Wear behaviour of whisker-reinforced ceramic tools in the turning of Inconel 718 assisted by an atomized spray of solid lubricants

Abstract

Atomization-based cutting fluid (ACF) is well acknowledged as an alternative to dry cutting. However, ACF is restricted to the machining of mild materials owing to higher heat generation, shearing and frictional is the principal source of the tool wear under difficult-to-cut alloys. The applicability of ACF is explored in aggressive machining by the addition of 0.2 wt% of molybdenum disulfide and graphite powder as solid lubricants in vegetable oil. The performance of whisker-reinforced ceramic tools regarding wear progression, surface roughness, and vibration analysis under dry and ACF was compared. Findings have shown 50–65% less flank wear, and 39–51% less surface roughness under ACF due to solid lubricants at a tool-chip interface that limited notching and fracture of tool edge.