hardness properties, an additional operation such as grinding is required to achieve the desired surface roughness. UAT method has been widely used in the machining industry in recent decades because it improves surface finish, reduces cutting forces, and the interface temperature compared to the CT method. UAT using 20 and 30 kHz vibration frequencies and CT experiments were conducted for the machining of AISI 52100 steel. Experimental results showed that significant improvements determined in the cutting forces and surface roughness occurred in UAT compared to CT in all cooling conditions. However, increasing cutting speeds led to higher interface temperature values in the dry condition of UAT operation. Variance Analysis (ANOVA) was carried out to determine significance of effects of input variables on process outputs. According to ANOVA results, while the cutting speed is the most important factor on surface roughness and cutting zone temperature, and the cooling method is the most important factor on the cutting force. The effects of turning methods on corresponding surface topography including surface defects were evaluated. It is determined that in surface topography analysis, feed marks are the main texture of the workpiece in CT operations, while micro-level indentations and protrusions occurred on the workpiece surface in UAT operations.