PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF NANO GRAPHITE INCLUSIONS IN CUTTING FLUIDS WITH MQL TECHNIQUE IN TURNING OF AISI 1040 STEEL

Abstract

Liberation of heat and generation of friction assoc iated with any machining operation ever pose a prob lem which not only reduce the tool life but also impair quality of the product. C utting fluids have been the conventional choice to curtail friction and temperatures in machining because of its lubrication and cooling ac tions. However, considering health hazards posed by the conventional cutting fluids to health of the workers and ecology, the qu est is towards identifying alternative strategies tthe usual flood application. Selection and use of proper lubricant that can impr ove the overall cutting phenomena which is an impor tant aspect in reducing the cutting forces and temperatures The present work st udies the use of nano cutting fluids in MQL which i s a minimal cutting fluid technique, for turning operation using HSS and ceme nted carbide tools. Development of nano materials b y nanotechnology technique, dispersing them in the cutting fluid improve the ef fectiveness of the cutting fluid and hence nano gra phite powder is selected of particle size 80 nm in varying proportions i.e. 0.0 %, 0.1%, 0.3% and 0.5% by weight are mixed in water soluble oil and applied drop by drop. Experimentation is carried out at differen t flow rates like 5 ml/min 10 ml/min and 15 ml/min with nanoparticle suspended fluids along with dry machining, flood coolant mach ining under constant cutting conditions. Experiment al results are very encouraging with much reduction in surface roughnes s, tool flank wear, temperatures and cutting forces is observed in fluids with nanoparticle inclusions. Different properties of th e nanofluids are estimated through a series of stan dard tests.