Amin Bagherzadeh, Emel Kuram, Erhan Budak,

Experimental evaluation of eco-friendly hybrid cooling methods in slot milling of

titanium alloy,
Journal of Cleaner Production,
Volume 289,
2021,
125817,
ISSN 0959-6526,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.125817.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652621000378)
Abstract: The positive effects of cutting fluids on the machinability performance
are well known in machining industry. However, it is also known that their use
causes environmental and health problems. Moreover, manufacturers are faced with
strict environmental regulations in order to employ dry machining, which is not
efficient especially in machining of difficult-to-cut materials such as titanium
alloys. Therefore, machining industry developed alternative green machining
solutions such as minimum quantity of lubrication, vegetable based cutting fluids,
cryogenics and hybrid cooling (combination of cryogenics and minimum quantity of
lubrication). Up to now, no work has been documented in the literature on
comparison of cryogenics and hybrid cooling with minimum quantity of lubrication.
Furthermore, as no information regarding the effects of hybrid cooling on workpiece
temperatures during milling of titanium alloy is available, this research aims to
demonstrate the feasibility of implementing cryogenics and hybrid cooling method in
slot milling of titanium alloy. Thus, the aim of this experimental study was to
determine the machining performance of titanium alloy under various green
lubricating/cooling methods. In order to do so, minimum quantity of lubrication,
cryogenic cooling by spraying liquid nitrogen, cryogenic cooling by spraying carbon
dioxide, simultaneous spraying of carbon dioxide and minimum quantity of
lubrication, and simultaneous spraying of liquid nitrogen and minimum quantity of
lubrication were applied during slot milling process under different cutting
speeds. The performance of these methods was evaluated by measuring tool wear,
temperature, cutting forces and surface roughness. The results showed that the
efficiency of cryogenic cooling was based on the cutting speed where better results
were obtained at higher speeds. It was also concluded that the simultaneous spray
of cryogenic fluid and minimum quantity of lubrication improved the machinability
of titanium alloy as compared to only spray of cryogenics because of both
lubricating and cooling effects. In terms of environmental impact of machining
operations, hybrid cryogenic methods offer an efficient solution to improve the
process sustainability towards cleaner production since the coolant volume is
reduced substantially compared to conventional cooling methods decreasing
pollutants, and lung and skin diseases experienced by the workers in production
facilities. Results showed that the combination of cryogenic and minimum quantity
lubrication method provided a balance between productivity and environment. Hybrid
method improved the productivity of milling process in terms of cutting speed, tool
life, and cost while increasing environmental protection and operator health and
reducing material waste.
Keywords: Cryogenic cooling; Minimum quantity of lubrication; Titanium alloy; Tool
wear; Temperature; Cutting force; Surface roughness