Lubrication Performance of Castor Oil Blended with Other Vegetable Oils in Grinding of Inconel 625

Abstract

The present work is aimed to investigate the effect of mixed vegetable oils in surface quality during surface grinding of Inconel 625 by vitrified bonded alumina grinding wheel. Three different blends of vegetable oils were considered for the study in which castor oil was base oil and blending oils were soya bean oil, corn oil and rice bran oil. Castor oil has good lubricating properties but its high viscous and poor rheological properties make it directly unviable for lubrication applications. In this study, the rheological properties of the castor oil were modified to cater to the specified needs for grinding of Inconel 625 by mixing it with some other vegetable oils. The blends were prepared in 1:1 proportion. Experiments were conducted using the blends of vegetable oils in grinding of Inconel 625 under identical work conditions. The finished work piece was measured for its surface quality with respect to its average surface roughness, surface morphology and temperature generated on the work piece. The castor oil and soybean blend produced the lowest surface roughness, Ra = 0.0738 µm & Rz = 0.4299µm, with near absence of deep grooving and smearing of chip material on the surface, in comparison with other blends due to enhanced rheological properties.