Effects of nano-cutting fluids on tool performance and chip morphology during machining Inconel 718

Flood cooling is a typical cooling strategy used in industry to dissipate the high temperature generated during machining of Inconel 718. The use of flood coolant has risen environmental and health concerns which call for different alternatives. Minimum quaintly lubricant (MQL) has been successfully introduced as an acceptable coolant strategy; however, its potential to dissipate heat is much lower than the one achieved using flood coolant. MQL-nano-cutting fluid is one of the suggested techniques to further improve the performance of MQL particularly when machining difficult-to-cut materials. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of two types of nano-cutting fluids on tool performance and chip morphology during turning of Inconel 718. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) gamma nanoparticles have been utilized as nano-additives. The novelty here lies on enhancing the MQL heat capacity using different nano-additives-based fluids in order to improve Inconel 718 machinability. In this investigation, both nano-fluids showed better results compared to the tests performed without any nano-additives. Significant changes in modes of tool wear and improvement in the intensity of wear progression have been observed when using nano-fluids. Also, the collected chips have been analyzed to understand the effects of adding nano-additives on the chip morphology. Finally, it has been found that MWCNT nano-fluid has shown better performance than Al2O3 nano-fluid. © 2018, Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature.