Performance evaluation of novel developed biodegradable metal working fluid during turning of AISI 420 material

Abstract

In the present scenario, metalworking fluids or cutting fluids are contributing a significant amount among the consumables used in the machining industry. Most of the industries use oil-based cutting fluids, which may cause skin and respiratory-related health issues to workers when they are exposed for longer hours. These limitations lead to developing non-oil-based novel cutting fluids to the industry. In this work, the biodegradability performance of newly developed cutting fluid was measured and compared with commonly used oil-based cutting fluid by the industries. Also, the performance of newly developed cutting fluid was investigated in the machining of AISI 420 stainless steel turbine blade material with an uncoated carbide tool. To circulate and recycle the developed cutting fluid at the machining zone, an experimental setup was developed. The developed cutting fluid performance was estimated over dry and oil-based cutting fluid environment conditions. The experiments were designed based on Taguchi L27 orthogonal array while keeping the material removal rate as constant at 668 mm3 s−1. The control factors were cutting environment, depth of cut, feed, and cutting speed. An optimal control parameter combination for minimal surface roughness of 0.31 μm, tool wear 18.7 μm, and temperature 178 °C was obtained. This study is expected to deliver a scientific path toward the novel development of non-oil-based cutting fluids for enhancing the machining quality and safety.