Measurement and Analysis of Surface Roughness in WS2 Solid Lubricant Assisted Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) Turning of Inconel 718

The current research work demonstrates through experiment, the effect of solid lubricant assisted minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) turning of Inconel 718 on the finish quality of machined surface. In MQL application, micron sized tungsten disulfide (WS2) solid lubricant powder particles were dispersed (0.5% wt.) in emulsifier oil based cutting fluid (20:1). To comprehend the finish quality of machined surface with the presence of WS2 solid lubricant, turning tests are conducted. The effect of cutting parameters on the finish quality of work surface is evaluated using statistical design approach. Multiple linear regression models are developed and validated to understand the correlations between cutting parameters. Results demonstrate that, surface quality of machined work material during WS2 solid lubricant assisted MQL machining showed a much improvement on the finish quality of work material by on average about 35% when compared to MQL machining alone.