Removal mechanism and grinding performance of ZTA nanocomposite ceramics using ternary-hybrid nanofluid minimum quantity lubrication technology

Zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) nanocomposite ceramics are of high interest in the field of biomedicine due to their exceptionally high hardness and wear resistance. Severe conditions of flood grinding of ZTA nanocomposite ceramics lead to numerous defects and environmental pollution. In order to solve the aforementioned bottleneck, the ternary-hybrid nanofluid minimum quantity lubrication (TNMQL) technology incorporating polyethylene glycol (PEG), water and multilayer graphene (MGNs) with excellent heat transfer and friction reduction was first proposed. The influences of flood grinding, PEG MQL (PMQL), PEG-water (10 % vol, 40 % vol, and 70 % vol) MQL (PWMQL) and TNMQL on the removal mechanism and grinding performances of ZTA nanocomposite ceramics were investigated in this paper. The results showed that the cooling effect of TNMQL was not weaker than that of flood grinding. The TNMQL consumes 27.51 % and 39.30 % less energy compared to the PWMQL (70 % vol) and flood grinding. The TNMQL results in the minimum specific grinding force and surface roughness. The specific tangential grinding force F't, the specific normal grinding force F'n and the surface roughness Sa from 0.46 N/mm, 5.78 N/mm and 0.244 mu m for flood grinding to 0.24 N/mm, 3.72 N/mm and 0.134 mu m, respectively. The TNMQL grinding method resulted in the lowest surface damage, with a 62.40 % reduction in the energy proportion of the high-frequency detail signal compared to flood grinding. The material was mainly removed in ductile mode and there were no obvious cracks and material spalling on the subsurface. The TNMQL technology boasts a straightforward preparation process, environmentally friendly properties, and minimal energy usage. This research demonstrated the feasibility of machining ZTA nanocomposite ceramics using TNMQL.