Tribological Investigation of TiO2 Nanoparticle based Cutting Fluid in Machining under Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL)

A colloidal mixture of metallic or non-metallic nano meter sized particles in a base fluid is called nanofluid (NF). In the present work, a nanofluid with superior thermal and tribological properties is developed by mixing TiO2 nanoparticles in vegetable oil-water emulsion in different concentrations. The developed nanofluid is characterized for its thermal conductivity and viscosity for various nanoparticle concentrations at different temperatures. Furthermore, its machining performance is examined in turning of AISI 1040 steel using minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) technique. The obtained results are also compared with that of dry machining and wet/MQL machining using conventional cutting fluid. The experimental study clearly reveals that performance of TiO2 nanofluid in terms of surface roughness, tool wear, cutting force and chip morphology is found to be better compared to dry machining, wet/MQL machining with conventional cutting fluid. (C) 2015Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.