Development and potential use of MWCNT suspended in vegetable oil as a cutting fluid in machining of Monel 400

Abstract

The heat dissipation problem that arises when machining difficult to cut materials can be mitigated by using nano-cutting fluids, which have a much higher thermal conductivity value than the basic lubricants. Since the heat carrying capacity of the Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) system is significantly lower than that of other coolants, a number of nano-additives are used to increase its cooling effectiveness. Therefore, this study firstly focuses on the assessment of nano-cutting fluids and their significant efficacy in the machining operation of nickel-based alloys. Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) suspended in vegetable oil is compared with distinct cooling environmental conditions namely, dry, MQL and cryogenic carbon dioxide (CO2). The novelty of this work is that the different volume fractions of 0.2 – 1 wt% of MWCNT were dispersed to study the contact angle, viscosity and thermal conductivity of the prepared molecular liquid and then, the potential of MWCNT suspended in vegetable oil is used to evaluate the outcomes of surface roughness (Ra), cutting temperature (CT) and tool wear (Vb) while machining Monel 400 alloy. The outcomes affirmed that employing nano MQL in machining operations resulted in a mean reduction of about 65% in the temperature evolved concerning no coolant condition. Additionally, the use of nanoparticles leads to an improved surface finish and abridged tool wear.