Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522

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Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Parameter optimization during minimum quantity lubrication milling

of TC4 alloy with graphene-dispersed vegetable-oil-based cutting
fluid
Ming Li a, Tianbiao Yu a, *, Lin Yang a, Hongyu Li a, Rongchuang Zhang b, Wanshan Wang a
a
School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
b
School of Control Engineering, Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066004, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Minimum Quantity Lubrication has been widely used in the titanium alloy milling process as an
Received 3 August 2018 advanced and clean means of cooling and lubrication. The Minimum Quantity Lubrication parameters
Received in revised form have a significant influence on the milling characteristics and so, determining an optimal Minimum
15 November 2018
Quantity Lubrication parameter combination is vital to obtaining the best milling characteristics. In this
Accepted 16 November 2018
Available online 17 November 2018
study, Minimum Quantity Lubrication with graphene-dispersed vegetable-oil-based cutting fluids was
adopted in the milling of TC4 alloy, where the cutting fluids were prepared by dispersing graphene
nanoparticles into the vegetable-oil-based cutting fluid to improve the milling characteristics of the TC4
Keywords:
Minimum quantity lubrication milling
alloy. The integrated Taguchi-Principal component analysis-Gray relational analysis optimization method
Graphene was used to evaluate the effects of the Minimum Quantity Lubrication parameters on the milling char-
Vegetable-oil-based cutting fluid acteristics and obtain the optimal Minimum Quantity Lubrication parameter combination. The milling
Parameter optimization characteristics of TC4 alloy, namely, the milling force, milling temperature, surface micro-hardness, and
TC4 alloy surface roughness were evaluated and analyzed, and the optimal Minimum Quantity Lubrication
parameter combination was obtained. A verification experiment was conducted and the results indicated
that all the four milling characteristics were significantly improved after the optimization process. The
improvement rates of the milling force, milling temperature, surface micro-hardness, and surface
roughness are 18.13%, 13.59%, 8.36%, and 24.82%, respectively. In summary, appropriately chosen Mini-
mum Quantity Lubrication parameters can enhance the lubrication and cooling properties of the oil film
and improve the milling characteristics. The results of this study attest to the feasibility of the integrated
Taguchi-Principal component analysis-Gray relational analysis optimization method and provide an
experimental basis for the application of graphene additive in Minimum Quantity Lubrication milling.
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction improve the machining characteristics during the processing of

As an alloy which has excellent all-round performance, TC4 is
widely used in the aerospace, shipbuilding, petrochemical, and
automobile industries, in addition to medical applications. How-
ever, TC4 is a difficult-to-machine material due to its low thermal
conductivity, large friction coefficient, high chemical activity, and
low elasticity modulus (Tao et al., 2017). Minimum Quantity
Lubrication (MQL) is a method that has been widely used to
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: limingeducn@163.com (M. Li), tianbiaoyudyx@gmail.com
(T. Yu), jwdcmyl1011@gmail.com (L. Yang), m18640389373@163.com (H. Li),
zhangrongchuang@mail.neuq.edu.cn (R. Zhang), wws@mail.neu.edu.cn (W. Wang).
difficult-to-machine materials (Debnath et al., 2014). This tech-
nology can not only reduce the employed volume of cutting fluid
but also enhance the ability of the cutting fluid to penetrate the
cutting zone (Vazquez et al., 2015). Meanwhile, vegetable-oil-based
cutting fluids are widely adopted owing to their good biodegrad-
ability, low environmental impact, and non-toxicity (Lawal et al.,
2012). Thus, the use of MQL with such cutting fluids opens up
several promising applications.
Many studies have been conducted on the machining charac-
teristics of vegetable-oil-based cutting fluids. Wang et al. (2016)
investigated the lubrication properties at the wheel/workpiece
interface during the flood grinding and MQL grinding of the nickel-
based alloy GH4169, with seven typical vegetable oils (castor oil,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.11.147
0959-6526/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522 1509

Nomenclature NTB Nominal-the-better

LTB Larger-the-better
TC4 An aþb titanium alloy n Total number of experiments
MQL Minimum Quantity Lubrication yi Result of the i-th experiment
PCA Principal component analysis m The target value of yi
GRA Gray relational analysis yi ðkÞ Original SNR
GH4169 A nickel-based superalloy xi ðkÞ Normalized SNR
AISI American Iron and Steel Institute aðkÞ The target value of yi ðkÞ
Cu Copper GRC Gray relational coefficient
Al2O3 Aluminum oxide εi ðkÞ Experimental result GRC
Ag Silver D0i ðkÞ The absolute value of the deviation
TiO2 Titanium dioxide x0 ðkÞ The ideal value of xi ðkÞ
MoS2 Molybdenum disulfide Dmin The minimum value of D0i ðkÞ
CNT Carbon nanotube Dmax The maximum value of D0i ðkÞ
SiO2 Silicon dioxide z Distinguishing coefficient
PTFE Polytetrafluoroethylene ε GRC matrix
ANOVA Analysis of Variance Rjl Correlation coefficient array
SNR Signal-to-noise ratio Cov Covariance
N Spindle rotation speed lk Eigenvalue
fz Feed rate per tooth V ik Eigenvector
ae Radial immersion depth Im Unit matrix
ap Axial immersion depth Ymk The k-th principal component
wt.% Weight concentration ai The weight of GRC
W Cutting fluid concentration GRG Gray relational grade
Q Cutting fluid flow rate g Experimental result GRG
P Gas pressure Tmax The maximum milling temperature
PC Personal computer MH Surface micro-hardness
Fc Resultant force Ra Surface roughness
Fcmax Maximum resultant force DF Degree of freedom
Fx The x-axis milling force Seq. SS Sum of squares
Fy The y-axis milling force Adj. MS Mean of squares
Fz The z-axis milling force F Variance ratio
STB Smaller-the-better P Probability of significance

soybean oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, and
palm oil) and paraffin oil were selected as the base oil during MQL.
Vegetable oils had better lubrication properties than both mineral
oil and flood cutting fluid due to the high binding energy, low
friction coefficient. Stachurski et al. (2018) investigated the effect of
hob cutter sharpening on cutting blade surface condition during
MQL-CCA. The results showed that the amount of cutting fluid can
be greatly reduced without affecting the machining performance.
Therefore, this technology can greatly reduce the environmental
impact. Khan et al. (2009) studied the effects of MQL with vegetable
oil-based cutting fluid on the chip-tool interface temperature, chip
formation mode, tool wear, and surface roughness. Compared with
flood machining, the average chip-tool interface temperature was
reduced by 10%, and the chip formation modes, tool wear, and
surface finish were improved in varying degrees. Therefore, MQL is
an environmentally friendly and efficient cooling method. Agrawal
and Patil (2018) evaluated the machining effects of aloe vera oil in
the MQL turning of M2 Steel. Compared with conventional cutting
fluid, the surface roughness and tool wear were reduced by 6.7%
and 0.14%, respectively, when aloe vera oil was used. Rahim and
Sasahara (2011) studied the cutting performance of Ti-6Al-4V
alloy in MQL drilling using palm oil. Compared with synthetic es-
ters, the palm oil generated lower cutting forces and cutting tem-
peratures. This was mainly because the thin boundary lubrication
film formed in the cutting zone reduced the friction and heat at the
tool-workpiece interfaces. Gunjal and Patil (2018) investigated the
cutting performance of hardened AISI 4340 steel in MQL turning
with vegetable-oil-based cutting fluids. They found that the canola
oil facilitated longer tool life than the coconut oil and soybean oil.
This is due to the higher density and heat transfer coefficient of
canola oil which allowed for maximum cooling and lubrication
compared to the coconut and soybean oils. Ribeiro Filho et al.
(2017) evaluated the tapping characteristics of cast aluminum
alloy in MQL tapping with different vegetable fluids. They
confirmed that the fluid A (ECOCUT) could reduce the torque,
minimize the friction, and avoid tool breakages. Gajrani et al. (2017)
studied the biodegradation and cutting characteristics of a bio-
cutting fluid and mineral oil in the MQL turning of hardened AISI
H-13 steel. They stated that the bio-cutting fluid performed better
with its higher thermal conductivity, higher specific heat, and
better ability to penetrate the cutting zone as compared to mineral
oil, and the MQL with bio-cutting fluid could reduce the sticking
and sliding zones. The results contribute to the further application
of bio-cutting fluid in the machining field. Li et al. (2016) evaluated
the cutting performance of different vegetable oils (castor oil,
soybean oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, and
palm oil) in the MQL grinding of high-temperature nickel-base
alloy. They concluded that palm oil provided the second-lowest
grinding force, lowest grinding temperature and lowest energy
ratio coefficient, and was the optimal base oil among the seven
vegetable oils. This is mainly because vegetable oils with higher
viscosities have greater lubrication effects and can significantly
reduce the grinding force. This research provides a theoretical basis
for the application of palm oil in the cutting field. Rahim and
HiroyukiSasahara (2011) evaluated the effects of palm oil and a
synthetic ester on surface integrity in the MQL drilling of Inconel
1510 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522
718. Compared with synthetic ester, palm oil exhibited excellent
performance with regard to micro-hardness, surface defects, sub-
surface deformation, and surface roughness at all cutting speeds
and feed rates. This is mainly because palm oil, with its higher
viscosity, could provide effective lubrication and cooling in MQL
machining. Guo et al. (2017) mixed castor oil with other vegetable
oils and evaluated their lubrication performance in the MQL
grinding of the nickel-based alloy GH4169. They concluded that the
comprehensive lubricating performances of the mixed oils were
better than that of castor oil, and soybean/castor oil achieved the
best performance. Mia et al. (2018b) studied an approach to cleaner
production for machining hardened steel from the aspect of envi-
ronmental friendliness. The Pugh matrix environmental approach
was adopted to establish the sustainability assessment model, and
the research results showed that MQL is an environmentally
friendly, low consumption and efficient cooling and lubrication
method.
In addition, in order to further improve the cooling and lubri-
cation performances, various nanoparticles were dispersed into
traditional cutting fluids based on the principle of heat transfer
enhancement by the addition of solids (Choi and Eastman, 1995).
Meanwhile, the investigation and optimization of related parame-
ters were conducted to improve the machining characteristics.
Many studies have been conducted to understand the
machining characteristics of nanoparticle-dispersed cutting fluids.
Most such studies involve the dispersion of nanoparticle additives
into a cutting fluid, followed by testing. These nanoparticle addi-
tives are of four main types, mainly, metals, metal oxides, metal
sulfides, and carbide (Sharma et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2017a).
Pashmforoush and Delir Bagherinia (2018) dispersed copper (Cu)
nanoparticles into traditional cutting fluid to prepare a copper
nanofluid and evaluated the machining performance in the MQL
grinding of Inconel 738 alloy. They concluded that the copper
nanofluid could improve the wheel loading and surface roughness
as compared to the dry condition and conventional fluid. Chetan
et al. (2016) studied the machining performances of Nimonic in
MQL turning with alumina (Al2O3) and silver (Ag) nanofluids. They
concluded that the alumina nanofluid could reduce the cutting
forces, tool wear and chip curing due to the smaller contact angle,
greater spreadability, and small droplet size, while the silver
nanofluid could provide good surface finish and reduce abrasive
wear due to the nano-ball bearing effect. Wang et al. (2017b)
evaluated the lubricating properties of the wheel/workpiece
interface in MQL grinding with an Al2O3 nanofluid. They pointed
out that the appropriate concentration of the Al2O3 nanofluid could
provide good lubricating properties, and the nanofluid could form a
lubricating oil film and reduce the friction significantly. Najiha et al.
(2016) investigated the tool wear mechanisms in the MQL milling
of AA6061-T6 alloy using TiO2 nanofluid. They concluded that the
adhesion of the work material contributed most to the tool damage
while the major benefit of the TiO2 nanofluid MQL was the edge
integrity, and the composition with 2.5% TiO2 nanofluid was iden-
tified as most suitable to control the tool damage. Zhang et al.
(2015) evaluated the lubricating properties of MoS2 nanoparticles
in MQL grinding with different types of vegetable oils as the base
oil. They concluded that the MoS2-dispersed palm oil-based
nanofluid could produce the best lubricating property due to the
high content of saturated fatty acids and considerable film-forming
property of carboxyl groups in palm oil. Sharma et al. (2015) studied
the machining performances of AISI D2 steel in MQL turning with
carbon nanotube (CNT) nanofluid. They stated that MQL turning
with CNT nanofluid outperformed the MQL with conventional
cutting fluid with regard to cutting zone temperature and surface
roughness. This is mainly because CNTs could increase the thermal
conductivity and heat carrying capacity of the fluid. Nam et al.
(2011) evaluated the machining characteristics of aluminum 6061
in nano-diamond nanofluid-assisted MQL micro-drilling.
Compared with compressed air lubrication and pure MQL, the
nano-diamond nanofluid MQL significantly increased the number
of drilled holes, reduced drilling torques and thrust forces, and
eliminated the remaining chips and burrs to enhance the quality of
drilled holes. In addition, some other additives, such as hexagonal
boron nitride nanoparticle (Talib et al., 2017), nanoboric acid
(Vamsi Krishna et al., 2010), SiO2 nanoparticle (Sayuti et al., 2014),
lignin (Zhang and Jun 2014), PTFE nanoparticle (Sartori et al., 2018),
and ionic liquid (Goindi et al., 2018), were also dispersed in the
cutting fluids. In addition, Zhang et al. (2017) combined the mate-
rial removal and plastic stacking to improve the prediction model of
the grinding force, while considering the lubrication conditions,
such as flood, MQL, and nanofluid MQL. This greatly improves the
accuracy of the prediction model of the grinding force under
lubrication conditions. Yang et al. (2017) studied the critical
maximum undeformed equivalent chip thickness for ductile-brittle
transition in grinding of zirconia ceramics with different lubrication
conditions. This greatly improves the accuracy of the grinding force
prediction model and the surface topography prediction model for
zirconia grinding under different lubrication conditions.
Meanwhile, several attempts have been made by researchers to
optimize machining parameters in order to obtain excellent all-
round machining performance. Cetin et al. (2011) studied the
machining characteristics of vegetable-based cutting fluids and
evaluated the effects of cutting parameters on machining charac-
teristics in the turning of AISI 304L. They used Taguchi's mixed-
level parameter design to design the experiments, applied regres-
sion analyses to predict the surface roughness, and cutting and feed
forces, and finally, used ANOVA to determine the effects of the
cutting parameters on the machining characteristics. They
concluded that the feed rate and cutting depth were more influ-
ential than the cutting fluids and spindle speed, and that sun-
flower- and canola-based cutting fluids performed better than the
others. Kuram et al. (2013) used the D-optimal design to optimize
the cutting fluids and cutting parameters in the end milling of AISI
304. Mathematical models for the process responses were devel-
oped and conclusions regarding the effects of the milling parame-
ters and cutting fluid types on the milling performances criteria are
obtained. Sarıkaya and Güllü (2014) used Taguchi design and
response surface methodology to improve the machining perfor-
mances in CNC turning under MQL. The optimal parameter com-
bination and corresponding mathematical models are achieved,
and the machining performances were greatly improved. Nam et al.
(2015) used the response surface methodology and genetic algo-
rithm to optimize the environmentally benign nanofluid-based
MQL micro-drilling process. The optimal values of the process
factors were obtained and the regression models of drilling torques
and thrust forces were demonstrated. Ooi et al. (2015) used a fuzzy
logic-based approach to achieve the optimal machining parameters
in the milling of Al-6061-T6 alloy. Compared with the experimental
results, the proposed fuzzy model exhibited a high degree of reli-
ability. Sarıkaya and Güllü (2015) performed the multi-response
optimization of MQL parameters by using a Taguchi-based gray
relational analysis in the MQL turning of Haynes 25 alloy. The best
combination of a vegetable-based cutting fluid, fluid flow rate of
180 mL/h, and cutting speed of 30 m/min were achieved. Sarıkaya
et al. (2016) studied the machinability of cobalt-based Haynes 25
superalloy in CNC turning with three cooling methods. The Tagu-
chi's signal to noise ratio (S/N) analysis was adopted to obtain the
optimal parameter combination, and the machinability of the ma-
terial was significantly improved. Mia et al. (2018a) optimized the
machining parameters by using the signal-to-noise ratio-based
optimization in MQL turning. Optimum combinations for the
 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522
minimum surface roughness and maximum material removal rate,
the minimum principal flank wear, and the lowest auxiliary flank
wear were obtained. Viswanathan et al. (2018) optimized the per-
formance characteristics of magnesium AZ91D alloy by using the
Taguchi-based gray relational analysis in MQL turning. The opti-
mum combination of 90 m/min cutting speed, 0.1 mm/rev feed rate,
and 0.5 mm depth of cut was obtained as a result. Rapeti et al.
(2018) evaluated machining performances of AISI 1040 steel in
MQL turning with vegetable oil based nano cutting fluids. The
optimal parameter combination was obtained by gray relational
analysis, and the machining performances were significantly
improved.
However, although many researchers have attempted the
dispersion of a variety of nanoparticles into cutting fluids, and
studied their machining characteristics and parameter optimiza-
tion, only a few have attempted to incorporate graphene nano-
particles in vegetable-oil-based cutting fluids. Graphene was the
first-ever two-dimensional material to be discovered and is the
carbon material with the highest known thermal conductivity. The
thermal conductivity of graphene is as high as 5300 W/(m K) and it
has very good lubrication properties (Balandin et al., 2008; Berman
et al., 2014). Overall, graphene is a promising additive for cutting
fluids to improve cooling and lubrication performances.
To address this gap, in this study, graphene nanoparticles were
used as additive and dispersed into a vegetable-oil-based cutting
fluid to improve the cooling and lubrication properties. The L16 ð43 Þ
orthogonal experiment table was selected to design the experiment
based on the Taguchi design method. The MQL parameters (the
cutting fluid concentration, cutting fluid flow rate, and gas pres-
sure) were selected as the control factors, and the milling charac-
teristics (the milling force, milling temperature, surface micro-
hardness, and surface roughness) were selected as the response
characteristics. Meanwhile, the effect of the MQL parameters on the
four milling characteristics were evaluated and analyzed using the
signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) analysis based on the Taguchi method.
Then, the unified optimal MQL parameter combination for the four
milling characteristics was obtained by the integrated Taguchi-
Principal component analysis (PCA)-Gray relational analysis
(GRA) optimization method. In addition, the influencing mecha-
nisms of the MQL parameters on the milling characteristics were
discussed. The findings of this study are expected to indicate the
feasibility of the application of graphene additive in cutting fluids
and provide certain technical references for industrial application.
2. Experiment and method
In this study, a series of milling experiments of the TC4 alloy
under cooling/lubrication conditions with different MQL parame-
ters were conducted. Meanwhile, the effects of the different MQL
parameters on the milling force, milling temperature, surface
micro-hardness, and surface roughness were evaluated. In addition,
the optimal MQL parameter combination was obtained using the
multi-objective optimization method.
2.1. Experimental design
In order to evaluate the effects of the different MQL parameters
on the milling force, milling temperature, surface micro-hardness,
and surface roughness, the orthogonal experiments were
designed based on the Taguchi design method.
In this study, the MQL parameters (the cutting fluid concen-
tration, cutting fluid flow rate, and gas pressure) were considered
as the control factors, and the milling characteristics (the milling
force, milling temperature, surface micro-hardness, and surface
roughness) were considered as the response characteristics; the
1511
milling parameters were kept constant. The relatively reasonable
levels of the orthogonal experiment factor were determined by a
series of single factor experiments before the orthogonal experi-
ment. The factors and levels of the orthogonal experiment are
shown in Table 1. Based on Taguchi design method, the L16 ð43 Þ
orthogonal experiment table was selected to design the experi-
ment. A total of 16 experiments were performed, as shown in
Table 8. The main milling parameters are the spindle rotation speed
(N ¼ 1062 rpm), feed rate per tooth (fz ¼ 0.02 mm/z), radial im-
mersion depth (ae ¼ 0.4 mm) and axial immersion depth
(ap ¼ 0.6 mm), as shown in Table 2.
2.2. Preparation of graphene-dispersed cutting fluid
In this study, few-layer graphene was chosen as the nanoparticle
additive to prepare graphene-dispersed cutting fluids. Graphene is
the first truly two-dimensional, man-made material. The few-layer
graphene used in this study had a thickness of less than 5 nm and
an average diameter of 10 mm. The structure diagram of few-layer
graphene is shown in Fig. 1. Meanwhile, the vegetable-oil-based
cutting fluid LB2000 (supplied by ITW Rocol North America Co.,
Ltd.) was selected as the base oil for the graphene-dispersed cutting
fluids thanks to its low environmental impact, good biodegrad-
ability, and non-toxicity. The properties of graphene and LB2000
are shown in Tables 3 and 4, respectively. In addition, the high-
precision electronic scale was selected for weighing the graphene
nanoparticle and vegetable-oil-based cutting fluid with a range of
200 g and an accuracy of 0.001 g, as shown in Fig. 2.
The graphene-dispersed cutting fluids were prepared by
dispersing a certain amount of graphene nanoparticles in the
LB2000 by using a two-step method, i.e., the preparation of the
nanoparticles and nanoparticle-dispersed cutting fluids are not
performed at the same time. During the dispersion process, the
graphene-dispersed cutting fluids were first stirred using a mag-
netic stirrer (for 30 min) and then dispersed using an ultrasonic
dispersion instrument (40 kHz, 80 W) (for 1 h), as depicted in Fig. 2.
This dispersion process was repeated several times until the gra-
phene nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed in the LB2000. The
graphene-dispersed cutting fluids were stable and no agglomera-
tion was observed during the entire experiment process.
2.3. Machine tool and MQL system
In this study, a four-axis vertical milling machining center
(TH5650, Shenyang machine tool (Group) Co., Ltd.) shown in
Fig. 3(c) was adopted to carry out a series of experiments. The main
technical parameters are: the numerical control system of FANUC
0i-MB, maximum spindle speed of 6000 rpm, maximum spindle
power of 35 kW, and working range (X  Y  Z) of
850 mm  500 mm  630 mm.
In addition, an Accu-Lube MQL system (supplied by ITW Rocol
North America Co., Ltd.) was used to transport the graphene-
dispersed cutting fluid to the milling zone. This MQL system is
comprised of an air pump, filter, pulse generator, pulse pump, oil
tank, and oil-gas mixing tube, as depicted in Fig. 3(a). Compressed
Table 1
Control factors and levels of the orthogonal experiment.
Control factors Symbol Level
Levels 1 2 3 4
Concentration (wt.%) W 4 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
Flow rate (mL/h) Q 4 30 60 90 120
Gas pressure (MPa) P 4 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
1512 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522

Table 2
Main milling parameters of the orthogonal experiment.

Milling parameters Value

Milling style Up milling

Spindle rotation speed N (rpm) 1062
Feed rate per tooth fz (mm/z) 0.02
Radial immersion depth ae (mm) 0.4
Axial immersion depth ap (mm) 0.6

Table 3
Properties of graphene.

Property Average layer thickness (nm) Mean diameter (mm) Number of layers Specific surface area (m2/g) Appearance

Value <5 10 1e5 360e450 Black powder

Table 4
Properties of LB2000

Property Density (at 20  C) (g/cm3) Flash point ( C) Pour point ( C) Appearance

Value 0.92 320 20 Dark blue fluid

Table 5
Chemical composition of TC4.

Element Ti Fe C N H O Al V

Composition (wt.%) Balance 0.30 0.10 0.05 0.015 0.20 5.5e6.8 3.5e4.5

Table 6
Mechanical properties of TC4.

Property Tensile strength (MPa) Yield strength (MPa) Elongation (%) Poison ratio Modulus of elasticity (GPa) Hardness (HV)

Value 990 830 14 0.342 114 312

Table 7 used to remove the heat affected layer. The chemical composition
Details of milling tool. and mechanical properties of the TC4 alloy are shown in Tables 5
Property Value and 6, respectively.
Diameter (mm) 6
In addition, TC4 is a difficult-to-machine material due to its low
Total length (mm) 50 thermal conductivity, large friction coefficient, high chemical ac-
Cutting edge length (mm) 16 tivity and low elasticity modulus. The carbide tool is ideal for cut-
Number of flutes 4 ting TC4 alloy due to its high hot hardness, good toughness, good
Coating TiAlN
wear resistance, high thermal conductivity, low chemical activity
Matrix material Ultra-fine tungsten steel
Helix angle (degree) 45 and good impact resistance (A. Ghani et al., 2013). Meanwhile, as a
Rake (degree) 8 widely used coating material, the TiAlN coating has many advan-
Relief angle (degree) 14 tages, such as high hardness, high oxidation temperature, good
thermal hardness, strong adhesion, low friction coefficient, low
thermal conductivity and so on. It is especially suitable for cutting
air at a certain pressure is mixed with a certain amount of cutting difficult-to-machine materials such as titanium alloy. Therefore, the
fluid discharged by the pulse pump and then injected into the TiAlN coated milling tool is adopted in this work. A solid carbide
cutting zone. The pressure of the compressed air and the flow rate end-mill tool (GM-4E-D6.0, Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Cutting
of the graphene-dispersed cutting fluid are regulated by the air Tools Co., Ltd.) was adopted for use in the experiments. The char-
pump and pulse pump, respectively. In addition, the nozzle position acteristic parameters of the tool are: a diameter of 6 mm, length of
parameters are shown in Fig. 3(b), with the nozzle distance (L) of 50 mm, spiral angle of 45-degree, and teeth number of four. The
25 mm and the nozzle angle (q) of 45-degree. matrix material of the milling tool was ultra-fine tungsten steel
while the coating material was TiAlN. Detailed information
2.4. Work material and cutting tool regarding the milling tool is shown in Table 7. In addition, the
suspension length of milling tool in each experiment was set to
The workpiece material used in this study was TC4 alloy. The 30 mm.
dimension of the workpiece was 80 mm (length)  30 mm
(width)  15 mm (height). Before the experiments, the oxide layer 2.5. Measurement of the milling characteristics
and the heat affected layer on the surface of the workpiece needed
to be removed. Grinding was used to remove the oxide layer and a In order to evaluate the effects of the MQL parameters on milling
solution containing 20% nitric acid and 5% hydrofluoric acid was characteristics, the milling force, milling temperature, surface
 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522 1513

Table 8
Orthogonal experiment arrangements and results.

No. MQL parameter Milling characteristic SNR of milling characteristic

W Q P Fcmax Tmax MH Ra Fcmax Tmax MH Ra

1 0.05 30 0.4 38.928 242.771 398.531 0.492 31.805 47.704 52.009 6.161
2 0.05 60 0.5 31.877 225.856 347.433 0.405 30.070 47.077 50.817 7.851
3 0.05 90 0.6 32.870 194.764 359.126 0.411 30.336 45.790 51.105 7.723
4 0.05 120 0.7 35.353 235.988 391.153 0.496 30.969 47.458 51.847 6.090
5 0.10 30 0.5 28.004 181.781 331.917 0.342 28.944 45.191 50.421 9.319
6 0.10 60 0.4 28.699 193.235 346.852 0.365 29.157 45.722 50.803 8.754
7 0.10 90 0.7 27.607 173.341 337.214 0.339 28.820 44.778 50.558 9.396
8 0.10 120 0.6 28.203 197.759 369.231 0.357 29.006 45.923 51.346 8.947
9 0.15 30 0.6 28.699 199.783 352.528 0.352 29.157 46.011 50.944 9.069
10 0.15 60 0.7 29.097 195.562 349.539 0.348 29.277 45.826 50.870 9.168
11 0.15 90 0.4 33.565 208.257 389.762 0.408 30.518 46.372 51.816 7.787
12 0.15 120 0.5 32.274 229.212 375.922 0.397 30.177 47.205 51.502 8.024
13 0.20 30 0.7 33.863 231.461 396.551 0.379 30.595 47.290 51.966 8.427
14 0.20 60 0.6 28.898 194.267 358.286 0.346 29.217 45.768 51.085 9.218
15 0.20 90 0.5 36.247 217.163 372.529 0.413 31.185 46.736 51.423 7.681
16 0.20 120 0.4 39.623 238.246 401.672 0.508 31.959 47.541 52.077 5.883

Fig. 1. Structure diagram of few-layer graphene.

Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of the milling experiment ((a) MQL system, (b) experiment
schematic, and (c) measurement system).

introduced, which is the maximum value of the resultant force

(total cutting force) Fc . The resultant force Fc is computed using Eq.
(1).
Fig. 2. Preparation process of the graphene-dispersed cutting fluids ((a) few-layer qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
graphene and high-precision electronic scale, (b) pure LB2000, (c) magnetic stirrer, Fc ¼ F 2x þ F 2y þ F 2z (1)
(d) ultrasonic dispersion instrument, and (e) graphene-dispersed cutting fluid).

where Fc is the resultant force, Fx , Fy and Fz are the measuring

micro-hardness and surface roughness were measured under
cooling/lubrication conditions with different MQL parameters. In
addition, in order to reduce the error, each experiment was
repeated 30 times.
2.5.1. Milling force
Milling force is a vital milling characteristic that directly affects
surface quality and machining accuracy. As shown in Fig. 3, a 3D
force-measuring system (9257B, Kistler Co., Ltd) was used to
measure the milling force under cooling/lubrication conditions
with different MQL parameters along the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis.
This system included a three-component dynamometer, a multi-
channel charge amplifier, an A/D data acquisition card, and a PC.
The sample frequency of the milling force was set at 7000 Hz. In
order to comprehensively evaluate the cooling/lubrication condi-
tion on the milling force, the maximum resultant force Fcmax is
milling forces along the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis, respectively.
2.5.2. Milling temperature
Milling temperature is a parameter that significantly affects the
surface integrity and service performance of the workpiece; lower
milling temperatures indicate better milling performance. The
measurement of milling temperature under cooling/lubrication
conditions with different MQL parameters was performed using the
temperature-measuring system shown in Fig. 3(c), which includes
a commercial K-type thermocouple (TT-K-36-SLE, OMEGA) with a
diameter of 0.30 mm, a multichannel signal processing system, and
a PC. The surface temperature measurement strategy is depicted in
Fig. 4. The K-type thermocouple was inserted into a 0.30-mm-
diameter hole in the workpiece to measure the surface tempera-
ture. The sample frequency of milling temperature was set at
20 KHz. As shown in Fig. 4, the K-type thermocouple was clamped
by two identical workpieces. Meanwhile, the positioning pins were
1514 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522

Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of surface temperature measurement strategy.

used to position the two workpieces to reduce the positioning error.

In addition, the 0.3-mm-diameter thermocouple mounting hole is
assembled from two 0.3-mm-diameter circular slots. As shown in
Fig. 4, the 0.3-mm-diameter circular slot is made by milling with
the micro ball end mill (R0.15 mm).

2.5.3. Surface micro-hardness

Surface micro-hardness is a parameter that significantly affects
the service reliability of the workpiece. The work hardening of the
workpiece surface during the milling process is generally uneven,
and this uneven work hardening greatly reduces the service reli-
ability of the workpiece. Therefore, smaller values of surface micro-
hardness is generally desirable. In this study, the surface micro-
hardness under cooling/lubrication conditions with different MQL
parameters were measured using the micro-hardness tester
(TUKON1102, Wilson) shown in Fig. 5(a) with an indenter load of 20
gf and a holding time of 10 s.

2.5.4. Surface roughness

Surface roughness of the workpiece is an important indicator for
evaluating milling machining characteristics, and a smaller value of
surface roughness is indicative of better service performance of the
workpiece. Therefore, the smaller surface roughness is desirable. In
this study, the surface roughness of the workpiece under cooling/
lubrication conditions with different MQL parameters were
measured by a laser confocal microscope (LEXT OLS4100, Japan
Olympus Corporation), as shown in Fig. 5(b).
2.6. Optimization method
In this study, the MQL parameters (the cutting fluid concen-
tration, cutting fluid flow rate, and gas pressure) were considered
as the control factors and the milling characteristics (the milling
force, milling temperature, surface micro-hardness, and surface
roughness) were considered as the response characteristics. In or-
der to comprehensively evaluate the effects of the MQL parameters
on the milling characteristics and obtain the optimal MQL param-
eter combination, a multi-objective optimization was conducted.
As shown in Fig. 6, the flow chart of integrated Taguchi-PCA-
Fig. 5. (a) Micro-hardness tester and (b) laser confocal microscope.
Fig. 6. Flowchart for integrated Taguchi-PCA-GRA optimization method.
GRA optimization method was given. Firstly, the orthogonal ex-
periments based on Taguchi method were performed and the
milling characteristics were measured. Meanwhile, SNR of the
milling characteristics was calculated and used to evaluate the ef-
fects of the MQL parameters on the milling characteristics. Then,
the PCA-GRA method was conducted and applied to obtain the
optimal MQL parameter combination. Finally, the verification ex-
periments were conducted to verity the feasibility of the optimal
MQL parameter combination. Overall, this optimization process
could be divided into three phases.
2.6.1. Phase I: Taguchi-method analysis
The orthogonal experiments were designed based on the
Taguchi method. Meanwhile, SNR was used to evaluate the effects
of the MQL parameters on milling characteristics. In addition, the
significance of the MQL parameters for the milling characteristics
was evaluated by the ANOVA of the SNR of the milling
characteristics.
Step 1: Design the orthogonal experiments and measure the
milling characteristics.
Step 2: Calculate the SNR of the experiment results.
The SNR of the milling characteristics is an indicator of the
robustness of the milling characteristics and the higher the SNR
value, the better the setting of the MQL parameters will be.
 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522 1515

Generally, there are three types of SNR, namely, smaller-the-better 2 3

(STB), nominal-the-better (NTB), and larger-the-better (LTB). In this ε1 ð1Þ ε1 ð2Þ / ε1 ðnÞ
6 ε2 ð1Þ ε2 ð2Þ / ε2 ðnÞ 7
study, the desired objective is to obtain smaller milling force, ε¼6
4 «
7 (5)
smaller milling temperature, smaller surface micro-hardness, and « « « 5
smaller surface roughness. Therefore, the SNR of the milling char- εm ð1Þ εm ð2Þ / εm ðnÞ
acteristics all belongs to the STB class of the SNR as shown in Eq. (2).
where ε is the GRC matrix; m ¼ 16, n ¼ 4.
8 !
>
>
> 1X n
(b) Calculate the correlation coefficient array
>
> 10lg y2 STB
>
> n i¼1 i    
>
>
>
> ! Covðεi ðkÞ; εi ðlÞÞ j ¼ 1; 2; /; n;
>
< Rjl ¼ (6)
1X n
sεi ðkÞ  sεi ðlÞ l ¼ 1; 2; /; n
SNR ¼ 10lg ðyi  mÞ2 NTB (2)
>
> n i¼1
>
>
>
> ! where n ¼ 4; Covðεi ðjÞ; εi ðlÞÞ is the covariance of εi ðjÞ and εi ðlÞ; sεi ðjÞ
>
>
>
> 1X n
1 and sεi ðlÞ are the standard deviations of εi ðjÞ and εi ðlÞ, respectively.
>
: 10lg
>
n i¼1 y2i
LTB
(c) Calculate the eigenvalues and eigenvectors
where n is the total number of experiments, yi is the result of the i-
ðR  lk I m ÞV ik ¼ 0 ðk ¼ 1; 2; /; nÞ (7)
th experiment, and m is the target value of yi .
Pn
where lk is the eigenvalue and k¼1 lk ¼ n; V ik is the eigenvector
and V ik ¼ ½ak1 ak2 / akn T ; I m is the unit matrix.

(d) Calculate the weight of GRC

2.6.2. Phase II: multi-objective optimization based on the PCA-GRA
method
The k-th principal component is calculated as shown in Eq. (8).
Based on the above SNR data of the milling characteristics, the
principal component analysis (PCA) and gray relational analysis X
n
(GRA) are integrated to transform multiple responses into a single Ymk ¼ εm ðiÞ Vik (8)
response. The PCA is used to calculate the weight of each gray i¼1
relational coefficient (GRC). The principal components are arranged in descending order
Step 3: Preprocess data. with respect to the variance; hence, the first principal component
Data preprocessing in the GRA involves normalizing the above Ym1 accounts for the largest variance in the data and is generally
SNR data. The data preprocessing also belongs to three classes, used to replace all the response characteristics. Therefore, the rate
namely the STB, NTB, and LTB. Since the SNR is to be as large as of contribution each response characteristic of the first principal
possible, the SNR of the milling characteristics belongs to the LTB component is generally used as the weight of the GRC. The weight
class. As shown in Eq. (3), the above SNR data is normalized. of GRC is calculated, as shown in Eq. (9).
8
> maxyi ðkÞ  yi ðkÞ ai ¼ V 2i1 (9)
>
> STB
>
> maxy i ðkÞ  minyi ðkÞ
>
>
>
< where ai is the weight of GRC; V i1 is the eigenvector of the first
maxjyi ðkÞ  aðkÞj  jyi ðkÞ  aðkÞj
xi ðkÞ ¼ NTB (3) principal component.
>
> maxjy i ðkÞ  aðkÞj  minjyi ðkÞ  aðkÞj
>
> Step 6: Calculate the gray relational grade (GRG).
>
>
>
> yi ðkÞ  minyi ðkÞ The GRG is the weighted sum of the GRC, as shown in Eq. (10).
: LTB
maxyi ðkÞ  minyi ðkÞ
X
n

where i ¼ 1  m, k ¼ 1  n, xi ðkÞ2½0; 1; yi ðkÞ is the original SNR,

g¼ ai εi (10)
i¼1
xi ðkÞ is the normalized SNR, and aðkÞ is the target value of yi ðkÞ.
Step 4: Calculate the GRC. Pn
where g is the GRG; ai is the weight of GRC and i¼1 ai ¼ 1.
After the data preprocessing, the normalized SNR is used to
calculate GRC. Per Eq. (4), the GRC is calculated as:
2.6.3. Phase III: verification experiment
Step 7: The verification experiment is conducted to verify the
Dmin þ z$Dmax
εi ðkÞ ¼ (4) feasibility of the optimal MQL parameter combination.
D0i ðkÞ þ z$Dmax

where εi ðkÞ is GRC; D0i ðkÞ is the absolute value of the deviation
between x0 ðkÞ and xi ðkÞ and D0i ðkÞ ¼ jx0 ðkÞ  xi ðkÞj; x0 ðkÞ is the
ideal value of xi ðkÞ and x0 ðkÞ ¼ 1; Dmin is the minimum value of
D0i ðkÞ and Dmin ¼ min$min$D0i ðkÞ; Dmax is the maximum value of
ci ck
D0i ðkÞ and Dmax ¼ max$max $D0i ðkÞ; z is the distinguishing coeffi-
ci ck
cient between zero and one and is normally selected as 0.5.
Step 5: Calculate the weight of GRC based on PCA.
Based on the above GRC data, the PCA is used to calculate the
weight of GRC.
(a) Establish the GRC matrix
3. Results and discussions
In this section, the results obtained from experiments under
cooling/lubrication conditions with different MQL parameters are
summarized. Firstly, based on the Taguchi-method analysis, the
effects of the MQL parameters (the cutting fluid concentration,
cutting fluid flow rate, and gas pressure) in terms of the milling
force, milling temperature, surface micro-hardness, and surface
roughness were evaluated. Then, based on the PCA-GRA method
analysis, multi-objective optimization was performed and the
optimal MQL parameter combination was obtained. Finally, the
1516 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522
Fig. 7. Flowchart for this work.
feasibility of the optimal MQL parameter combination was verified
by using the verification experiments. In addition, the causative
mechanisms of the effects of the MQL parameters on the milling
characteristics were discussed. The flowchart for this work is
shown in Fig. 7.
3.1. Evaluation of milling characteristics based on the Taguchi
method analysis
The orthogonal experiments based on Taguchi method were
performed and the experiment results were obtained. The
orthogonal experiment arrangements are tabulated in Table 8 and
the experiment results are summarized in Fig. 8 and Table 8.
Meanwhile, the SNR analysis based on the Taguchi method was also
performed. The SNR of the milling characteristics are calculated by
Eq. (2) and are also given in Table 8. In addition, the ANOVA of the
SNR of the milling characteristics was obtained as shown in Table 9.
For the milling force, the ANOVA of the SNR of the maximum
resultant force Fcmax is summarized in Table 9. According to the F
distribution table, F0.01(3,6) ¼ 9.7795, F0.05(3,6) ¼ 4.76;
F(W) > F0.01(3,6), F(Q) > F0.01(3,6), F(P) > F0.01(3,6), implying that
the cutting fluid concentration, cutting fluid flow rate, and gas
pressure all have highly significant effects on the milling force.
Meanwhile, the contribution rate of the cutting fluid concentration,
Fig. 8. Measurement results of the milling characteristics ((a) milling force, (b) milling
temperature, (c) surface micro-hardness, and (d) surface roughness).
cutting fluid flow rate, and gas pressure to the milling force is
55.39%, 15.90%, and 26.20%, respectively. Hence, for the milling
force, the most significant MQL parameter is the cutting fluid
concentration W, followed by the gas pressure P, whereas the least
influential parameter is the cutting fluid flow rate Q. As shown in
Table 10 and Fig. 9(a), when the cutting fluid concentration was
increased from 0.05 wt% to 0.2 wt%, the SNR responses of the
milling force were first increased and then decreased, and reached
the maximum when the cutting fluid concentration was 0.1 wt%. As
shown in Fig. 10, this is because the appropriate amount of gra-
phene additives could enhance the anti-friction and load-bearing
capacities of the oil film formed in the milling zone. However, if
the cutting fluid concentration is too low, the enhancement effect
will be weakened due to insufficient lubrication. Meanwhile, when
the cutting fluid concentration is too high, the relatively large
quantity of graphene additives could easily block the milling zone
and hinder the formation of the oil film, resulting in the weakening
of the enhancement effect due to insufficient lubrication. When the
cutting fluid flow rate was increased from 30 mL/h to 120 mL/h, the
SNR responses of the maximum resultant force first increased and
then decreased, reaching the maximum when the flow rate was
60 mL/h. This may be due to insufficient lubrication in the milling
zone when the cutting fluid flow rate is too small. Meanwhile, a
too-large cutting fluid flow rate could reduce the jet velocity of the
cutting fluid, decrease the ability of the cutting fluid jet to penetrate
the gas barrier layer around the milling tool, and cause insufficient
lubrication. When the gas pressure was increased from 0.4 MPa to
0.7 MPa, the SNR responses of the maximum resultant force Fcmax
also first increased and then decreased, reaching the maximum
when the gas pressure was 0.6 MPa. This is because the ability of
the cutting fluid jet to penetrate the gas barrier layer around the
milling tool is poor when the gas pressure is less than 0.6 MPa, thus
resulting in insufficient lubrication. Meanwhile, when the gas
pressure is more than 0.6 MPa, the flyoff of cutting fluid jet grad-
ually increases as the gas pressure increases, which also could
result in insufficient lubrication. As shown in Fig. 9(a), it was
observed that the optimal MQL parameter combination for the
minimum Fcmax can be designated as W2Q2P3, namely, 0.1 wt%
cutting fluid concentration (level 2), 60 mL/h cutting fluid flow rate
(level 2), and 0.6 MPa gas pressure (level 3).
For the milling temperature, the ANOVA of the SNR of the
 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522 1517

Table 9
The ANOVA table of the SNR of the milling characteristics.

Milling characteristic W Q P Error Total

Fcmax DF 3 3 3 6 15
Seq. SS 8.9578 2.5704 4.2360 0.4067 16.1708
Adj. MS 2.9859 0.8568 1.4120 0.0678
F 44.06 12.64 20.83
P 0.000 0.005 0.001
Contribution 55.39% 15.90% 26.20%
Tmax DF 3 3 3 6 15
Seq. SS 6.2078 2.9739 1.9741 1.0072 12.1630
Adj. MS 2.0693 0.9913 0.6580 0.1679
F 12.33 5.91 3.92
P 0.006 0.032 0.073
Contribution 51.04% 24.45% 16.23%
MH DF 3 3 3 6 15
Seq. SS 1.6123 1.3026 0.9629 0.4939 4.3717
Adj. MS 0.5374 0.4342 0.3210 0.0823
F 6.53 5.27 3.90
P 0.026 0.040 0.074
Contribution 36.88% 29.80% 22.03%
Ra DF 3 3 3 6 15
Seq. SS 10.2981 4.7569 5.4471 0.4469 20.9489
Adj. MS 3.4327 1.5856 1.8157 0.0745
F 46.09 21.29 24.38
P 0.000 0.001 0.001
Contribution 49.16% 22.71% 26.00%

Table 10
Mean SNR response table of the milling characteristics.

Milling characteristic MQL parameter

W Q P

Fcmax Level 1 30.795 30.125 30.860

Level 2 28.982 29.430 30.094
Level 3 29.782 30.215 29.429
Level 4 30.739 30.528 29.915
Delta 1.813 1.097 1.431
Rank 1 3 2
Tmax Level 1 47.007 46.549 46.835
Level 2 45.403 46.098 46.552
Level 3 46.353 45.919 45.873
Level 4 46.833 47.031 46.338
Delta 1.604 1.112 0.962
Rank 1 2 3
MH Level 1 51.445 51.335 51.676
Level 2 50.782 50.894 51.041
Level 3 51.283 51.226 51.120
Level 4 51.638 51.693 51.310
Delta 0.856 0.799 0.636
Rank 1 2 3
Ra Level 1 6.956 8.244 7.146
Level 2 9.104 8.748 8.219
Level 3 8.512 8.147 8.739
Level 4 7.802 7.236 8.271
Delta 2.148 1.512 1.593
Rank 1 3 2

milling temperature is shown in Table 9. From the F distribution
table, F(W) > F0.01(3,6), and hence, the cutting fluid concentration
has a highly significant effect on the milling temperature;
F0.05(3,6) < F(Q) < F0.01(3,6), indicating that the cutting fluid flow
rate has a significant effect on the milling temperature; and
F(P) < F0.05(3,6), indicating that the effect of the gas pressure on the
milling temperature is not significant. Meanwhile, the contribution
rate of the cutting fluid concentration, cutting fluid flow rate, and
gas pressure to the milling temperature are 51.04%, 24.45%, and
16.23%, respectively. Therefore, for the milling temperature, the
most significant MQL parameter was the cutting fluid concentra-
tion W, followed by the cutting fluid flow rate Q, and the least is the
gas pressure P. As shown in Table 10 and Fig. 9(b), when the cutting
fluid concentration was increased from 0.05 wt% to 0.2 wt%, the
SNR responses of the milling temperature first increased and then
decreased, and reached the maximum when the cutting fluid
concentration was 0.1 wt%. This is mainly because the appropriate
amount of graphene additives could help enhance the cooling ca-
pacity of the oil film formed in the milling zone based on the
principle that the presence of solid particles enhance the heat
transfer. However, when the cutting fluid concentration is too low,
the enhancement effect will be weakened due to insufficient
cooling. Meanwhile, when the cutting fluid concentration is too
high, the relatively large quantity of graphene additives could easily
1518 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522
Fig. 9. Mean SNR response graph of the milling characteristics ((a) milling force, (b)
milling temperature, (c) surface micro-hardness, and (d) surface roughness).
Fig. 10. Schematic diagram of milling under cooling/lubrication conditions with
different cutting fluid concentrations ((a) higher cutting fluid concentration, (b)
appropriate cutting fluid concentration, and (c) lower cutting fluid concentration).
block the milling zone and hinder the formation of the oil film,
thereby weakening the enhancement effect due to insufficient
cooling. When the cutting fluid flow rate was increased from
30 mL/h to 120 mL/h, the SNR responses of the milling temperature
were first increased and then decreased, and reached the
maximum when the cutting fluid flow rate was 90 mL/h. This may
be due to the insufficient cooling in the milling zone when the
cutting fluid flow rate is too small. Meanwhile, a too-large cutting
fluid flow rate could reduce the cutting fluid jet velocity, decrease
the ability of the cutting fluid jet to penetrate the gas barrier layer
around the milling tool, and cause insufficient cooling. When the
gas pressure was increased from 0.4 MPa to 0.7 MPa, the SNR re-
sponses of the milling temperature also first increased and then
decreased, and reached the maximum when the gas pressure was
0.6 MPa. This is because the ability of the cutting fluid jet to
penetrate the gas barrier layer around the milling tool is poor when
the gas pressure is less than 0.6 MPa, resulting in insufficient
cooling. Meanwhile, when the gas pressure is more than 0.6 MPa,
the flyoff of the cutting fluid jet gradually increases with the
increase in gas pressure, which could also contribute to insufficient
cooling. From to Fig. 9(b), it can be seen that the optimal MQL
parameter combination for the minimum milling temperature is
W2Q3P3, which stands for 0.1 wt% cutting fluid concentration
(level 2), 90 mL/h cutting fluid flow rate (level 3), and 0.6 MPa gas
pressure (level 3).
With regard to the surface micro-hardness, the ANOVA of the
SNR of the surface micro-hardness is shown in Table 9. According to
the F distribution table, F0.05(3,6) < F(W) < F0.01(3,6), which implies
that the cutting fluid concentration has a significant effect on the
surface micro-hardness; F0.05(3,6) < F(Q) < F0.01(3,6), indicating
that the flow rate of the cutting fluid also has a significant effect on
the surface micro-hardness; F(P) < F0.05(3,6), which leads us to
conclude that the effect of the gas pressure on the surface micro-
hardness is not significant. Meanwhile, the contribution rate of
the cutting fluid concentration, cutting fluid flow rate, and gas
pressure to the surface micro-hardness is 36.88%, 29.80%, and
22.03%, respectively. Hence, for the surface micro-hardness, the
most significant MQL parameter is the cutting fluid concentration
W, followed by the cutting fluid flow rate Q, while the least influ-
ential is the gas pressure P. As can be seen from Table 10 and
Fig. 9(c), when the cutting fluid concentration was increased from
0.05 wt% to 0.2 wt%, the SNR responses of the surface micro-
hardness first increased and then decreased, reaching the
maximum when the cutting fluid concentration was 0.1 wt %. When
the cutting fluid flow rate increased from 30 mL/h to 120 mL/h, the
SNR responses of the surface micro-hardness first increased and
then decreased, reaching the maximum when the cutting fluid flow
rate was 60 mL/h. When the gas pressure was increased from
0.4 MPa to 0.7 MPa, the SNR responses of the surface micro-
hardness also first increased and then decreased, with the
maximum value corresponding to a gas pressure of 0.5 MPa. Work
hardening in the milling process is mainly caused by the combined
effects of the friction, extrusion, and milling heat generated in the
tool-workpiece interface. Among them, the friction and extrusion
could improve the work hardening, while milling heat could
weaken the work hardening. From the above analysis of the milling
force and milling temperature, it is evident that inappropriate MQL
parameters could cause insufficient lubrication and cooling. Thus,
insufficient lubrication could increase work hardening whereas
insufficient cooling could reduce it. When the MQL parameters
values are very small, the strengthening effects are far greater than
the weakening effects while large MQL parameters result in the
strengthening effects being far greater than the weakening effects.
From Fig. 9(c), it can be seen that the optimal MQL parameter
combination for the minimum surface micro-hardness was
W2Q2P2, which stands for 0.1 wt% cutting fluid concentration
(level 2), 60 mL/h cutting fluid flow rate (level 2), and 0.5 MPa gas
pressure (level 2).
The ANOVA of the SNR of the surface roughness is shown in
Table 9. According to the F distribution table, F(W) > F0.01(3,6),
F(Q) > F0.01(3,6), F(P) > F0.01(3,6), implying that the cutting fluid
concentration, the cutting fluid flow rate, and the gas pressure all
have a highly significant effect on the surface roughness. Mean-
while, the contribution rate of the cutting fluid concentration,
cutting fluid flow rate, and gas pressure to the surface roughness is
49.16%, 22.71%, and 26.00%, respectively. Therefore, for the surface
roughness, the most significant MQL parameter is the cutting fluid
concentration W, followed by the gas pressure P, while the cutting
fluid flow rate Q is the least significant parameter. As can be seen
from Table 10 and Fig. 9(d), when the cutting fluid concentration
was increased from 0.05 wt% to 0.2 wt%, the SNR responses of the
surface roughness first increased and then decreased, reaching the
maximum when the cutting fluid concentration was 0.1 wt%. When
the cutting fluid flow rate was increased from 30 mL/h to 120 mL/h,
 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522 1519

the SNR responses of the surface roughness first increased and then Table 12
decreased, with the maximum corresponding to a cutting fluid flow Eigenvalues and percentages of the principal component.

rate of 60 mL/h. When the gas pressure was increased from 0.4 MPa Principal component Eigenvalue Percentage Cumulative
to 0.7 MPa, the SNR responses of the surface roughness first First 3.525 88.13% 88.13%
increased and then decreased, reaching the maximum when the Second 0.251 6.28% 94.41%
gas pressure was 0.6 MPa. Insufficient lubrication and cooling leads Third 0.161 4.02% 98.43%
to deterioration in the surface quality and increase in the surface Fourth 0.063 1.57% 100%

roughness. As shown in Fig. 9(d), the optimal MQL parameter

combination for the minimum surface roughness is W2Q2P3,
which indicates 0.1 wt% cutting fluid concentration (level 2), 60 mL/ Table 13
Eigenvectors and contribution of the first principal component.
h cutting fluid flow rate (level 2), and 0.6 MPa gas pressure (level 3).
Overall, it could be concluded that the cutting fluid concentra- Milling characteristic Eigenvector contribution
tion is the more significant MQL parameter affecting the milling Fcmax 0.514 26.43%
characteristics rather than the cutting fluid flow rate and gas Tmax 0.498 24.78%
pressure in the MQL milling of TC4 alloy with graphene-dispersed MH 0.488 23.77%
vegetable-oil-based cutting fluid. However, the optimal MQL Ra 0.500 25.02%

parameter combinations for the milling force, milling temperature,

surface micro-hardness, and surface roughness are different.
Therefore, a multi-objective optimization process is needed to respectively. Moreover, the variance contribution for the first
obtain a unified optimal MQL parameter combination for the four principal component characterizing all the original variables (the
milling characteristics (the milling force, milling temperature, above GRC array) is as high as 88.13%, as can be seen in Table 12.
surface micro-hardness, and surface roughness). Therefore, the square of the corresponding eigenvector of the first
principal component was selected as the weight of the corre-
sponding milling characteristic, and the weights of the corre-
3.2. Multi-objective optimization based on PCA-GRA method sponding milling characteristic used to calculate the GRG are
26.43%, 24.78%, 23.77%, and 25.02%, respectively.
In order to obtain a unified optimal MQL parameter combination Finally, the GRG was calculated using Eq. (10), as shown in
for the four milling characteristics (the milling force, milling tem- Table 11. The ANOVA of the GRG is shown in Table 15. From the F
perature, surface micro-hardness and surface roughness), multi- distribution table, F0.01(3,6) ¼ 9.7795, F0.05(3,6) ¼ 4.76;
objective optimization based on the PCA-GRA method is per- F(W) > F0.01(3,6), indicating the cutting fluid concentration has a
formed. Based on the SNR data calculated in section 3.1, the highly significant effect on the GRG; F(Q) < F0.05(3,6),
normalized SNR of milling characteristics was calculated by using F(P) < F0.05(3,6), leading to the conclusion that the effects of the
Eq. (3) and the GRC of milling characteristics was calculated by cutting fluid flow rate and gas pressure on the GRG are not signif-
using Eq. (4), as illustrated in Table 11. icant. Meanwhile, the contribution rate of the cutting fluid con-
In order to provide an objective assessment of the relative centration, cutting fluid flow rate, and gas pressure to the GRG is
importance for each milling characteristic in the GRG, the PCA-
method was introduced to determine the corresponding weight
for each milling characteristic. The above GRC data were used to Table 14
calculate the correlation coefficient array and determine the cor- Mean GRG response table of the milling characteristics.
responding eigenvalues and eigenvectors, as shown in Tables 12 Level W Q P
and 13. The square of the eigenvector could represent the contri-
1 0.448 0.607 0.465
bution rate of the corresponding milling characteristic to the
2 0.821 0.674 0.594
principal component. Table 13 shows that the contribution rates of 3 0.594 0.604 0.663
the milling force, milling temperature, surface micro-hardness, and 4 0.490 0.469 0.631
surface roughness are 26.43%, 24.78%, 23.77%, and 25.02%, Delta 0.372 0.205 0.199
Rank 1 2 3

Table 11
Normalized SNR, GRC, and GRG of the milling characteristics.

No. Normalized SNR GRC GRG

Fcmax Tmax MH Ra Fcmax Tmax MH Ra Value Rank

1 0.049 0.000 0.041 0.079 0.345 0.333 0.343 0.352 0.343 15

2 0.602 0.214 0.760 0.560 0.557 0.389 0.676 0.532 0.537 9
3 0.517 0.654 0.587 0.524 0.509 0.591 0.548 0.512 0.539 8
4 0.316 0.084 0.139 0.059 0.422 0.353 0.367 0.347 0.373 14
5 0.960 0.859 1.000 0.978 0.927 0.780 1.000 0.958 0.916 2
6 0.893 0.677 0.769 0.817 0.823 0.608 0.684 0.732 0.714 5
7 1.000 1.000 0.917 1.000 1.000 1.000 0.858 1.000 0.966 1
8 0.941 0.609 0.441 0.872 0.894 0.561 0.472 0.796 0.687 7
9 0.893 0.579 0.684 0.907 0.823 0.543 0.613 0.843 0.709 6
10 0.855 0.642 0.729 0.935 0.775 0.583 0.648 0.885 0.725 3
11 0.459 0.455 0.158 0.542 0.480 0.479 0.373 0.522 0.465 11
12 0.568 0.171 0.347 0.610 0.536 0.376 0.434 0.562 0.479 10
13 0.435 0.142 0.067 0.724 0.469 0.368 0.349 0.645 0.459 12
14 0.874 0.662 0.599 0.949 0.798 0.596 0.555 0.908 0.718 4
15 0.246 0.331 0.395 0.512 0.399 0.428 0.452 0.506 0.446 13
16 0.000 0.056 0.000 0.000 0.333 0.346 0.333 0.333 0.337 16
1520 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522

Table 15 (W2Q2P3) is not in the orthogonal experiment arrangement table.

The ANOVA table of the GRG. Therefore, it is necessary to verify the optimal MQL parameter
Factor DF Seq. SS Adj. MS F P Contribution combination through additional experiments.
W 3 0.3338 0.1113 13.01 0.005 59.07%
The initial MQL parameter combination is W1Q3P3 (Experiment
Q 3 0.0885 0.0295 3.45 0.092 15.66% No. 3), namely, 0.05 wt% cutting fluid concentration (level 1),
P 3 0.0915 0.0305 3.57 0.087 16.19% 90 mL/h cutting fluid flow rate (level 3), and 0.6 MPa gas pressure
Error 6 0.0513 0.0086 (level 3). The verification experiments were performed and
Total 15 0.5652
repeated 30 times, and the experiment results are shown in
Table 16 and Fig. 12. The results of the verification experiment
indicated that the milling force (maximum resultant force) was
reduced from 32.870 N to 26.911 N, the milling temperature was
decreased from 194.764  C to 168.296  C, the surface micro-
hardness was reduced from 359.126 H V to 329.117 H V, and the
surface roughness was decreased from 0.411 mm to 0.309 mm. The
improvement rates of the milling force, milling temperature, sur-
face micro-hardness, and surface roughness are 18.13%, 13.59%,
8.36%, and 24.82%. In conclusion, it is clearly shown that the mul-
tiple response characteristics in MQL milling of TC4 alloy with
graphene-dispersed vegetable-oil-based cutting fluid were signif-
icantly improved through the integrated Taguchi-PCA-GRA opti-
mization method.
Overall, in this work, the parameter optimization was per-
formed to improve the milling characteristics during minimum
quantity lubrication milling of TC4 alloy with graphene-dispersed
vegetable-oil-based cutting fluid. Meanwhile, many researchers
have applied nanoparticle-dispersed cutting fluid to the turning
and grinding. In the turning process, the Carbon nanotubes-
dispersed cutting fluid was adopted and showed superior perfor-
mances than pure cutting fluids in terms of cutting temperature
and surface roughness (Sharma et al., 2015). Meanwhile, Taguchi
Fig. 11. Mean GRG response graph of the experiment results.
design and response surface methodology were used to improve
the machining performances and achieved significant results
59.07%, 15.66%, and 16.19%, respectively. Hence, for the GRG, the (Sarıkaya and Güllü, 2014). In the grinding process, the machining
most significant MQL parameter was the cutting fluid concentra- characteristics in terms of friction coefficient, specific grinding
tion W, followed by the gas pressure P, while the least significant is
the cutting fluid flow rate Q. As shown in Table 14 and Fig. 11, when
the cutting fluid concentration was increased from 0.05 wt% to
0.2 wt%, the GRG first increased and then decreased, reaching the
maximum when the cutting fluid concentration was 0.1 wt%. When
the cutting fluid flow rate was increased from 30 mL/h to 120 mL/h,
the GRG first increased and then decreased, with the maximum
corresponding to a cutting fluid flow rate of 60 mL/h. When the gas
pressure was increased from 0.4 MPa to 0.7 MPa, the GRG also
increased initially and then decreased, reaching the maximum
when the gas pressure was 0.6 MPa. From Fig. 10, it can be seen that
the optimal MQL parameter combination for the GRG was W2Q2P3,
which represents 0.1 wt% cutting fluid concentration (level 2),
60 mL/h cutting fluid flow rate (level 2), and 0.6 MPa gas pressure
(level 3).

3.3. Verification experiment

As described in section 3.2, the optimal MQL parameter com-

bination is identified as W2Q2P3. However, as shown in Table 8, it
could be seen that the optimal MQL parameter combination Fig. 12. Results of verification experiment ((a) milling force, (b) milling temperature,
(c) surface micro-hardness, and (d) surface roughness).

Table 16
Experiment verification table.

milling characteristic Initial MQL parameter combination (W1Q3P3) Optimal MQL parameter combination (W2Q2P3) Improvement rate

Fcmax (N) 32.870 26.911 18.13%

Tmax ( C) 194.764 168.296 13.59%
MH (HV) 359.126 329.117 8.36%
Ra (mm) 0.411 0.309 24.82%
 M. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 209 (2019) 1508e1522
energy, and surface roughness were improved significantly by us-
ing the MQL with MoS2-dispersed cutting fluid (Zhang et al., 2015).
Therefore, the nanoparticle additives are effective for improving
the machining characteristics of traditional cutting fluids. In addi-
tion, the graphene-dispersed vegetable-oil-based cutting fluid is
also very promising in other machining areas, such as turning,
grinding and so on.
4. Conclusions and future work
In this study, the milling characteristics of TC4 alloy under
cooling/lubrication conditions with different MQL parameters are
investigated experimentally. Meanwhile, the effects of the MQL
parameters on the four milling characteristics (the milling force,
milling temperature, surface micro-hardness, and surface rough-
ness) were evaluated and analyzed using the SNR analysis based on
the Taguchi method. In addition, the unified optimal MQL param-
eter combination for the four milling characteristics is obtained
using the integrated Taguchi-PCA-GRA optimization method. The
following conclusions could be drawn from the study.
(1) The cutting fluid concentration, cutting fluid flow rate, and
gas pressure all have a pronounced effect on the milling
force. Meanwhile, the most significant MQL parameter is the
cutting fluid concentration W, followed by the gas pressure P,
while the least is the cutting fluid flow rate Q. In addition, the
optimal MQL parameter combination for the minimum
milling force was W2Q2P3. This is because the appropriate
MQL parameter could enhance the lubrication property of
the oil film formed in the milling zone in the MQL milling of
TC4 alloy with graphene-dispersed vegetable-oil-based cut-
ting fluid.
(2) With regard to the milling temperature, the cutting fluid
concentration has a highly significant effect, and the cutting
fluid flow rate has a moderately significant effect, while the
effect of the gas pressure is not significant. In addition, the
optimal MQL parameter combination for minimum milling
temperature was W2Q3P3. This is because the appropriate
MQL parameter could enhance the cooling property of the oil
film formed in milling zone.
(3) Both the cutting fluid concentration and the cutting fluid
flow rate have a significant effect on the surface micro-
hardness, while the effect of the gas pressure is not signifi-
cant. Meanwhile, the most significant MQL parameter is the
cutting fluid concentration W, followed by the cutting fluid
flow rate Q, while the gas pressure P is the least significant. In
addition, the optimal MQL parameter for the minimum sur-
face micro-hardness was W2Q2P2. This is likely because the
appropriate MQL parameter combination could enhance the
lubrication and cooling properties of the oil film to reduce
the extrusion, friction, and cutting heat.
(4) The cutting fluid concentration, the cutting fluid flow rate
and the gas pressure all have a highly significant effect on the
resulting surface roughness. Meanwhile, the most significant
MQL parameter is the cutting fluid concentration W, fol-
lowed by the gas pressure P, while the least significant is the
cutting fluid flow rate Q. In addition, the optimal MQL
parameter for the minimum surface roughness was W2Q2P3.
This is mainly because appropriate MQL parameter could
enhance the lubrication and cooling properties of the oil film
to improve the surface quality and reduce the surface
roughness.
(5) The unified optimal MQL parameter combination for the four
milling characteristics is obtained by integrating the Taguchi
method, PCA method, and GRA method. The unified optimal
1521
MQL parameter combination was W2Q2P3. The cutting fluid
concentration has a highly significant effect, while the effects
of the flow rate and gas pressure are not significant. Finally,
the unified optimal MQL parameter combination was veri-
fied by an experiment, which ensured the robustness of the
optimal results. The verification experiment results indicated
that all the four milling characteristics were significantly
improved through the integrated Taguchi-PCA-GRA optimi-
zation process. The improvement rates of the milling force,
milling temperature, surface micro-hardness, and surface
roughness are 18.13%, 13.59%, 8.36%, and 24.82%, respectively.
In addition, the investigation results attest to the feasibility of
the integrated Taguchi-PCA-GRA optimization method and
also provides an experimental basis for the application of the
graphene additive in MQL milling of TC4 alloy with
graphene-dispersed vegetable-oil-based cutting fluid.
(6) The graphene additive is effective for improving the
machining performances in terms of the milling force, mill-
ing temperature, surface micro-hardness, and surface
roughness by improving the cooling and lubrication char-
acteristics of the vegetable-oil-based cutting fluid. Overall,
the application of the graphene-dispersed vegetable-oil-
based cutting fluid in the machining process is very mean-
ingful and promising.
(7) MQL can greatly reduce the consumption of cutting fluid,
which can reduce environmental pollution and high cost
caused by the subsequent processing of cutting fluid. In
addition, MQL can also enhance the ability of cutting fluid to
enter the cutting zone, which can greatly improve the cool-
ing and lubrication effect. In general, MQL is a highly efficient
and low-cost machining technology.
In future work, the fundamental mechanisms of the effect of the
graphene-dispersed vegetable-oil-based cutting fluid on the mill-
ing characteristics (the milling force, milling temperature, surface
micro-hardness, and surface roughness) need to be further studied.
More theoretical modeling is required for better understanding of
these fundamental mechanisms. Meanwhile, the fundamental
mechanisms of the effect of the graphene-dispersed vegetable-oil-
based cutting fluid on tool wear are still to be further studied. In
addition, the specific cutting energy needs to be further studied to
predict the energy consumption during MQL milling of TC4 alloy
with graphene-dispersed vegetable-oil-based cutting fluid.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by grants from the Major Project of
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China
(201675514), the Joint Funds of the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (U1508206), the National Key Research and
Development Program of China (2017YFA0701200), and the Science
and Technology Planning Project of Shenyang City (18006001). The
authors would like to thank Professor Ji Zhao, Jiashun Shi, and Lida
Zhu for excellent technical support and my wife (Hongxiao Li) for
critically reviewing the manuscript.
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