Journal of Cleaner Production 137 (2016) 537e545

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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

Performance evaluation of aluminium 6063 drilling under the

influence of nanofluid minimum quantity lubrication
Sukhpal Singh Chatha a, Amrit Pal b, *, Tarjeet Singh a
a
Yadavindra College of Engineering, Punjabi University Guru Kashi Campus, Talwandi Sabo, Punjab 151302, India
b
GZS Campus College of Engg. & Tech., Bathinda, Punjab 151001, India

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

Article history: For environmental and economic reasons, recent research in industry and academia has sought ways to
Received 30 December 2015 reduce the use of machining fluids. New cutting techniques are to be investigated to achieve this
Received in revised form objective. Minimal quantity of lubrication (MQL) is a recent technique introduced in machining to obtain
18 July 2016
safe, environmental and economic benefits, reducing the use of coolant lubricant fluids in metal cutting.
Accepted 21 July 2016
Available online 25 July 2016
The objective of this work is to compare the performance of different lubrication conditions (dry, flooded,
pure MQL and nanofluid MQL) with respect to the cutting forces (thrust force and torque), tool wear and
surface roughness in the drilling of aluminium 6063 alloy by using HSS drill tools. In both MQL methods
Keywords:
Nanofluid MQL (NFMQL)
(pure MQL and MQL with nano-particles) oil supply rate is fixed at 200 ml/h and air pressure is fixed at
Cutting forces 70 Psi. The nano-particles (Al2O3) of 20 nm in size are considered for the nanofluid with volumetric
Surface roughness concentration of 1.5% in base oil (soya bean oil). The experimental results show that the nanofluid MQL
Tool wear (NFMQL) significantly increases the number of drilled holes and reduces the drilling torques and thrust
forces as compare to other coolant-lubrication conditions. Superior results of NFMQL may be attributed
to the reason that NFMQL produces low friction force at the tool/chip and tool/workpiece interfaces due
to its rolling effect of nano-particles and superior cooling performance. In addition, the nanofluid MQL
effectively eliminates chips and burrs to enhance the surface quality of holes and also increases the tool
life by obtained lowest tool wear.
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
In manufacturing, the process of removing unwanted segment
of metal work piece in the form of chips is known as machining
(Nagendra Parashar and Mittal, 2007). The machining process will
shape the workpiece as desired and it is usually done using ma-
chine and cutting tools (Yusup et al., 2012). The growing demands
for high productivity of machining require high material removal
rates, which require high cutting speed and feed rate. Such high
material removal rates inherently produce high cutting tempera-
ture (Meena and Mansori, 2011). High temperature and forces on a
cutting tool drastically reduces tool life and surface finish (Park
et al., 2010). Thus cutting conditions is identified as a critical fac-
tor leading to producing an optimal surface finish with minimal
form error and is featured by high-frequency tool-tip vibration and
the formation of regularly spaced shear bands appeared on chip
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: amritpaul123@gmail.com (A. Pal).
surfaces (Chan et al., 2013). During cutting operations one of the
most important problems is tool wear, caused by the normal load
generated by the interaction between tool and workpiece and by
the relative motion between tool-chip and tool-workpiece
(Kendall, 1998).
Heat generation and friction between tool and chip usually limit
machining performance in drilling operations (Tasdelen et al.,
2008), but this can be reduced by lubrication. Coolants and lubri-
cants are therefore used in high quantities to reduce the temper-
ature, surface roughness and friction in the cutting area (Barros
et al., 2013). There are several types of metal cutting fluids
(MCFs) that can be extensively classified as straight fluids, synthetic
and semi-synthetic fluids, soluble fluids and vegetable based cut-
ting fluids (VBCFs). Petrochemical and synthetic based cutting
fluids create many negative effects (Ozcelik et al., 2011). Due to the
several negative effects they cause, when inappropriately handled,
cutting fluids may damage soil and water resources because of their
toxic effects. As machine operators are constantly at the same
ambient with cutting fluids, they are primarily under impact of
toxic fluids, which cause serious health problems like lung cancer,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.07.139
0959-6526/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
538 S.S. Chatha et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 137 (2016) 537e545
respiratory diseases and genetic diseases (Dhar et al., 2007). Several
researchers state that the costs related to cutting fluids are
frequently higher than those related to cutting tools, so cost also
effected with cutting fluids (Dhar et al., 2006). All costs involved
with cutting fluids (purchasing, recycling, chip drying, etc.) repre-
sent 7.5e17% of the manufacturing costs of a part, which in many
cases is even higher than tool costs (Bragaa et al., 2002; Sharma
et al., 2015). Conservation of materials, energy and environment
is becoming a very important issue. Enormous efforts to reduce the
use of lubricant in metal cutting are being made from the viewpoint
of cost, ecological and human health issues. Minimal quantity
lubrication (MQL) can be considered as one of the solutions to
reduce the amount of lubricant or cutting fluid (Itoigawa et al.,
2006). The use of cutting fluid is important in a machining pro-
cess to cool and lubricate tool and workpiece. Besides that, in some
operations such as drilling, for example, use of cutting fluid helps to
remove the chips from inside the holes, thus preventing drill
breakage (Nandi and Davim, 2009).
It is important to find a way to accomplish machining processes
without or with little cutting fluid and at the same time, promoting
long tool life and good workpiece quality (Bragaa et al., 2002).
Biodegradability is the most important aspect with regard to the
environment and human health. If biodegradability should be
considered, esters and vegetable oils are more indicate to formulate
cutting fluids (Davoodi and Tazehkandi, 2014).
Vegetable based cutting fluids (VBCFs) can be considered envi-
ronmentally friendly because these types of fluids are renewable,
less toxic and possess high biodegradability. They have also good
lubrication capability as compared to straight fluids, synthetic
fluids, soluble fluids (John et al., 2004). Studies about VBCFs on
various mechanical processes have been focused on drilling,
turning, tapping and reaming (Sreejith, 2008). Rahim and Sasahara
(2011), found in high speed drilling of Ti-6Ai-4v, MQL palm oil
produced lower cutting forces and workpiece temperatures than
MQL synthetic ester, almost equal to the flood condition. This was
due to the formation of thin boundary lubrication film and the
reduction of friction at the tooleworkpiece interfaces, which
reduced the heat. Stronger environmental concerns and growing
regulations over contamination and pollution will increase the
need for renewable and biodegradable lubricant (Fox and
Stachowiak, 2007).
1.1. Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL)
Dry operations would be the best solution for the environmental
issues involving metal machining. In reality, they are sometimes
less effective when higher machining efficiency, better surface
finish quality and severe cutting conditions are required
(Sutherland et al., 2000). For these situations, semi dry operations
utilizing very small amounts of cutting lubricants, such as MQL
systems are expected to become a powerful tool (Heisel, 1994). MQL
is a method of supplying lubrication in machining to achieve both
environmental and economic benefits. Cutting fluids (CFs) have so
far been selected mainly on the basis of their primary characteris-
tics, i.e., their cutting performance (Klocke and Eisenblatter, 1997).
In semi-dry operations with MQL, however, the secondary char-
acteristics of lubricants, such as their safety properties, biode-
gradability, oxidation stability and storage stability, are also very
important because the lubricants must be compatible with the
environment and resistant to long-term usage caused by very low
consumption (Sreejith, 2008).
Typically, an MQL system supplies 0.3e0.5 ml/min of a MWF
(Metal working fluids), with pressurized air or other supplemental
gases, where as a conventional system supplies about several
thousand ml/min of MWF. The conventional flood supply system
demands more resources for operation, maintenance, and disposal,
and results in higher environmental and health problems. MQL
machining has many advantages in this regard (Weinert et al.,
2004). In MQL, mist and dangerous vapours are reduced and the
mixture setting is very easy to control (Attanasio et al., 2006).
Typical oil-based lubricants used in MQL do not have the heat
capacity of water-based coolants. Accordingly, the most important
function provided by the lubricants in MQL is to reduce the friction
between tool and work material (Park et al., 2010). So, a good
combination between oil base and additives is the key to improve
this process.
1.2. Nanofluid minimum quantity lubrication (NFMQL)
The reduction of tool wear, surface roughness and improving
dimensional accuracy was successfully conducted using clean
machining processes with minimum quantity lubricant (MQL).
MQL shows superior performance compared to dry and wet
turning. However, the usage of MQL in conjunction with a nano-
lubrication system would be a noteworthy advantage to the
manufacturing process due to its effect on product quality. Nowa-
days, several nano-lubricants have been identified by the
advancement in modern technology, making it possible to sustain
and provide lubricity over a wide range of temperatures (Sayuti
et al., 2014b).
Among various techniques to reduce full usage of MWF (Metal
working fluids), nanofluid MQL was such an environment-friendly
one, which has been recently introduced. Nano technology research
has primarily focused on man-made particles, but naturally
occurring nano-particles have been present for millions of years
(Stanley, 2014).
Nanofluid is a fluid containing nano-particles such as carbon
Nano-tube (CNT), C60, TiO2, Al2O3, MoS2, diamond and so forth. In a
nanofluid MQL, the nanofluid is supplied to the machining area as a
form of mist mixed with highly pressurized compressed air
through a nozzle. Nano-particles are an excellent media to increase
the thermal conductivity of the base fluid. Besides, nano-particles
enhance tribological and wear characteristics significantly (Nam
et al., 2011). Since the discovery of these materials in the form of
nano-particles, especially fullerene like nano-particles and nano-
tubes they have been found to be suitable for adding to lubrica-
tion fluids (Kogovsek et al., 2013). A physical analysis of nano-
lubricant showed that nano-particles can easily penetrate into the
rubbing surfaces and have considerable elasto hydrodynamic
lubrication effect (Rahmati et al., 2014). Researchers discovered
that the frictional coefficient of nanofluid is lower than that of pure
oil and confirmed that the extreme pressure of nanofluid is two
times higher than that of pure oil. Hence, it can be concluded that
nanofluid improved lubrication performance by increasing viscos-
ity and preventing contact between the metal surfaces (Sayuti et al.,
2014a). In this regard, nano-particles suspended in lubricant make
an attractive and innovative solution effect (Rahmati et al., 2014).
As reported by Sayuti et al. (2014a) and Zhang et al. (2011) handling
the nanoparticle itself without mixing with oil is dangerous to
human's health due to nanoparticle would become as airborne
nanoparticle in the air. However, by mixing the nanoparticle with
lubricant oil, the nanoparticle is hardly to become as airborne
nanoparticle in the air.
From the above literature review it may be noted that MQL with
vegetable based cutting fluids (VBCFs) have good lubrication,
environmentally friendly, renewable, less toxic and possess high
biodegradability as compared to straight fluids, synthetic fluids,
soluble fluids. Hence, the present study investigate the effect of
nanofluid minimum quantity lubrication (NFMQL) compare with
the pure MQL, dry and flooded/wet condition in terms of cutting
 S.S. Chatha et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 137 (2016) 537e545
forces, surface roughness and tool wear.
2. Experimental procedure
2.1. Workpiece material and cutting tool
The work-piece used in the drilling experiments was Aluminium
(6063) with the size of 25 mm thick aluminium plate. A plate held
in a vice mounted on top of a dynamometer, which measured the
thrust force and torque data after every 15 holes. The chemical
composition of Aluminium (6063) workpiece measured by Spectro
Metal Analyzer in weight% is as follows: 0.047C, 0.450 Mg, 0.547Si,
0.307Fe, 0.012Zn, 0.007 Pb, 0.008Sn, 0.018Ti, 0.004Cr and the bal-
ance Al.
The machining tests were conducted using the HSS drills bits of
6 mm diameter which consists of two flutes with helix angle of 37

and point angle of 118
. The drill tool with the same geometry and
properties were used for all tests performed under dry, pure MQL,
nanofluid MQL and flooded coolant-lubricant drilling condition.
The drilling experiments were continued until 200 holes. Tool wear
was examined using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micro-
graphs. The tool life is evaluated by measuring tool flank wear.
Surface roughness of machined work piece was measured using
Talysurf (Mitutoyo SJ-201), surface roughness tester. The friction
coefficient (m) was calculated by dividing the measured tangential
force (torque) by the applied normal force (thrust force).
2.2. Cutting fluid
In MQL conditions of machining (pure MQL and nanofluid MQL),
vegetable oil (Refined soya bean oil) was used. This vegetable oil
has 100% biodegradable characteristics, whereas in flood condition
of machining, water soluble oil (ST Kool 74 Al) was used which yield
milky emulsion with water. The nano aluminium oxide (Al2O3)
particles of 20 nm in size, white fluffy powder, 99.8% pure, 85e115
surface area (m2/g), 4.5e5.5 Ph and 50 tapped density (g/l) were
used in nanofluid experiments. The nano (Al2O3) particles volu-
metric concentration of 1.5% was considered for the nanofluid, with
soya bean oil as base fluid. The nano-particles of 20 nm in size were
blended in the refined soybean oil with ultrasonic cleaner up to 2 h
Fig. 1. Minimum quantity lubrication set up for pure MQL and nanofluid MQL.
539
for making nanofluid.
2.3. Drilling tests
Drilling tests were performed using a computer numerically
controlled (CNC) three -axis Drilling & Tapping Machining Center
with a maximum power of 5 kW and a maximum rotational speed
of 12,000 rpm. The drilling station was equipped with an external
MQL system. The MQL supply system delivered pure MQL and
nanofluid MQL mist mixed with high pressurized air to the inter-
face between a drill and a workpiece. A special nozzle was fixed at
the end with nominal diameter of 1 mm, which was used to make
micro droplets of lubricant oil, which could fly to the cutting zone.
The nozzle of the MQL supply system was located near the drilling
area to effectively supply pure MQL and nanofluid MQL mist. The
workpiece was aluminium (6063), which was mounted on top of a
dynamometer. Fig. 1 shows the minimum quantity lubrication set
up. The cutting data was the same that are optimized for drilling
with emulsion and are considered as a reference during the work.
The information about the cutting data is summarized in Table 1.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Drilling thrust force and torque
The initial step of the experimental methodology consisted of
measuring thrust force and torque coming into action during dril-
ling of aluminium 6063 under the flooded, MQL, nanofluid MQL
and dry conditions. The drilling thrust forces and torques during
drilling experiments is measured by the force dynamometer. Three
measurements are taken for each case and the average is plotted to
obtain the graphs. The measured drilling thrust forces (in N) and
torques (in Nm) during the whole drilling process are shown in
Figs. 2e5. The drilling thrust forces and torques are measured after
every 15 holes and graphically shown versus the number of drilled
holes.
In Figs. 2 and 3 shows the thrust forces and torques at the speed
of 30 m/min and feed rate of 60 mm/min. It is observed that in case
of dry drilling; the drill failed due to adhesion at 27th hole. The
drilling thrust force (23 N) and torque (0.33 Nm) is observed after
540 S.S. Chatha et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 137 (2016) 537e545
Table 1
Cutting data.
Machining environment
Cutting fluid supply for Flood, MQL and nano MQL
Drill bit
Depth of drilling hole
Cutting speed (m/min)
Feed rate
Lubrication mode
Air Pressure for MQL and nano-fluid MQL
Fig. 2. Thrust forces generated during dry, flooded, pure MQL and nanofluid MQL
drilling at the speed of 30 m/min.
Fig. 3. Torque generated during dry, flooded, pure MQL and nanofluid MQL drilling at
the speed of 30 m/min.
15 holes in dry drilling condition, which is higher than the other
cooling lubrication conditions. In dry machining, tremendous
pressure and high temperature generated by the process cause the
adhesion of work material to the tool. Whereas, the nanofluid MQL
(NFMQL) condition reduced the magnitudes of average drilling
torques and thrust forces followed by pure MQL and flooded con-
ditions. This can be due to the lower adhesion of work material on
the tool face in nanofluid condition shown in SEM micrographs.
This lower adhesion produces lower frictional force on tool tip. The
lubricant effectiveness in minimizing the frictional effects at the
tool and workpiece interaction in case of nano-particles assisted
machining is evident from the reduced cutting forces compared to
dry and wet machining. Similar results of lower frictional force in
turning of EN8 steel with the application of nanofluid MQL have
also been reported by Krishna and Rao (2008). The higher thrust
force of 32 N is recorded for the flood condition shown in Fig. 2. As
Dry, flooded, MQL and nano-fluid MQL
30,000 (ml/hr) 200 (ml/hr)
6 mm
20 mm
30 and 53.7
60 mm/min
Dry, flooded, pulsed jet
70 Psi
Fig. 4. Thrust forces generated during dry, flooded, pure MQL and nanofluid MQL
drilling at speed of 53.7 m/min.
Fig. 5. Torque generated during dry, flooded, pure MQL and nanofluid MQL drilling at
the speed of 53.7 m/min.
can be seen in Figs. 2 and 3, both pure and nanofluid MQL could
decrease the drilling torques and thrust forces, but the nanofluid
MQL is much more effective than pure MQL. SEM analysis of tool
surface in Fig. 6 indicates the formation and growth of the pro-
tective Al2O3 thin film on the tool surface during machining. As
reported by Rahmati et al. (2014) the nanofluid MQL provide a thin
protective layer between the tool-workpiece interfaces through
chemical reaction. The formation of thin protective layer between
the tool-workpiece interfaces could improve the machining per-
formance by reducing the cutting force and temperature.
As shown in Fig. 4, it can be depicted that for a constant feed rate
(60 mm/min) the thrust force involved in the drilling process re-
duces with the increase in the speed of the spindle. While
increasing the speed, there has been a noticeable decrement in the
thrust force involved in the drilling process. As the speed increases
from 30 to 53.7 m/min, thrust force decreases in all the cooling
 S.S. Chatha et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 137 (2016) 537e545 541

MQL), no drill failure occurred and 200 holes generated success-

fully. Therefore, it can be concluded that flood lubrication, pure
MQL and nanofluid MQL conditions could significantly increase the
number of drilled holes with the single drill. As can be seen in
Figs. 2e5 both pure and nanofluid MQLs could decrease the drilling
torques and thrust forces, but the nanofluid MQL was much more
effective than pure MQL. The addition of nano-particles improved
lubrication and cooling effects with their enhanced penetration and
entrapment at the drilling interface. As a result, the magnitudes of
torques and thrust forces were significantly reduced. Nam et al.
(2011) also reported reduction in torque and thrust force in
micro-drilling of aluminium 6061 using nanofluid MQL.
The characteristics of cutting torque and thrust force variation
with speed are noticed in the drilling with the constant feed rate of
60 mm/min. While increasing the speed, there has been a notice-
able decrement in the cutting torque and thrust force involved in
the drilling process. Zhang et al. (2012) also reported decrease in
Fig. 6. SEM micrograph show exfoliated thin film on the tool surface under nanofluid
MQL condition.
cutting force with the increase in cutting speed.

3.2. Surface roughness

lubrication conditions. In Fig. 4, it is observed that the lowest thrust
force is achieved in 1.5% nanofluid MQL condition. But in case of dry
In an effort to specify performances of various cooling condi-
drilling condition higher thrust force of 24 N is observed after
tions, average value of the surface roughness under different
drilling 15 holes and tool failure occurred at 17th hole due to
coolant-lubricant condition (dry, flooded, MQL and nano-fluid
adhesion. Pure MQL has given the lower thrust force as compared
MQL) at different speeds is analysed. Three measurements are
to flood condition. Overall the nanofluid MQL condition is more
taken for each case and the average is plotted to obtain the graphs.
effective than other lubrication conditions at higher speed. This is
Surface roughness measurement (Ra) is performed inside the holes
due to the spherical nano-particles which cause a rolling effect
using a talysurf instrument, a surface roughness tester. The varia-
between the rubbing surfaces and reduces the coefficient of fric-
tion in surface roughness (Ra) values with the number of drilled
tion. Schematic diagram indicating the presence of nano-particles
holes produced in different drilling conditions is plotted in Figs. 8
at the tool-workpiece interface is shown in Fig. 7. The low friction
and 9.
behaviour of nano-particles effectively minimizes the frictional
It is observed that surface roughness value obtained is quite
effects at the tool-work piece interface and thus reduces the cutting
high in dry condition as compared to coolant-lubricant conditions.
force. Similar results of lower frictional force in hard turning pro-
This is attributed due to adhesion which causes high temperature
cess of hardened steel AISI 4140 with nano-particles have also been
and stresses at the tool tip. The highest surface roughness value
reported by Sayuti et al. (2014b).
recorded is 2.2 mm in 53.7 m/min [Fig. 9] and 2 mm in 30 m/min
Fig. 5 shows that the nanofluid is effective in drilling with
[Fig. 8] at the onset of drill failure during dry drilling. Similar results
respect to torque at cutting speed of 53.7 m/min. Lowest torque is
of higher value of surface roughness for dry drilling have also been
produced in nanofluid MQL condition followed by the pure MQL
repored by Meena and Mansori (2011) for drilling of novel aus-
condition. Highest torque is produced during the flood condition
tempered ductile iron.
which is 0.13 Nm. Overall, the resultant cutting forces (thrust force
In Fig. 8 at the cutting speed of 30 m/min, it is observed that high
and torque) are highest under dry cutting condition. The higher
surface roughness value for pure MQL condition is up to 90 holes.
cutting forces are due to the effect of adhesion of the work material
As shown in Fig. 8, the flood condition seems less effective as
in drill flutes and on the tool face. Similar results of higher drilling
compare to nanofluid MQL (NFMQL) and pure MQL conditions. The
torque and thrust force due to adhesion have also been reported by
lowest surface roughness value of 0.84 mm is observed for nanofluid
Sreejith (2008). Whereas in all other cases (flood, MQL and nano-

Fig. 8. Comparisons among dry, flood, pure MQL and nanofluid MQL drilling with
Fig. 7. Schematic diagram indicating the presence of nano-particles at the tool- respect to drilled holes for average surface roughness values at cutting speed of 30 m/
workpiece interface. min.
542 S.S. Chatha et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 137 (2016) 537e545
Fig. 9. Comparison among dry, flood, pure MQL and nanofluid MQL drilling with
respect to drilled holes for average surface roughness values at cutting speed of
53.7 m/min.
Fig. 10. Coefficient of friction during dry, flooded, pure MQL and nanofluid MQL dril-
ling at speed of 30 m/min.
MQL [Fig. 8]. Nano-particles suspended in lubricant have filler and
polisher effects. Consequently, nano-lubricants produce the best
surface finish. As reported by Rahmati et al. (2014), nano-particles
play their roll like microspheres at the tool-workpiece interface
which reduces the frictional coefficient.
In Fig. 9 at the speed of 53.7 m/min, higher roughness value of
2.2 mm is observed in dry cutting at the 10th hole. It is observed that
surface roughness value in flood condition increases with the in-
crease in number of holes drilled (Fig. 9). Lowest value and
improvement in surface roughness is obtained in nanofluid MQL
condition. The good surface obtained by using nanofluid MQL
technique is probably because of the more effective lubrication and
cooling at the work piece-tool interface. Effective lubrication allows
the chips to slide more easily over the tool surface and results in a
better surface finish. The nano-particles could effectively prevent
chips from being welded to the drill tool and ball bearing effect of
nano-particles plays an important role in eliminating burrs and
chips during the drilling process. Similar results of better surface
finish by nanofluid MQL as compared to other coolant conditions
are reported by Nam et al. (2011) and Sayuti et al. (2014b).
3.3. Coefficient of friction
The variations of friction coefficient of the HSS tool at speeds of
30 m/min and 53.7 m/min are shown in Figs. 10 and 11, respectively
during drilling of aluminium 6063 under the flooded, MQL, nano-
fluid MQL and dry conditions. The friction coefficients are
Fig. 11. Coefficient of friction during dry, flooded, pure MQL and nanofluid MQL dril-
ling at speed of 53.7 m/min.
calculated after every 15 holes and graphically shown versus the
number of drilled holes.
It is observed that, wet cooling (m ¼ 0.0115) and dry environ-
ment (m ¼ 0.0143) shows the highest value of friction coefficient as
compared to other coolant-lubricant conditions. In comparison to
these, pure MQL with water soluble oil reduced the friction coef-
ficient (m ¼ 0.0009) shown in Fig. 10. This is due to the enhanced
penetration of lubricant into the cutting zone with pure MQL fluid
delivery, thereby offering certain degree of interfacial lubrication
during drilling. Addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles with vegetable oil
showed a slight improvement in their lubricity. Lowest value and
improvement in coefficient of friction is obtained in nanofluid MQL
condition at speed of 53.7 m/min shown in Fig. 11. Similar results of
lower coefficient of friction with nanofluid MQL during grinding of
Tie6Ale4V have also been reported by Setti et al. (2015).
3.4. Tool wear
Tool wear is measured during each machining test using SEM
micrographs. The drilling tests were conducted to study the vari-
ation of tool wear under all the drilling conditions i.e. dry, flooded,
pure MQL and nanofluid MQL (NFMQL). During machining under
all cutting environments, the quantity of adhered material of
workpiece on tool and flank wear varied with the type of lubricant
environment. SEM micrographs show the flank wear, adhesion of
work material and BUE (built up edge) on tools during drilling with
dry, pure MQL, nanofluid MQL and flooded drilling conditions. The
experiments are conducted for comparison of results with nano-
fluid MQL.
Figs. 12 and 13 shows the attrition, cracking and adhesion of
workpiece material on tool in relation to different coolant envi-
ronments at the cutting speed of 30 m/min and 53.7 m/min
respectively. As shown in Figs. 12 and 13(a), highest flank wear and
adhesion is observed for dry machining condition as compared to
flooded, pure MQL and nano-fluid MQL condition. Flank wear
increased with increase in the cutting speed. The flank wear rate
was rapid at higher cutting speed, especially when machining un-
der dry drilling condition. A shorter contact area at the chip-tool
interface was observed at high cutting speed (53.7 m/min). This
caused a concentration of high temperature very close to the cut-
ting edge of drill bit. Similar results of higher wear rate at the nose
area of drill in dry drilling due to high temperature has also been
reported by Jawaid et al. (1999).
The tendency of aluminium to adhere to the tool surface is
noticed in dry drilling [Figs. 12 and 13(a)]. As reported by Boopathi
et al. (2013), tremendous pressure and high temperature generated
by the process cause the adhesion of work material to the tool if the
 S.S. Chatha et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 137 (2016) 537e545 543

Fig. 12. SEM micrographs of tool wear (at cutting edge) under different drilling conditions at the cutting speed of 30 m/min: (a) Dry drilling condition; (b) Flooded lubrication
condition; (c) Pure MQL condition; (d) Nanofluid MQL condition.

bonding energy is stronger than the cohesive energy of the work
piece.
It is observed that pure MQL and NFMQL conditions lower tool
wear than flood lubrication, but in case of pure MQL, wear is little
greater than nanofluid MQL (NFMQL) condition. The major differ-
ence is that, the wear is extending throughout the edge for pure
MQL, whereas for flood condition it is concentrated in the middle of
the drill tip [Figs. 12 and 13(b)]. The middle-concentrated wear
behaviour is probably a result of side cooling of the drill edge in
flood condition. Moreover, the high cooling ability of flood lubri-
cation may cause higher stress that has not only resulted in higher
wear but also resulted in different chip contact and chip movement
544 S.S. Chatha et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 137 (2016) 537e545

Fig. 13. SEM micrographs of tool wear (at cutting edge) under different drilling conditions at the cutting speed of 53.7 m/min; (a) Dry drilling condition; (b) Flooded drilling
condition; (c) Pure MQL condition; (d) Nanofluid MQL condition.

on the rake face as also reported by B. Tasdelen et al. (2008).
It can also be clearly observed from SEM micrographs of tools
shown in Figs. 12 and 13 that the average flank wears particularly
its rate of growth decreased with pure MQL and nanofluid MQL
used vegetable oil as base oil.
It is observed that pure MQL drilling conditions significantly
reduce the tool wear and improve the tool life as compare to dry
drilling and flooded condition. After drilling the significant number
of holes using the same tool in pure MQL, the friction force
increased and BUE (built up edge) formation started [Figs. 12 and
13(c)], which lead to welding the chips at the cutting edge near
the periphery of the drill leading to further increase in tool wear.
Similar results of BUE formations at cutting edge with MQL have
also been reported by Meena and Mansori (2011).
It is observed that tool wear obtain is lowest under drilling with
the nanofluid MQL [Figs. 12 and 13(d)]. During machining, heat is
generated at the primary deformation zone and secondary defor-
mation zone, and induces high cutting temperatures. Under such
high cutting temperatures, the nano-particle creates a thin lubri-
cating film on the workpiece and tool. The nano-particle flow at the
 S.S. Chatha et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 137 (2016) 537e545
interface with the vegetable oil and decrease the plastic contacts,
leading to reduction of flank wear. Low coefficient of friction,
sliding action and low shear resistance within the contact interface
reduce flank wear of tool (Krishna et al., 2010).
4. Conclusions
This research describes the lubricating mechanisms of advanced
nano-lubricants, consisting of aluminium oxide nano-particles
(20 nm), in MQL drilling with vegetable oil on aluminium 6063.
MQL is a technique that could reduce many problems coming from
high consumptions of lubricant, like high machining costs or
environmental effects and worker health problems. So, it is
important to know all advantages and limits of this technique.
On the basis of results obtained after the drilling of aluminium
6063 with respect to tool wear, surface roughness, torque and
thrust force under different coolant-lubricant condition (dry, floo-
ded, pure MQL and nanofluid MQL (NFMQL) presented above, it can
be concluded that:
1) The nanofluid MQL technique using nano-particles is very
effective and showed better results in drilling with respect to
pure MQL, flood cooling and dry cutting in terms of cutting
force, surface roughness and tool wear.
2) The dry cutting condition gave poor results in terms of tool life,
surface roughness and cutting forces as the tool failed due to
adhesion.
3) Cutting forces reduced considerable with the increase in cutting
speed from 30 m/min to 53.7 m/min for all the coolant lubricant
conditions under study.
4) The number of drilled holes is significantly increased when the
flooded lubrication, pure MQL and nanofluid MQL being applied.
In the case of flooded lubrication, pure MQL and nanofluid
MQLs, HSS drills successfully drilled 200 holes due to their
enhanced cooling and lubrication effects and reduced chip
adhesion to the drills. However, in the case of dry drilling, HSS
drills failed due to adhesion at the 27th hole.
5) Surface roughness obtained in pure MQL condition is compa-
rable to that of flood cooling, and it is better than that of dry
cutting. Whereas, pure MQL condition gave better results in
terms of tool wear and cutting forces as compare to flood
lubrication condition.
6) This experimental research showed that flood lubricant can be
replaced by the MQL (VBCFs), thus reducing the occupational
health risks associated with petroleum oil based cutting fluids
(CFs).
7) Nano-particles show excellent performance in friction and wear
reduction when combined with vegetable oil. The anti-wear
mechanism is attributed to the deposition of nanoparticles in
surface and physical film formation, which may reduce the
friction and wear.
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