Comparison among Dry, Flooded and MQL Conditions in Machining of EN 353 Steel Alloys-An Experimental Investigation

Abstract

Addition of Nano Particles into cutting fluids enhances its cooling capabilities. In the present paper a nano fluid is developed by mixing Al2O3 Nano fine particles with water and stabilizers. The Taguchi Method is employed to study the performance characteristics of different input parameters i.e. Cutting Speed, Feed rate, Depth of cut and Type of tool under different Lubrication conditions at three levels. The paper also deals with turning of EN 353 Steel Alloy under different lubrication conditions i.e. Dry Machining, Flooded and MQL Conditions. The results were compared among the Dry, Flooded and MQL Conditions; Minimum Quantity of Lubrication (MQL) in machining is an establishing better alternative to complete Dry and Flood lubricating system from the viewpoint of cost, ecology and human health issues. From the experimental results it is concluded that the optimal and best combination for minimizing cutting temperature from the present investigations are cutting speed at 1100 rpm, feed rate at 0.2 mm/rev, depth of cut at 0.5 mm and PVD coated tool. Machining under flooded condition is found to be better than dry and MQL condition, but very small difference in the results are observed between MQL and Flooded condition, hence it can be stated that MQL is advantageous compared to Flooded as we are reducing the flow of lubricant in terms of ml to litres. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) suggests that the selected factors are found to be significant and the corresponding interactions between type of lubrication conditions with cutting speed (rpm), feed rate (mm/rev), depth of cut (mm) and type of tool coated are also found to be significant. It is also concluded that the effect of lubrication condition is more followed by depth of cut, feed rate, type of tool and cutting speed for cutting temperature.