Improving the novel white coconut oil-based metalworking fluid using nano particles for minimum surface roughness and tool tip temperature

Abstract

At present, nearly 85 % all of the requirement for MWFs are satisfied by the use of mixtures of petroleum by-products and synthetic substances with supplementary additives to enhance their properties. The demand for easily biodegradable, environmental friendly MWFs is a current requirement. COCOTP, a novel biodegradable MWF based on white (refined) coconut oil, developed by authors, had previously shown promising tribological properties for machining mild steel (MS) and stainless steel (SS) when used with the flooding method, but had fallen short of the performance of commercially available, non-biodegradable alternatives with MQL. Therefore in the current investigation, nano-particles were added to improve the performance of novel COCOTP MWF to use it with MQL conditions. Two nanomaterials nano-graphite and nano-Al₂O₃ were separately added to the base fluid in different concentrations as a monodispersed suspension. These nano enhanced fluids (NEFs) were subsequently used in straight turning experiments of two work materials AISI304 and SS400. Both the nano-enhanced fluids show convincing improvements over both COCOTP and mineral-oil based fluids in terms of surface roughness of the specimens regardless of the material being turned. However when machining SS 400, NEFs perform better only in lower speeds in terms of temperature. SS400 has a much higher thermal conductivity than AISI304 means that the quantity of residual heat remaining at the point of material removal which can be absorbed by the cutting fluid is lower in SS400. During machining SS400 under MQL lubrication 9.8 %, 26.8 % and 24 % reduction of surface roughness values (with respect to soluble oil) and during machining AISI304 55.3 %, 73.7 % and 70.4 % reduction of surface roughness values were obtained at 1175 rpm with COCOTP, NEF A and NEF G respectively. Based on the experimental results, the best-performing nano-enhanced fluids under MQL are 0.3 % (w/w) Al₂O₃ and 0.3 % (w/w) graphite.