Media Flow Analysis of Single-Channel Pre-Mixed Liquid CO2 and MQL in Sustainable Machining

Single-channel supply of pre-mixed liquid carbon dioxide (LCO2) and minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) represents a state-of-the-art LCO2 assisted machining. However, to fully understand and optimize cooling and lubrication provided by the LCO2 + MQL, a fundamental media flow analysis is essential, yet not researched enough. Therefore, in this paper, media flow velocity and oil droplet size were analysed in supplying line and at the nozzle outlet using high-speed camera and proprietary single-channel system. Results indicate that pre-mixed media flow velocity is mainly influenced by the LCO2 expansion rate upon the nozzle outlet, wherein oil droplet size is largely dependent on the solubility between oil and LCO2. Media flow velocity increases significantly from an average of 40 m/s in the supplying line to the excess of 90 m/s at the nozzle outlet due to the pressure drop and LCO2 expansion. Furthermore, this volume expansion causes the oil droplet to increase to the point of critical, unstable droplet size. Afterward, the unstable oil droplet breaks up into smaller oil droplets. It was found, that nonpolar oil, with greater solubility in LCO2, compared to the polar oil, provides droplets as small as 2 μm in diameter. Smaller oil droplets positively reflect on tool wear and tool life in LCO2 assisted machining, as the longest tool life was achieved by using the nonpolar oil for pre-mixed LCO2 + MQL.