Performance and Life Cycle Analysis of Soybean Oil-Based Minimum Quantity Lubrication in Machining of Ti6Al4V

Abstract

Titanium alloys are used in various applications due to their properties. However, these alloys are difficult to machine. Several techniques have been proposed in the literature to deal with the problem. This paper presents a study on the performance and life cycle analysis of the dry machining, flood lubrication and minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) of titanium alloy, Ti6Al4V. Machining was carried out at different speeds 30, 55 and 80 m/min. Soybean-based fluid was used in both flood lubrication and MQL. Cutting forces, tool wear and surface roughness were measured in all three cases. MQL was found to have better performance with longer tool life by almost two times, cutting forces by about 18% and surface roughness by about 10% compared to dry machining. Flood lubrication results were intermediate between the two. However, flood lubrication had the highest carbon footprint followed by dry machining and MQL.