Experimental Investigation of Oil Mist Assisted Cooling on Orthogonal Cutting of Ti6Al4V

Abstract In this study, a thermo-mechanical model of machining of Ti6Al4V using different oil-mist combination is developed to predict the tool and workpiece temperature at different cutting speed. Machining of chemically reactive materials like Ti6Al4V causes high localization of heat, which contribute to the high tool wear or even premature failure of the tool. The thermal gradient effect is dominating in machining under dry conditions because of its low thermal conductivity. This induces thermal stresses and microstructural changes in the workpiece, thus damaging the workpiece surface integrity. The objective of present work is to understand the effect of different oil mist cooling mixtures at the tool-chip interface and to evaluate the tool and workpiece temperature. Experiments were performed using various mist conditions for different cutting parameters and its effect on the temperature has been studied. Temperature measurement was carried out using a thermal imaging camera. A 2-D finite element thermo-mechanical model is developed using ABAQUSTM to predict the tool and workpiece temperature. Provision of mist cooling has shown a large reduction in the tool and workpiece temperature. It was observed that at low cutting speeds, lubrication characteristics of mist is predominant while at higher cutting speed lubrication suffers.