Nanofluids: Properties, Applications and Sustainability Aspects in Materials

Processing Technologies

P. Krajnik1,2, F. Pusavec2, A. Rashid1

1
Department of Production Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
2
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Abstract
Nanofluids could be used to provide cooling and lubrication action and to control thermo-physical and tribo-
chemical properties of material processing. It is foreseen that properly designed nanofluids could surpass
conventional cutting fluids with respect to thermal conductivity, convective heat transfer coefficient, critical heat
flux, viscosity, and wettability. These properties have a promising potential to lead to the development of new
coolants and lubricants with applications in a wide variety of materials processing technologies. This paper
analyses the developments in research on the properties of nanofluids and evaluates their potential for
applications in machining, focusing on their thermal and tribological aspects. The increasing use of nanofluids
leads to a need for information on their sustainability in order to recognize and avoid risks. Sustainability is
discussed in view of occupational health and safety and toxicity of nanoparticles.
Keywords:
Machining; Cooling; Lubrication; Fluid; Nanotechnology

1 INTRODUCTION
Technological developments in material processing
technologies are driven by demands of sustainable
manufacturing and higher performances. Changing factors in
the manufacturing environment and recent developments in
nanotechnology opened a new area for activating
technological potential of nanofluids. Tool life, surface
integrity, heat evolution (generation and removal), energy
consumption etc. are critical concerns in all metal cutting and
forming operations. The thermo-physical and tribo-chemical
properties of nanofluids can be exploited for effective and
efficient control of the above mentioned concerns and
improve the sustainability of these operations.
This paper is meant to address some uncertainties in so far
the integration of nanofluids into materials processing
technologies is concerned and to provide guidelines for future
development in this area. More specifically, we are advancing
a new idea how to integrate nanofluids into cutting processes
that could modify and tailor contact interfaces (i.e. tool-chip
and tool workpiece), which can ultimately lead to an
enhancement in the: quality of machined surface (e.g. surface
integrity, microstructure); reliability of machined components
(e.g. durability); tool life; sustainability of machining (e.g.
higher fraction of energy spend on useful work, substitution of
conventional flood cooling lubrication). We are expecting that
these enhancements will be achieved sequentially by:
x Customizing the design of nanofluids to exploit their
superior thermo-physical and tribo-chemical properties
and scaling-up their fabrication.
x Integration of the nanofluids and machining processes via
adapted fluid supply systems.
x Demonstrating the impact of these developments in the
machining operations.
In machining processes nearly all the energy spent in the
material processing is converted into heat, resulting in high
cutting temperatures. Moreover, only 30-50% of the energy is
spent for useful work (material removal). The rest of the
energy is wasted at the tool-chip and tool-workpiece
interfaces [1]. High cutting temperatures, resulting from
plastic deformation, chip formation and friction, have
detrimental effects on tool wear, surface integrity and
machining accuracy [2]. Therefore, the use of cutting fluids is
typically required to remove heat from the cutting zone
(cooling) and to reduce heat generation by reducing friction
(lubrication). Conventional flood cooling lubrication uses large
amounts of cutting fluids (usually mineral oil based). These
fluids are very often enhanced with anti-wear, anti-corrosion
or emulsifying agents [3]. With transitioning to sustainable
manufacturing, metalworking industries are systematically
looking to reduce costs of procurement, maintaining, and
disposing of coolants. These costs, combined with
operational health and safety (OHS), and environmental
concerns, created a heightened interest in limiting the amount
of cooling lubricants applied and in finding alternative
solutions (e.g. minimum quantity lubrication).
The conventional way to enhance cooling (heat transfer) is to
increase the heat transfer surface area (high volume) and the
cutting fluid velocity (high pressure). However, this approach
is unsustainable due to high power consumption of the
pumps and large volume of coolant required. Considering that
the velocity of the cutting fluid affects its cooling ability almost
as much as its thermal conductivity [1], it is likely that
nanofluids with enhanced heat transfer could meet the
cooling challenge at lower cutting fluid velocities. A number of
reported experiments show that the dispersal of nanoparticles
into a base fluid provides extremely desirable thermal
properties, such as higher thermal conductivity and
convection heat transfer coefficient. Average heat transfer
enhancement for nanofluids is shown to be in the range of
15-40% [4].
Available tribological studies further suggest that the use of
nanoparticles in base fluids can enhance properties, such as

G. Seliger et al. (eds.), Advances in Sustainable Manufacturing: Proceedings of the 8th Global Conference 107
on Sustainable Manufacturing, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-20183-7_16, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011
108 P. Krajnik, F. Pusavec and A. Rashid

load-carrying capacity, antiwear and reduced friction between addition of suitable surface active agents (surfactants). A
moving surfaces [5]. For example, IrO2 and ZrO2 variety of surfactants (several types and at a wide range of
nanoparticles remarkably decrease friction on the surface of concentration) can be used to meet the requirements of
100C6 steel [6]. Taking these findings into consideration, one nanofluid’s design objectives. Generally, the properties of
can expect that the application of nanofluids could result in nanofluids are determined as a result of the selection of the
the reduction of friction related tool wear and reduction of nanoparticle-surfactant-base fluid system.
cutting forces (e.g. lower friction at the tool-chip interface).
Cooling and lubrication actions are complex and interrelated
to a different extent, depending on the machining operation;
therefore it is hard to evaluate their effects separately. In this Additives
paper the two mechanisms are not discusses in detail, simply
because the quantitative data correlating the properties of
nanofluids with machining outputs in different operations are
Base fluids Nanoparticles
not yet available.
The rapid growth of nanotechnology is exceeding our
knowledge of the OHS in terms of risks associated with using Scale
nanomaterials. Minimal information is available on exposure
routes, potential exposure levels and toxicity. In order to
responsibly apply nanofluids to machining operations it is Figure 1: Design of a nanofluid system.
necessary to integrate OHS aspects in the technological
development and to take into account risks so that negative
impact on sustainability is minimized. It should be noted that The nanoparticles (1-100 nm in size) can be made of different
there is insufficient data available at present to allow for the materials with varying degree of sophistications.
identification of any systematic rules that govern the Nanoparticles can be of single composition with different
toxicological characteristics of all nanoparticles that have morphology (spherical, rod, disks, whiskers, etc). They can
potential applicability in nanofluids. It follows therefore, that also be synthesized as more complex structures with
risk assessment will be needed on a case by case basis. hierarchical architectures such as core-shell structure with
Engineered nanomaterials comprising both metallic and single or multi-layers. A typical nanoparticle is composed of
nonmetallic nanoparticles are quite new and their synthesis the core (ceramic or metallic) and a thin shell, which is often
and usage occurs mainly on laboratory scale. Consequently, molecular. The core and the shell have various structures and
information on risk of exposure to these nanoparticles is may be composed of more than one entity [10]. Molecular
limited [7,8]. From the environmental perspective, risk shell has three distinct regions, as schematically shown in
concerns imply the necessity for life cycle evaluation. The Figure 2. Most nanofluids contain less than 1% by volume of
discussion on sustainability in this paper does not include the nanoparticles.
assessment of environmental risk related to disposal of
nanofluids.
2 NANOFLUIDS
2.1 Design and synthesis
Nanofluids are defined as suspensions of nanoparticles in
base fluids [9]. In the context of this work, however,
nanofluids refer to a cooling-lubrication system, regarded as a
new class of nano-engineered product, consisting of:
x Nanoparticles: metallic (e.g. Cu, Fe, Au, Ag or Al);
nonmetallic (e.g. Al2O3, CuO, ZnO, TiO2, Fe2O3, WS2 or
MoS2); carbon in various forms (e.g. nanotubes, fullerene,
graphene).
x Base fluids: water-based (e.g. synthetic cutting fluids);
vegetable oils (e.g. coconut, rapeseed or canola); organic
liquids (e.g. butanol, ethylene glycol); polymeric solutions.
x Additives: surfactants (e.g. cetrimonium bromide, Figure 2: Schematic of a nanoparticle [10].
lecithin); antiwear additives (e.g. phosphorus
compounds); corrosion inhibitors (e.g. borate esters, Nanofluids are fabricated by one- or two-step process. The
amine carboxylate derivatives); disinfectants; fungicides. two-step process first synthesizes nanoparticles and then
x Scale (volume size-effects). disperses them into base fluids, using for example ultrasonic
These four design parameters, shown in Figure 1, are devices. This process inherently suffers from particle-
selected by the nanofluids’ manufacturers to achieve the agglomeration (sticking together). One way to overcome this
desired thermo-physical and tribo-chemical properties. is by conditioning nanoparticles through the modification of
Several base fluids can be used as dispersing media for the their surfaces either by electrostatic interaction or the addition
fabrication of nanofluids. Although the nanoparticles with their of suitable surfactants to create a nanofluid where the
characteristic Brownian motion tend to be suspended in the particles do not agglomerate. In comparison with the two-step
solution, the stability of the suspension is enhanced by the process, the one-step process directly synthesizes and
disperses nanoparticles into base fluids, which is cheaper
 Nanofluids: Properties, Applications and Sustainability Aspects in Materials Processing Technologies 109
and faster. The one-step process uses several approaches in
order to produce uniform particles with a narrow particle size
distribution with minimum agglomeration in a base fluid [10].
So far, nanofluids are produced successfully in laboratories
only. The challenge is to develop processes for industrial-
scale fabrication of the nanofluids. One of the biggest
problems refers to the scale of fabrication. As the volume
increases, the way the constituents of a nanofluid mix and
react changes drastically. This scaling issue is addressed in a
design of a nanofluid system.
2.2 Properties of nanofluids
The property that created the most interest in nanofluids is its
thermal conductivity; the property that indicates the ability of a
nanofluid to conduct heat. The early experimental
investigations showed that nanofluids, containing a small
amount of oxide nanoparticles, have substantially higher
thermal conductivities than the same base fluids without
dispersed nanoparticles [11].
For the nanofluids containing the same nanoparticles, the
enhanced thermal conductivity ratio is reduced with the
increasing thermal conductivity of the base fluid (k0). On the
other hand, the thermal conductivity enhancements of
nanofluids using the same base fluid are highly dependent on
properties of dispersed nanoparticles; for example, effective
conductivity of nanofluids highly depends on the conductivity
of the nanoparticles themselves [12]. As shown in Table 1,
generally the solids have much higher thermal conductivity
than liquids.
Table 1: Thermal conductivity of solids and liquids
Material Thermal conductivity (W/mK)
Carbon nanotubes 3000
Aluminium oxide 40
Water 0.60
Vegetable oils 0.18
The effect of particle volume concentration on nanofluid
thermal conductivity enhancement is straightforward. Thermal
conductivity enhancement increases linearly with increased
particle volume concentration [13], as shown in Figure 3.
Nanofluids containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in oil show
the largest enhancement in thermal conductivity.
Other distinctive features, such as strong size-dependent
[14], temperature-dependent [15], and particle shape-
dependent [16] thermal conductivity were discovered during
the thermal conductivity measurement of nanofluids. Since
direct cooling action of the fluid is due to forced convection, it
is essential to outline the importance of increased heat
transfer coefficient of nanofluids. The reported experimental
convective studies of nanofluids indicate a drastic increase in
the convection heat transfer coefficient [11].
Next to thermal conductivity enhancement, any simultaneous
rise in viscosity has to be considered. Nanofluid viscosity
increases (fluidity is reduced) with nanoparticle volume
concentrations, which affects fluid dynamics and causes
pressure drop, which is important from the fluid application
point of view. In laminar flow of nanofluids the rate of heat
removal is a direct function of viscosity [17]. In case oxide
nanoparticles are used, volume concentrations are normally
below 5% in order to maintain moderate viscosity [10].
1.50
Thermal conductivity ratio (k/k0)
water + Al2O3
water + CuO
1.40 ethylene glycol + Al2O3
ethylene glycol + CuO
1.30
1.20
1.10
1.00
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06
Volume fraction
Figure 3: Enhanced thermal conductivity of nanofluids [13].
When nanofluids are used for forced convection, its boiling
characteristics must be considered. Nucleate boiling is
characterized by a turbulent bubble formation, where high
heat transfer rates occur. Nucleate boiling is related to the
wetting ability of the fluid. When the wetting is good, the
bubbles detach easily. This means that the higher the wetting
the higher is the heat transfer [1]. It is believed that
nanoparticles increase the wettability of a base fluid [10].
While reported research in nanofluids boiling phenomenon
largely differ, the value of the critical heat flux (CHF) is
generally enhanced in nanofluids [10].
3 MACHINING
The two most important functions of a cutting fluid are to cool
and to lubricate. For cutting fluids, emulsions (solution of oils
in water) or straight oils (base oils without active additives)
are generally used, depending if a machining operation
requires more cooling or more lubrication. Emulsions are
characterized by a higher heat transfer characteristics
because of their high water content. Straight oils possess a
higher degree of lubricity. Transition of the metalworking
industry towards sustainable manufacturing is reflected in
limiting the use of cutting fluids in machining. This limitation is
beneficial for different reasons. First, it reduces OHS risks
and environmental impact associated with cutting fluids.
Second, it reduces machining costs. It is known that the costs
related to the use of cutting fluids range from 7-17% of the
total costs of the manufactured workpiece [18]. Most common
method of limiting cutting fluid consumption is to use
minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) systems.
Cooling or lubrication can be tailored through well designed
nanofluids to different extents. In case more cooling (heat
removal) is required, nano-coolants can be delivered into the
cutting zone through nozzles as flood. When more lubrication
(reduction of heat generation) is needed, nano-lubricants can
be delivered through MQL system as droplets. In this early
development stage, however, the nano-lubricants technology
integration based on the principles of MQL seems to have a
higher potential of applicability in comparison with the
implementation of nano-coolants. The major reasons are high
costs of nanofluid fabrication and bigger losses of nanofluids
when cooling action is required.
110 P. Krajnik, F. Pusavec and A. Rashid
3.1 Tribological aspects
Integration of nano-lubricants in machining operations has a
great potential in terms of reduction of heat generation,
increased tool life, and reduction of conventional cutting fluid
consumption. Turning is the most critical machining operation
as far as tribological aspects are concerned. Compared to
milling, in turning the large contact stresses are combined
with continuous chip that can wipe any lubricant films from
the chip-tool contact. Three different types of lubrication
circumstances have been observed in continuous chip
formation during turning. Cutting fluids can affect friction at
low speeds. Thermal softening can ease flow at the chip-tool
contact area at high cutting speeds. At intermediate cutting
speeds, solid lubricant inclusions can build-up in the chip-tool
contact area. At low to intermediate cutting speeds lubricants
can penetrate the lower stressed contact regions where the
chip leaves the contact [19]. Capillary action, however, is
doubted by Astakhov due to high pressure at the tool-chip
interface and due to high temperature at the interface causing
evaporation of a lubricant [1]. An alternative mechanism of
lubrication action has not been suggested though.
Increased wettability (reduction in surface tension of base
fluid) is important because nanofluids would be capable of
better penetration into the contact interfaces and in the
cracks. Friction reducing properties would probably result
from flattening of the nanoparticles (non-layered) or an
exfoliation of their external layers. In case of layered
configuration only a few sheets may be enough to reduce
friction. Nevertheless, we are expecting that exfoliated
layered nanoparticles such as MoS2, WS2 and Graphene
dispersed in base fluids would make the most efficient
nanolubricants. Each individual layer between the tribo-pairs
could enhance the sliding friction resulting in a reduction of
cutting forces and improvement in tool life, particularly at low
to intermediate cutting speeds.
The potential applications are numerous. Turning of turbine
discs, for example, is one of them. Improved lubrication in
machining of disc materials (e.g. titanium alloys and nickel-
based alloys) is important because these materials are
characterized by low thermal conductivity that cause cutting
temperature and tool wear to increase even at low cutting
speeds and low feed rates [20]. MQL was found to
successfully limit friction and reduce tool wear in turning of
nickel-based alloys [21]. In this study vegetable oil was used
as a lubricant, which is common in MQL applications because
of high biodegradability characteristics of vegetable oils.
However, it is possible that in some machining cases the
boundary film developed with vegetable oils on a tool surface
is not strong enough to sustain low friction and to avoid
adhesion of work material [22]. In turning with high machining
load the friction stress reaches the shear flow stress of the
chip material; therefore the existence of boundary film is
uncertain. It was shown that the WS2 nanoparticles appear to
form a protective film allowing increased load capacity of the
rubbed pairs under severe contact conditions [23]. The
roughness of the surface interfaces in machining is typically
larger than the size of nanoparticles. Thus we expect that that
the added WS2 (or MoS2, graphene, IrO2, ZrO2) nanoparticles
to vegetable oil would yield superior lubricating properties that
could remarkably improve the conventional MQL systems and
hence tribological properties of machining.
The applications could be extended to milling and drilling,
because lubricant can reach the tool face more easily in
milling and drilling than in turning. In machining of aluminum
and its alloys more effective lubrication in comparison with
steels is required, since these materials have highly adhesive
characteristics even though they are not so hard [24].
The lubrication function in grinding has a large influence on
wheel wear and heat generation. More specifically, lubricants
are effective in reducing wheel dulling, in lowering the energy
input and in reducing grinding forces. The application of MQL
in industrial application of grinding is challenging due to
problems related to wheel loading, evacuation of chips and
clogging of the machine-tool guideways due to grinding
residuals. One possible application could be finish grinding
with CBN wheels, characterized by high thermal conductivity
of the grits. Nanofluids have been recently used in two
reported MQL settings. In the first application, MQL grinding
of cast iron employed dispersed MoS2 nanoparticles in
mineral, vegetable, and alcohol based oils that significantly
reduced the tangential grinding force and friction between the
wear flats and the workpiece, increased G-ratio and improved
the overall grinding performance [25]. The results of the
second application indicated that graphite nanoplatelets
dispersed in isopropyl alcohol significantly reduced the
grinding forces as well as specific energy, and improved
surface finish during surface grinding of hardened D-2 tool
steel [26].
3.2 Thermal aspects
Because the temperature generated in machining with
geometrically defined cutting edges (turning, milling, drilling,
etc.) affects tool life and limits the productivity, the cooling
action is of major interest. Nevertheless, in comparison with
these operations, grinding requires much higher energy per
unit volume of material removed. Virtually all of this energy is
dissipated as heat at the grinding zone, which can cause
different types of thermal damage to the workpiece. Thermal
damage is one of the main factors which affects workpiece
quality and limits the production rates, so it is especially
important to understand the role of cooling in grinding.
In order for cooling to lower the grinding zone temperature to
any significant degree, it is necessary for heat to be removed
from within the grinding zone area. A critical factor in thermal
analysis of grinding is the energy partition, which is the
fraction of the grinding energy transported as heat to the
workpiece. In creep feed grinding (slow workspeeds/large
depths of cut) cooling at the grinding zone is effective and is a
crucial process requirement. Typically, the energy partition for
the creep feed grinding is only about 5% [27]. Such low
energy partitions are attributed to cooling by the fluid at the
grinding zone. On the other hand, the cooling in most shallow
cut grinding operations (fast workspeeds/small depths of cut),
by fluids is typically ineffective due to small arc length of the
wheel-workpiece contact. For the shallow cut grinding with
conventional abrasive wheels, the energy partition is typically
60% to 85% [27]. In this scenario the lubrication effect is
more desirable than the cooling and thus creates a more
favorable situation for the application of MQL.
The cooling efficiency can be quantified by the convection
heat transfer coefficient of the fluid, which is an important
variable in determining the energy partition [28]. Here the
cooling depends upon whether convective heat transfer
occurs by nucleate boiling, in which bubbles nucleated at the
heated surface agitate the fluid and promote cooling, or by
 Nanofluids: Properties, Applications and Sustainability Aspects in Materials Processing Technologies 111
film boiling, in which a vapor layer that builds up between
workpiece and cutting fluid insulates the heated surface and
hinders cooling [29]. The transition from nucleate to film
boiling is associated with a fluid burnout temperature being
reached at a CHF, which is an important thermo-physical
property of the fluid. Below the CHF, nucleate boiling prevails
and the maximum grinding temperature is low. Above the
CHF, film boiling prevails and the temperature rises
catastrophically [27].
The application of nano-coolants in grinding is promising,
because CHF with nanofluids is much higher than with
conventional water-based cutting fluids and straight oils. Up
to threefold increase in CHF was reported [30]. Consistently
with this study, it was found that a significant enhancement in
CHF can be achieved at modest (<0.1% by volume) Al2O3,
ZrO2, and SiO2 nanoparticles concentrations [31]. A porous
layer of nanoparticles on the surface interface is likely to
buildup during nucleate boiling. This layer can significantly
improve the surface wettability and hence cooling
effectiveness. The increase in CHF should provide heat
dissipation at higher grinding temperatures and thus help to
avoid thermal damage where high energy is generated. From
the practical point of view, care should be taken while
selecting the type of nanofluid, cutting speed, wheel porosity,
grain size, and flow rate, so that grinding heat fluxes do not
cause film boiling which will leave the workpiece surface
temperature much above that expected for the fluid.
4 SUSTAINABILITY
The sustainability concern resides at the centre of nanofluid
development and integration efforts. A great deal of critical
sustainability issues is focused on process-level
improvements. Some of these improvements, including
minimizing the use of conventional cutting fluids and
reduction of the energy spent in machining do have important
environmental ramifications. For the future development,
however, the analysis of sustainability of nanofluids has to
assess their environmental impact from a system-level
perspective, using Life Cycle Assessment. The quantitative
comparison between different nanofluids in terms of their
potential contribution to e.g. global warming potential,
resource depletion, toxicological risk, suspended particulate
matter is not yet available.
The integration efforts hence require management of overall
risks. In this section, however, only a brief review of potential
OHS and toxic effects is given.
4.1 Operational health and safety
Occupational exposure to conventional cutting fluids has a
number of well documented adverse health effects including
dermatitis, respiratory disorders (aerosols), microbial
infections (bacteria, yeast, fungus), and cancer [2]. In
machining, aerosols (solid or liquid particles suspended in the
air) are typically comprised of metallic dust and cutting fluid
mist. Especially, aerosols represent a health concern
because they often remain suspended in the working
environment for an extended period of time, where they can
be inhaled by workers.
Nanoparticles have been identified as one of the main OHS
risks and priorities in a review of various national, EU and
international regulations and guidelines [32]. The perceived
high risk is associated with new industrial applications
containing nanoparticles and with the lack of knowledge on
toxicity of naoparticles leading to inappropriate protective
measures, to poor risk assessment and to unfavorable
workplace environment. Health effects of nanoparticles in
general have been underestimated so far.
It is difficult to assess the exposure to nanoparticles. No
sampler exists to specifically measure the concentration of
particles below 100 nm in diameter. The development of
monitoring methodologies and equipment that enables
measurements for representative exposure to airborne
nanoparticles is therefore important. In any case, smaller
particles follow airstreams more easily than larger particles,
so nanoparticles can be easily evacuated in ventilated
enclosures. In addition, they are readily collected by high
efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. Respirators with
HEPA filters should be adequate protection against the
inhalation of nanoparticles.
4.2 Toxicity of nanofluids
Much of the toxicology of nanomaterials is uncertain or
unknown. Generally, nanosized particles are more toxic than
their respective micron sized material due to increased
reactivity of their surface area. Therefore, as particles
become smaller, their likelihood of causing harm increases.
Nanoparticles are considerably smaller than many cells in the
body, which means that cells will pick up most of them. There
is currently no consensus about the ability of nanoparticles to
penetrate through the skin. Currently the most discussed and
investigated exposure route is via inhalation. From the MQL
application point of view, the lubricant may vaporize
completely in machining (due to high temperature) without
generating mist. However a small amount of solid
nanoparticles may be airborne. Broadly, risks are increased
in flood coolant applications, which generate more mist in the
form of fine liquid droplets.
As noted previously, micrometer sized metallic dust may be
produced by MQL machining. The available studies on
toxicity of solid airborne particles point out that exposure to
even small concentrations may inflict acute pulmonary effects
of the workers. For example, occupational exposure to
copper, vanadium, chromium, and zinc has been reported to
produce adverse health effects ranging in severity from mild
respiratory distress to severe lung dysfunction, and even
cancer. Exposure to iron oxide has been found to cause
detrimental changes in the human lungs due to deposition of
inhaled particles [33]. Knowledge about the toxicity of
micrometre particles may be useful in relation to making
predictions about the potential toxicity of nanoparticles of the
same material. There is an extensive body of evidence, which
indicates that for the same material, nanometre particles are
more hazardous than micrometer particles in inducing
pulmonary toxicity [34]. This has been observed with different
types of nanomaterials, including TiO2, Al2O3, and nickel.
Any toxic effects of nanomaterials will be very specific to the
type of base material, size and coatings. The risk is that some
types of inhaled airborne nanoparticles deposit in the human
respiratory tract and may have the ability to translocate and
be distributed to other organs, including the central nervous
system. Conflicting evidence is present however on the
extent of translocation. A significant knowledge gap exists on
a complete toxicological profile of metal oxide nanoparticles
proposed for future use in machining operations. However,
the available studies suggest that ZnO is highly toxic,
112 P. Krajnik, F. Pusavec and A. Rashid
whereas Al2O3 is moderately toxic and Fe3O4 exhibits slight
toxicity at the high concentration tested. CrO3 displays no
toxicity in relation to biological responses [35]. Nanoscale
TiO2 has shown very different properties from the micron
scale material in tests of lung toxicity. Moreover nanoscale
TiO2 is possibly carcinogenic to humans and can travel to the
brain by way of olfactory neurons when inhaled [36]. CNTs
have been tested in short term animal tests of pulmonary
toxicity and the results suggest the potential for lung toxicity,
though there are questions about the nature of the toxicity
observed and the doses used [37]. Toxicologists point to the
need for more realistic exposure methods, namely inhalation,
before firm OHS regulations can be put into force. Until
toxicologists determine what the safe level is, best laboratory
practice would be to prevent all inhalation exposure.
5 SUMMARY
High-performance manufacturing technologies have a strong
need for improved cutting fluids that can reduce heat
generation or transfer heat more efficiently. In this respect
nanofluids have higher potential efficiency than conventional
cutting fluids. Although nanofluids offer very promising
opportunities, there are still a number of technical issues on
the road to their commercialization and cost effective high-
volume production. Future research should lead to a
development of new cutting fluids for specific applications in
machining. Fundamental research is essential because the
design of nanofluids can be tailored to optimize their use in
each specific application.
In the future, nanofluid properties should be tested under real
machining conditions. Combined experimental work and
modeling is needed to better understand the underlying
physics of heat convection, tribological conditions, and the
interactions with workpiece materials. Tribo-chemical aspects
of machining have not been addressed in this review. This
will be necessary in the future, because nanofluids can
drastically modify the machining interfaces, e.g. through the
formation of reaction layers. Moreover, models for prediction
of cutting temperatures have to consider the effect of
nanofluids. This requires modeling not only on the
macroscopic, but also the nanoscale level.
There is insufficient knowledge and data concerning
nanoparticle detection and measurement to provide for
satisfactory OHS. Moreover, there is a lack of validated
methods for assessing the effects of nanoparticles on
cell/organ toxicity both from the functional and structural view
point. This makes it difficult to interpret available experimental
results. In this regard it is important for the future
development that specific tools addressing these
uncertainties as far the inhalation toxicology of nanofluid
aerosols is concerned are established and implemented.
6 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was partially supported by the SUSTAIN-MS
project funded by the EC within the Seventh Framework
Programme (FP7). The authors thank Prof. Mamoun
Muhammed from KTH Department of Functional Materials for
his consultations on the issues related to design and
synthesis of nanofluids.
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