Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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Comparison between sustainable cryogenic techniques and nano-MQL

cooling mode in turning of nickel-based alloy
Chetan a, *, S. Ghosh b, P.V. Rao b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, PEC (Deemed to be University), Sector 12, Chandigarh, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India

a r t i c l e i n f o
Mineral based metal working fluids used in machining, results in environmental pollution and occu-
Article history: pational health hazards for the operators. Consequently it is necessary to evolve out machining tech-
Received 23 October 2018 niques which are environment friendly. In the present work, techniques such as cryogenic cooling and
Received in revised form cryogenic treatment have been compared with Al2O3 nanoparticles based MQL cooling method (nMQL)
15 May 2019 in turning of the nickel based Nimonic 90 alloy. The machining of nickel based alloy has been carried out
Accepted 17 May 2019 using the AlTiN coated tungsten carbide inserts of different nose radii. The effects of these cutting en-
Available online 27 May 2019 vironments have been studied by comparing the tool wear, cutting forces, work surface defects, surface
finish, and chip underside surfaces. The application of liquid nitrogen as a cooling medium significantly
Keywords: reduced the tool flank wear of the 0.2 mm nose radius insert by 38% as compared to nMQL technique. The
Cryogenic cooling
SEM investigation of rake face revealed that the cryogenic cooling technique has also prevented the
Cryogenic treatment
groove formation and peeling of the coating. The effective cushioning effect of liquid nitrogen as coolant
MQL
Nickel-based alloy
improved the surface finish as compared to other techniques. The cryogenic cooling reduced the defects
Sustainable machining such as material side flow, material redeposition and micro cavities over the machined surface. Overall
the cryogenic cooling environment has been found to be the best mode for the machining of the Nimonic
90 alloy.
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
In recent years, the concept of sustainability in metal cutting
domain has become of a great interest for the researchers due to the
strict rules and regulations imposed by the governmental agencies
(Chetan et al., 2015). Sustainability deals with the production of
finished goods by reducing the amount of energy utilization, con-
taminations, emissions, health risks, and natural resources (Goindi
and Sarkar, 2017). According to Diaz et al. (2010) sustainability in
machining can be achieved by reducing the power consumption,
waste generation and environmental impacts. In machining, cut-
ting fluid is one such component which significantly affects the
sustainability of the overall process (Debnath et al., 2014).
Approximately 100 years ago, F W Taylor discovered that the
application of coolant can substantially enhance the productivity by
reducing the cutting temperature (Araújo Junior et al., 2017). At
present around 85% of cutting fluid used around the world are
mineral based metal cutting fluids (MWFs) (Chetan et al., 2015;
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: chetan.harry@gmail.com (Chetan).
Debnath et al., 2014). However, the use of MWFs during machining
is creating many socio-economic and environmental related issues
(Singh et al., 2019). The equipment required for the delivery of
cutting fluid consumes a lot of energy. Further, huge sum of money
is also required for the regular operation and maintenance of the
cutting fluid equipment. The post treatment of the cutting fluids for
the disposal purpose also requires a lot of investment. According to
previous researchers the cost related to the use of MWFs for diffi-
cult to machine materials can reach up to 17e30% of the overall
machining cost (Pusavec et al., 2010). Half of the cost associated
with the cutting fluids goes into disposal and chemical treatment.
The presence of microorganisms, biocides, and toxic metal particles
in the used MWFs can cause skin and respiration problems amongst
the workers (Goindi and Sarkar, 2017). Approximately around 80%
occupational skin diseases have been caused by conventional
MWFs throughout the world (Lawal et al., 2012). In addition to this,
the formaldehyde present within the mineral based cutting fluids
also increases the risk of skin cancer. The chemical additives such as
chlorine and sulfur in MWFs used for controlling the friction are
considered very dangerous for human health and eco-system.
These chemical additives make the machining process uneco-
nomic by increasing the disposal cost of MWFs by 7 times (Shokrani

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.196
0959-6526/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Chetan et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049
et al., 2012). Along with lung disease the aerosols of cutting fluids
can also cause stomach, pancreas, and esophagus cancer. Keeping
in view all the negative aspects, it is now becoming essential to
make the machining more sustainable by limiting the usage of
cutting fluid during the cutting process.
The most popular way to approach towards the unsustainable
fluid free cutting is the dry machining. This technique limits the
machining cost and environmental hazard caused by the metal
working fluids (Weinert et al., 2004). However, for the difficult to
machine materials such as nickel based alloys, machining under dry
mode is considered to be a very challenging task (Goindi and Sarkar,
2017).

High temperature produced during machining under dry mode
can reduce the strength of cutting insert by causing plastic
deformation (Ezilarasan et al., 2013).

High mechanical and thermal loading associated with dry
machining result in the surface defects such as grooves forma-
tion, metal debris deposition, micro fracture, and smearing of
material (Mishra et al., 2019; Sharman et al., 2004).

The absence of cutting fluids can also reduce tool life, generate
poor surface finish, and results in low production rate.

For the nickel based super alloys, the machining under dry mode
leads to built-up edge (BUE) and built-up layer (BUL) formation
over rake face (Devillez et al., 2007).
Therefore, it is necessary to explore the other emerging tech-
niques which can make the dry machining more efficient and
sustainable. Cryogenic treatment is one such emerging technique
which has been successfully implemented to improve the hardness,
wear resistance and strength of the cutting inserts by cooling them
below 0  C for several hours (Chetan et al., 2017). Recently, Ӧzbek
et al. (2014) applied the deep cryogenic treatment at 145  C
over the tungsten carbide inserts for the machining of AISI 316
stainless steel. The cryogenic processing improved the tool flank
wear by 29% at the cutting speed 100 m/min under dry condition.
At the same cutting speed, the improvement in notch wear was
found to be 69%. The precipitation of eta (h) particles and the
improvement in thermal conductivity were considered as the
reasons for the improved wear behaviour of the cutting insert after
cryogenic processing. In another work, Gill et al. (2011b) conducted
cryogenic treatment of coated carbide inserts at 110  C for 4 h. The
subzero treatment resulted in the prevention of notch formation,
chipping and plastic deformation of cutting thereby enhancing the
tool life by 25.53% during the dry machining of C65 hot rolled steel.
Likewise, the cryogenically treated tungsten carbide inserts
at 176  C was employed for the machining of AISI 1040 steel
(Reddy et al., 2009). As compared to untreated inserts the use of
cryogenically treated inserts under dry mode provided improved
results in terms of reduced surface finish (20%), lesser cutting force
(11%) and improved tool life (27%).
The other popular technique which can be employed to reduce
the usage of cutting fluid during machining is called as minimum
quantity lubrication (MQL) (Chetan et al., 2018). According to
Weinert et al. (2004) MQL can also be considered as the central
element in dry machining strategy. Due to the use of low fluid flow
rate, this technique is also known as near dry machining (NDM)
(Boswell et al., 2017). In order to impart sustainability during
machining process many researchers have used biodegradable
vegetable oils under MQL mode (Chetan et al., 2015). However, due
to low thermal conductivity and poor miscibility of vegetable oils,
researchers are now trying their hands on more advanced fluids for
MQL application such as Nanofluids (NFs) (Chetan et al., 2016).
Apart from high thermal conductivity, nanofluids also offer the
advantage of friction reduction through rolling mechanism (Sinha
1037
et al., 2017). Recently, Najiha et al. (2016) conducted machining of
aluminum AA6061-T6 alloy using different volume fractions of
nano TiO2 in de-ionized water. After machining it has been found
that the use of NFs successfully reduced the edge chipping and edge
fracture. In another work, the machining of AISI 1040 steel was
conducted using nano MoS2 dispersed in different vegetable oils
(Padmini et al., 2016). As compared to dry machining the nano
MoS2 enhanced coolant under MQL mode reduced the cutting force
and temperature by 37% and 21% respectively. The effect of nano-
fluids has also been explored in grinding process. The grinding of
Ti6Al4V was conducted using water based Al2O3 and CuO nano-
fluids under MQL mode (Setti et al., 2015). As compared to dry
mode, the use of Al2O3 nanofluids significantly reduced the
apparent coefficient of friction due to a tribo-film formation over
the titanium work piece.
Many researchers have also preferred the use of liquid nitrogen
(LN2) because it leaves no harmful residue after its usage during
machining (Reddy and Ghosh, 2016). LN2 also possesses an excel-
lent cooling capacity to improve the tool life during the machining
of difficult to machine materials (Shokrani et al., 2012). Due to the
reduction in abrasion and attrition mechanisms upon using the LN2
during machining of Ti alloy, the flank wear got significantly
reduced by 31% as compared to conventional flood machining
(Dhananchezian and Kumar, 2011). In another work on machining
of Ti alloy, the use of liquid nitrogen restricted the formation of BUE
over the rake face of the cutting insert (Bordin et al., 2015). Along
with this, the use of LN2 also prevented the formation of crater and
improved the surface integrity of the machined work piece as
compared to dry machining.
It is clear from the literature review that all the three techniques
have the potential to improve the effectiveness of machining
without using the unsustainable MWFs. These techniques can
successfully be used for the machining of difficult to machine
materials. Therefore, all the three techniques have been used for
the machining of nickel based Nimonic 90 alloy for a comparative
analysis. The effect of different cutting speeds and feed rates under
all the three conditions have also been studied during the turning
process. Many authors have also considered tool nose radius as an
important parameter which can significantly influence the cutting
forces and surface integrity during the machining (Chou and Song,
2004; Sharman et al., 2015). Therefore, the effect of variation in
cutting insert nose radius has also been investigated in this
research work.
2. Cutting conditions
Cryogenic treatment (CT): The cryogenic treatment was con-
ducted using the Primero Enserve make cryogenic processor
CP220LH. In this study, the carbide inserts were subjected to the
deep cryogenic treatment at 196  C for 12 h followed by the
tempering cycle of 2 h.
Nanofluid based MQL (nMQL): In this study, Al2O3 nano-
particles have been mixed in water with the help of magnetic
stirrer by providing a rotation of 1000 rpm. The volumetric con-
centration of 0.5% of Al2O3 in water has been selected. The prepared
nanofluid was employed at the cutting zone with the help of an
indigenous MQL system (flow rate of 125 ml/h and pressure of
4 bar).
Stability of nanofluid has been examined by measuring the zeta
potential. Zetasizer by Malvern Instruments Ltd, UK has been used
for quantifying the zeta potential of prepared nanofluid. This in-
strument works on the principle of dynamic light scattering (DLS).
Zeta potential for the prepared alumina nanofluid has been found
to be 22.8mv. Generally, nanofluids are considered to be stable if
their zeta potential is near ±30mv. The stability of nanoparticles in
1038 Chetan et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049

fluid has been further improved by addition of small amount of SDS speeds (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 m/min), five feed rates (0.04, 0.08,
surfactant in the prepared fluid. 0.12, 0.16, 0.2 mm/rev), five nose radii (0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.2 and 1.6 mm)
Thermal conductivity of nanofluid has also been measured using and constant depth of cut of 0.5 mm have used for the machining. A
KD2 Pro thermal conductivity analyzer (Decagon Devices Inc. USA). total number of 18 experiments for each environment have been
This apparatus works on the principle of transient hot wire tech- performed as per the central composite design (CCD) of response
nique. This device is consisting of a 60 mm long and 1.3 mm surface methodology. Every experiment has been repeated three
diameter probe, which incorporates a heating element and a times and the readings for each trial recorded separately.
thermo-resistor. The probe is connected to a microprocessor unit
for the measurement purpose. The thermal conductivity value of
3. Results and discussion
0.6 W/mK for alumina nanofluid has been found to be 10% greater
than the thermal conductivity of base fluid without nanoparticles.
3.1. Comparative analysis of cutting forces
The combined effect of Brownian motion, liquid layering and ag-
gregation of NPs are the major reasons for such increase in the
Minitab 17 software has been used to plot the main effect of
thermal conductivity of the nanofluids.
speed, feed and nose radius over the main cutting force in different
Cryogenic cooling (CC): Cryofab™ made Dewar has been used
cutting environments. The P-value obtained from the statistical
to store the liquid nitrogen to be supplied to the cutting zone. The
analysis for the feed rate was found to be  0.001 in all the cutting
flow of LN2 has been directed over the tool rake with the help of a
conditions. This shows the effectiveness of feed rate over other
nozzle.
machining parameters. From Fig. 2 it can be seen that the feed rate
The schematic and set ups for cryogenic cooling, MQL and
is the most effective parameter for the increase in the main cutting
cryogenic treatment techniques are given in Fig. 1.
force followed by the cutting speed and the nose radius. Fig. 3a
Cutting parameter: All the cutting experiments have been
shows the percentage contribution graph of different cutting pa-
carried out on the Leadwell T6 CNC turning center. Five cutting
rameters under different cutting environments for the main cutting

Fig. 1. Schematics and Set ups for Cryogenic cooling, MQL and Cryogenic treatment techniques.
 Chetan et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049 1039

Fig. 2. Main effect plot of different (a) nose radii, (b) cutting speeds, and (c) feed rates on main cutting force.

Fig. 3. Percentage contribution of various cutting parameters under different cutting environments for (a) main cutting force and (b) thrust force.

force obtained from the analysis of variance (ANOVA). From this
figure it can also be concluded that the contribution of feed in
increasing the main cutting force is very high as compared to speed
and nose radius. This is mainly because the increase in feed rate
increases the material removal rate during the machining. This
leads to an increase in thermo-mechanical fatigue due to the gen-
eration of high normal and shear stresses over the tool rake face
and hence results in higher cutting forces (Cantero et al., 2013). The
other possible reason for the increase in cutting force is the increase
in contact length with the feed rate. From the previous research
work on machining of Nimonic 90, it was found that the increase in
feed rate from 0.08 mm/rev to 0.16 mm/rev increased the overall
contact length by 30e60% (Chetan et al., 2017). This not only leads
to more BUE formation but also increases the coefficient of friction
over the tool rake face and hence increases the overall cutting force.
Further Fig. 3b shows percentage contribution of various pa-
rameters for the thrust force. It is clear from this graph that the nose
radius is the most dominant parameter followed by feed rate. The
contribution of cutting speed is negligible as compared to other
parameters. Due to the high contribution of nose radius the in-
crease in the thrust force is also significantly high as shown in
Fig. 4a.
From Fig. 4c it can be seen that the increase in feed from 0.04
mm/rev to 0.2 mm/rev resulted in minor increase in the thrust
force. The cutting speed has been found to be the least significant
which caused almost no change in the thrust force.
For the same depth of cut the increase in nose radius decreases
the cutting edge angle according to the following formula (Nath
et al., 2009).
 
rn  ap
Kr ¼ cos1
rn
where, Kr is the cutting edge angle rn is the nose radius, ap is the
depth of cut.
The decrease in cutting edge angle changes the direction of the
resultant force acting over the rake face in a clockwise direction as
suggested by Chen (2000). As a result of this, the thrust force

Fig. 4. Main effect plot of different (a) nose radii, (b) cutting speed, and (c) feed rates on thrust force.
1040 Chetan et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049

increases significantly with the increase in tool nose radius. On the

other hand, the increase in the cutting edge angle with a small nose
radius resulted in significantly less thrust force.
Apart from the cutting parameters, the cutting environments
have also influenced the mean cutting forces. The mean main
cutting force was found to be 278.4 N with cryogenically treated
inserts at 20 m/min of cutting speed. For the same cutting speed,
the use of alumina nanoparticles based nMQL and liquid nitrogen
under cryogenic cooling condition reduced the cutting force to
240.2 N and 269.5 N respectively. Similarly, at the higher cutting
speed of 80 m/min, the use of nMQL and LN2 reduced the cutting
force by 16.25% and 4.73% as compared to cutting with cryogeni-
cally treated inserts under dry mode. It has been discussed by Setti
et al. (2014), that the use of Al2O3 nanofluid results in the formation
of a tribofilm. The tribofilm might have reduced the friction be-
tween the tool rake face and chip and hence resulted in significant
reduction in cutting force.

3.2. Tool wear on flank face

Tool wear on flank face obtained for all the cutting environ-

Fig. 5. Variation of tool wear with (a) nose radii, (b) cutting speeds, and (c) feed rates.
ments will be discussed in this section. Optical microscopy and SEM
analysis have been carried out to measure the tool wear in microns.
Fig. 5a shows the overall effect of different nose radii over the
flank wear after the machining under different cutting environ-
ments. It can be seen from this figure that the use of 0.2 mm nose
radius insert yielded the highest amount of flank wear for all the
cutting conditions. The increase in nose radius from 0.2 mm to
1.6 mm has significantly reduced the tool wear. Recently, Zhao et al.
(2017) have also discussed the effect of cutting edge radius during
the machining of AISI 52100 steel. They have also observed that the
higher edge radius insert helped in reduction of flank wear as
compared to lower edge radius insert.
The variation in tool wear with nose radii at 60 m/min of cutting
speed, and 0.12 mm/rev of feed can also be depicted from the SEM
micrographs as shown in Fig. 6. It is clear from the micrographs that
as compared to large nose radius insert, the use of small nose radius
insert provided the highest amount of tool wear. In this context, the
use of 0.2 mm cryogenically processed insert yielded the flank wear
of 180 mm. The use of alumina nanofluids under MQL mode pro-
vided marginal advantage over cryogenically treated insert in terms
of tool flank wear. The flank wear with nMQL condition has been
found to be 176 mm. The highest decrease in the flank wear while
using 0.2 mm nose radius insert has been observed with cryogenic
cooling condition. The use of LN2 has reduced the flank wear by
approximately 38% as compared to nMQL and treated insert
condition.
The use of 1.6 mm nose radius cryogenically treated insert under
similar parametric conditions, reduced the flank wear approxi-
mately by 50% as compared to 0.2 mm nose radius. A similar type of
reduction in flank wear was also observed for cryogenic cooling and
nMQL conditions with 1.6 mm insert in comparison to 0.2 mm
insert. As compared to the small nose radius insert, the stress
concentration was less in case of large nose radius insert due to an
increase in the shear area (Xiao et al., 2003). It is due to this reason
that the large tool nose radius was able to prevent the plastic
deformation of the tool during the cutting. However, the high
concentration of stress in small nose radius insert resulted in early
tool wear due to fracture especially with cryogenically processed
inserts and nMQL condition.
The same type of phenomenon has been also observed in terms
of tool wear when two different nose radii inserts have been
employed for machining at 80 m/min of cutting speed, and 0.16
mm/rev of feed under different cutting environments as shown in
Fig. 7. Here, the dry cutting environment for the cryogenically
 Chetan et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049 1041

Fig. 6. SEM micrographs of inserts showing variation in tool wear with nose radii at 60 m/min and 0.12 mm/rev under different cutting environments.

Fig. 7. SEM micrographs of inserts showing variation in tool wear with nose radii at 80 m/min and 0.16 mm/rev under different cutting environments.

treated inserts provided excessively high tool flank wear as
compared to cryogenic cooling and nMQL conditions with 0.4 mm
nose radius. The main mechanism of tool wear under all the cutting
environments has been the notch formation over the flank face. The
excessive strain rate (>106 s1) caused by the combination of high
speed (80 m/min) and high feed (0.16 mm/rev) for the machining of
nickel-based Nimonic 90 alloy generated excessive flow stresses
over the cutting inserts (Srinivasa and Prasad, 1995). Due to the
high sharpness of the low nose radius inserts, it was easier for the
high concentrated flow stresses to cause the plastic deformation of
0.4 mm nose radius cutting inserts through notch formation.
Here also the use of 1.2 mm nose radius insert significantly
suppressed the tool flank wear in comparison to low nose radius
insert for the same speed and feed condition. The large nose radius
provided the necessary strength to the cutting insert to withstand
the flow stresses thereby causing the low tool wear.
Apart from low tool nose radius, the use of high cutting speed
has significantly increased the flank wear for nMQL and
1042 Chetan et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049
cryogenically processed insert. The SEM micrographs at high speed
of 100 m/min are provided in Fig. 8. It can be seen from the mi-
crographs that the high-speed condition has resulted in excessive
wear for the cryogenically treated insert. The cryogenic treatment
is known for imparting higher hardness, toughness, wear resistance
of the cutting inserts (Gill et al., 2011a; SreeramaReddy et al., 2009).
Despite this, the cryogenically treated insert was unable to with-
stand the higher temperature and stresses generated during the
high speed machining of Nimonic 90.
The use of alumina-based nanoparticles under nMQL condition
was also unable to protect the cutting insert from catastrophic flank
wear and BUE formation. The machining at high cutting speed has
resulted in the adhesion of chip material in the form of BUE.
Actually, at high cutting speed, the temperature at the cutting zone
become very high. The fluid reaching in the form of mist evaporates
quickly at such a high temperature and form a vapor layer between
the chip and the tool rake surface. This phenomenon of vapor layer
formation is known as Leidenfrost effect. The formation of such
layer reduces the heat transfer rate at the cutting zone which
further results in excessive tool wear and adhesion over the cutting
insert (Behera et al., 2017a).
Unlike the other two techniques, the use of cryogenic cooling
significantly reduced the tool flank wear at 100 m/min of cutting
speed. The low tool wear in cryogenic cooling is due to the high
value of the coefficient of heat transfer (CHT). In an experimental
work conducted by Dreister (2003), the CHT for cryogenic LN2 was
found to be 1700e6500 W/m2K. Due to high CHT, the LN2 has a
higher capacity of heat evacuation from the cutting zone as
compared to other cutting fluids. This might have played an
important role in significantly reducing the tool flank wear during
cryogenic machining of Nimonic 90. However, as per Jiang et al.
(2016) the CHT for MQL and dry machining was found to be
678 W/m2K and 122 W/m2K respectively. The lower value of CHT in
both cases as compared to cryogenic cooling has resulted in
extremely high tool wear at high cutting speed.
3.3. Effect of cutting environments on rake surface
Effect of the cutting environments on the rake face during
machining has been discussed in this section. Fig. 9 shows the SEM
micrographs of different zones of rake face at the lower cutting
speed of 20 m/min. Due to the low cutting speed, the continuous
flow of chip over rake face was not able to do any severe damage to
the rake face in all three cutting environments. At lower magnifi-
cation, only some chip debris has been observed over the rake face
of cutting insert used under nMQL mode. Similarly, at lower
magnification, only the adhesion near the cutting edge has been
observed for the cryogenically treated inserts.
The close investigation of rake face at sliding and sticking zone
has been carried out by increasing the magnification of SEM
Fig. 8. SEM micrographs of inserts showing variation in tool wear at 100 m/min and 0.12 mm/rev under different cutting environments.
micrographs. The sliding zone surface of the cryogenic cooling
condition has been found to be smooth as compared to other
conditions. However, the continuous sliding of chip peeled off the
coating from the rake face for the cryogenic cooling condition. For
the same machining parameters, the application of nMQL resulted
in the formation of grooves on the sliding zone. In the previous
research work, it has been explained that the grooves formation
over the rake face is the cause of abrasive action caused by the
alumina nanoparticles during nMQL condition (Chetan et al., 2016).
Unlike cryogenic cooling and nMQL conditions, the absence of
lubrication for the cryogenically treated insert has resulted in
coating damage at the end of the sliding zone and resulted in severe
abrasion groove formation.
Further, negligible chipping of the cutting edge of the insert in
sticking zone has been found under cryogenic cooling condition.
The formation of the gaseous cushion by LN2 at the sticking zone as
suggested by Hong et al. (2001) could be the possible reason for
such damaged free cutting edge. It is due to the same reason that
the LN2 prevented the adhesion of the chip fragments over the
sticking zone as compared to the other conditions.
The effect of machining Nimonic 90 on the rake face has also
been realized at the high cutting speed of 80 m/min as shown in
Fig. 10. It can be seen from the images of the sliding zone that the
absence of cutting fluid during the machining with the cryogeni-
cally treated inserts resulted in excessive coating damage and
grooves formation over the rake face. Undoubtedly, the high fric-
tion experienced by the rake face under dry mode might be the
reason for high rake face wear. At the same cutting speed, the use of
nMQL has been not able to stop the coating peeling in the sliding
zone over rake face. The intense heat produced at 80 m/min for the
machining of nickel-based alloy evaporated the MQL fluid quickly,
thereby not allowing the nanoparticles to perform the rolling ac-
tion in the cutting zone. This possibly has increased the rubbing at
the cutting zone which further resulted in the coating peeling off.
At the sticking zone, the severe loading condition resulted in
excessive chipping of the cutting edge of the cryogenically treated
insert. The length of the cutting zone has been found to be
174.08 mm for this condition. Similarly, the cutting at high speed has
resulted in the deformation of the cutting edge in the sticking zone
for the nMQL condition. The length of the sticking zone for the
nMQL condition has also been found to be relatively high. Unlike
dry (cryogenically treated inserts) and nMQL conditions, the
application of LN2 has prevented chipping and deformation of the
cutting edge of the sticking zone. The excellent cooling capacity of
cryogenic coolant has reduced the sticking zone length by
approximately 60% as compared to the other cutting environments.
Elemental analysis (EDX) at the sticking and sliding zones of the
cutting inserts used for machining at 80 m/min has been carried
out and the results obtained are as shown in Fig. 11.
The weight percentage of different elements found in the sliding
 Chetan et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049 1043

Fig. 9. SEM micrographs of inserts showing variation in tool wear at 20 m/min and 0.12 mm/rev under different cutting environments.

Fig. 10. SEM micrographs of inserts showing variation in tool wear at 80 m/min and 0.08 mm/rev under different cutting environments.
1044 Chetan et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049

Fig. 11. Elemental analysis of sticking and sliding zones of cutting insert used for cutting at 80 m/min.

and sticking zones after the EDX analysis is given in Fig. 12. Through
the elemental analysis, it has been found that the percentage of W
(39.88%) at the sliding zone under nMQL mode has been found to
considerably high as compared to the other two conditions. The
higher percentage of tungsten is the result of the peeling of coating
in case of nMQL mode as discussed earlier.
In case of cryogenically treated inserts, significant amount of Ni
(39.2%), Cr (14.73%) and Co (14.36%) have been detected in the
sliding zone. This possibly have occurred due to the high temper-
ature experienced by the treated insert under dry machining. The
high temperature possibly has resulted in the built-up layer for-
mation over the rake surface thereby, increasing the percentage of
work piece elements over the sliding zone (Go
mez-Parra et al.,
2013). Surprisingly, the continuous flow of chip also resulted in
the increase of work piece elements (Ni, Cr and Co) over the sliding
zone under cryogenic condition. High chemical affinity of work
piece elements could be responsible for their presence in the
sliding zone. This can also be confirmed by the line scan elemental
analysis of tool rake face as shown in Fig. 13. The increase in the
percentage of Ni, Cr and Co which are possibly obtained from the
work piece at the sliding zone under all the cutting environments
indicates about the strong affinity of these elements with the tool
material.
The elemental analysis has also been performed at the sticking
zone for all the conditions. The presence of high amount of tung-
sten in case of cryogenically treated insert indicates the loss of the
coating due to the chipping as shown earlier in the SEM micro-
graphs. Whereas, the alumina based nanofluid resulted in an

Fig. 12. Weight percentage of different elements in sliding and sticking zones over the rake face.
 Chetan et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049 1045

Fig. 13. Line scan elemental analysis of sliding and sticking zones under different conditions at 80 m/min.

increase in weight percentage of Al (13.23%) in case of nMQL as
compared to the other conditions.
3.4. Surface finish
The variations in surface roughness (Ra) with varying nose
radius, cutting speed and feed rate are shown in Fig. 14. It is clear
from Fig. 14a that the increase in nose radius from 0.2 mm to
1.6 mm during the machining resulted in the reduction of surface
roughness value for all the cutting environments. The use of
0.2 mm, nose radius tool has yielded the high surface roughness
value of 1.24 mm, 1.03 mm, and 0.62 mm with cryogenically treated
inserts, cryogenic cooling, and, nMQL respectively. Whereas, the
use of 1.6 mm radius inserts reduced the surface roughness to
0.25 mm, 0.52 mm, and 0.26 mm with cryogenically treated inserts,
cryogenic cooling, and nMQL environments respectively. Dilbag
and Rao (2008) also reported same behaviour regarding the vari-
ation of surface roughness with nose radius of cutting inserts
during the machining of AISI52100 steel. According to a mathe-
matical relation, the surface roughness obtained during machining
is inversely proportional to the nose radius of cutting insert
(Boothroyd, 1988). Therefore, according to this relation the use of
large nose radius has resulted in a reduction of surface roughness
with all the cutting environments. It has also been seen in the
previous section on tool wear, that the use of large nose radius
during turning of Nimonic 90 resulted in less tool wear as

Fig. 14. Variation of surface roughness with (a) nose radii, (b) cutting speeds, and (c) feed rates.
1046 Chetan et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049

compared to small nose radius insert. Since, the increase in tool increased tool wear together with the abrasion causing tendency of
wear also increases the surface roughness of the work surface, the alumina NPs possibly have increased the Ra value (Chetan et al.,
therefore, the low tool wear exhibited by large tool nose radius 2016). On the other hand, the effective lubrication and cushioning
insert further improved the surface finish under all the cutting effect of LN2 at the cutting zone have resulted in substantial
environments. reduction in surface roughness.
Fig. 14b shows the variation of surface roughness with cutting
speed. Generally, it is assumed that the surface roughness de-
3.5. Work surface defects
creases with the increase in cutting speed. However, during the
machining of Nimonic 90, the increase in cutting speed has led to
The high mechanical and thermal loads during the machining of
increase in the surface roughness for all the cutting environments.
nickel-based alloy can result in the formation of certain undesirable
For example, the machining at 20 m/min has provided the mean
features over the machined surface which are known as surface
surface roughness value of 0.27 mm, 0.35 mm, and 0.42 mm for
defects (Thakur and Gangopadhyay, 2016). The effect of cutting
cryogenic cooling, cryogenically treated insert and nMQL condi-
environments and cutting insert nose radius on the machined
tions respectively. Increase of the cutting speed to 100 m/min has
surfaces during machining at 60 m/min of cutting speed has been
increased the Ra value to 0.76 mm, 0.98 mm, and 0.56 mm under
studied with the help of SEM micrographs as shown in Fig. 15. For
cryogenic cooling, cryogenically treated and nMQL conditions
the lower nose radius of 0.2 mm the material side flow and feed
respectively. The cutting edge fracture and high flank wear under
marks are the common surface defects detected for all the cutting
dry mode have significantly increased the Ra when cryogenically
environments. The material side flow is also termed as folded laps
treated insert has bee used for the machining at such high speed.
(Thakur and Gangopadhyay, 2016). The early damage of tool cutting
The increase in feed rate has also increased the surface rough-
edge for the lower nose radius insert due to less strength could be
ness during machining of Nimonic 90 alloy as shown in Fig. 14c. As
the possible reason for such surface anomalies. Surprisingly, the use
compared to 0.04 mm/rev the increase of feed to 0.2 mm/rev has
of cryogenic coolant has also been not able to stop the formation of
significantly increased the surface roughness for all the cutting
such folded laps during machining with 0.2 mm radius insert. The
conditions. The maximum increase in the surface roughness value
early breakage of tool cutting edge has not allowed the proper
has been observed for the nMQL condition. The combination of
lubrication film formation at the cutting zone. This could be

Fig. 15. SEM micrographs of machined surface after machining at 60 m/min and 0.12 mm/rev under different cutting environments.
 Chetan et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049
considered as the possible reason for such defects in LN2 condition.
For the same cutting speed the use of 0.8 mm nose radius insert
significantly reduced the surface defects for the cryogenic cooling
and nMQL conditions. For the cryogenic condition, only small
debris has been observed over the machined surface. The
machining with alumina nanofluid under MQL mode resulted in
feed marks and micro particles deposition over the machined
surface. The micro particles deposition over the surface is the result
of adhesion of chip fragments from the chip over the machined
surface. The same cutting condition resulted in excessive material
redeposition over the machined surface for the cryogenically
treated inserts. Recently, Behera et al. (2017a) suggested that the
high temperature generated during dry machining of nickel-based
alloy is the reason for the material redeposition. Since the
machining of Nimonic 90 with cryogenically treated inserts has
been carried out under dry cutting environment, therefore, the high
temperature generated may be considered as the primary reason
for such adherence of material over the machined surface.
For the machining with 1.6 mm nose radius insert at 60 m/min
of cutting, the machined surface was found to be free from surface
anomalies as seen with lower tool nose radius insert. The
machining under cryogenic coolant resulted in a very smooth
Fig. 16. 3D topographic images of machined surface after machining at 60 m/min under different cutting environments.
1047
surface with this high nose radius insert. On the other hand,
excessive micro cavities have been observed when Nimonic 90 was
machined with cryo processed insert. The lack of effective lubri-
cation during machining of treated inserts may have resulted in the
tearing of machined surface in the form of micro cavities. The micro
cavities have also been seen in the nMQL condition during
machining. However, the tribofilm formation by the Al2O3 might
have resulted in reduction of the number of micro cavities as
compared to machining with cryogenically treated insert.
For further analysis of the machined surfaces, the 3D topo-
graphic images have been taken with the help of stereozoom mi-
croscope as shown in Fig. 16. The analysis of the images has been
carried out with the help of Confomap software. From the topo-
graphic analysis, it can be seen that the surface machined with
cryogenically treated insert appear to be very rough and irregular. It
consists of several surface defects such as deep grooves, material
redeposition, and, thick feed marks.
The deep grooves on the surface are caused by the dragging of
deposited material over the machined surface during the course of
machining. The presence of significant amount of redeposited
material of approximately 1 mm height in Fig. 16a also supports the
deep groove formation under dry condition. The high friction due
1048 Chetan et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 231 (2019) 1036e1049
Fig. 17. Chip underside surface after machining at 80 m/min under different cutting environments.
to the absence of lubrication in this condition also resulted in thick
feed marks formation over the machined surface. On the other
hand, the use of nMQL and cryogenic cooling condition resulted in
very smooth surface free from surface irregularities. The reduction
in tool wear and thermal distortion in the cryogenic cooling con-
dition could be the possible reason for the smooth feed marks over
the machined surface (Behera et al., 2017a). For the nMQL condi-
tion, the friction reduction due to the rolling action of Al2O3
nanoparticles possibly has resulted in the formation of such thin
feed marks (Behera et al., 2017b).
3.6. Chip underside surface analysis
The analysis of chip underside surface has been carried out at
80 m/min of cutting speed for the environments as shown in Fig. 17.
Compared to cryogenic cooling condition, excessive chip side flow
has been observed for the nMQL and cryogenically treated con-
dtion. The inability of nanofluid to penetrate at this high speed
machining condition probably the cause of chip side flow in case of
nMQL condition. For the machining with treated inserts under dry
condition, the excessive rise in machining zone temperature at
80 m/min may have been the reason for the plastic side flow of the
chip at the edge. The generation of high stresses during high speed
machining of nickel-based alloy also resulted in the crack formation
within the chips under nMQL and cryogenically treated condition.
Further, adhesion of micro particle has also been observed when
the Nimonic is machined with treated inserts under dry mode.
Dragging of micro particles over the machined surface during the
machining may be the possible reason for the deep groove for-
mation over the surface as shown in previous section. The rolling of
these particles between the chip and the rake face increases the
frictional work at the cutting zone which in turn increases the rake
face wear, cutting temperature, surface defects and cutting forces
during the machining. Several small chip fragments have also been
observed attached to the underside surface of chip produced in
nMQL condition. The adhesion of these fragments has resulted in
the formation of very fine friction tracks. The chip underside sur-
face for the cryogenic cooling condition has been found to be
relatively smooth as compared to the other two conditions.
3.7. Conclusions
Upon conducting the machining of Nimonic 90 under different
cutting environments the following conclusion can be drawn:

Feed rate has been found to be the most effective parameter in
increasing the main cutting force.

For the high cutting speed of 80 m/min, the use of alumina
nanofluids under MQL mode reduced the main cutting force by
16%.

The use of high tool nose radius significantly reduced the wear
over the flank face for all the cutting environments.

The high cooling capacity of liquid nitrogen prevented the
fracture and notch formation at the high cutting speed of 100 m/
min.

The use of cryogenic coolant significantly improved the cutting
edge condition by reducing the length of sticking zone during
the machining.

The use of 0.2 mm nose radius insert produced many surface
defects even with cryogenic cooling condition.

The reduction in the friction at the cutting zone by cryogenic
coolant resulted in the formation of smooth chip underside
surface.
It has been found that the performance of large nose radius
inserts is better as compared to the small nose radius inserts.
Further, the cryogenic cooling environment has been found to be
the best environment followed by nMQL during the machining of
Nimonic 90. The cryogenically treated inserts (Dry condition) under
performed in terms of tool wear especially at high cutting speed
conditions.
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