Turning of steels under various cooling and lubrication techniques: a review of literature, sustainability aspects, and future scope

Abstract

In this review work, various conventional cutting fluids and their application methods were discussed, which serve different functions such as cooling, lubrication, cleaning, and corrosion protection during the machining process. According to the available research, issues associated with the conventional ones were identified concerning sustainability metrics, i.e., economic, environmental, and social dimensions. These issues associated with conventional cutting fluids and application methods necessitated shifting towards a sustainable era. All such sustainable alternatives have been reviewed thoroughly, which are presently practiced in the machining process of steels as a workpiece. It can be concluded that these sustainable methods, i.e., dry cutting, minimum quantity cooling and lubrication, cryogenic lubricant, gas-based coolant, solid lubricant, etc., give better machinability performance as compared to conventional ones. However, there is a need for a trade-off between cost-effectiveness and sustainability for various combinations of cutting fluids and their application methods. The last section concludes the various sustainable methods and recommends prospects based on the demands and challenges ahead. Further, it can be concluded that knowledge of the cutting fluid types and their application methods with detailed efficiency and energy consumption models are critically important to make them commercially viable.