Effects of Targeted Minimum Quantity Fluid (MQF) Application on Surface Integrity

A superior quality of subsurface is essential for the component's (machined) performance as well as its sustainability. One of the main reasons for a poor subsurface generated in machining is attributed to high machining temperatures. This study is focused on managing heat energy effectively to improve subsurface integrity. This paper's focus is to understand the effect of simulating a flood coolant by targeting Minimum Quantity Fluid (MQF) on rake and flank faces of the cutting tool in a partitioned manner. Additionally, the effect of fluid application parameters such as fluid composition, and amount of fluid are analyzed. Facing experiments are carried on annealed AISI 1045 steel with a coated carbide tool. An Infrared Radiation camera is used to generate the temperature maps, thus identifying the location for the fluid application. Residual stresses are measured using hole drilling method. Results show the use of MQF on the rake and flank faces tends to improve the subsurface integrity.The cooling effect of a fluid jet on the flank face is modeled to highlight thermo-physical properties essential in selecting an appropriate cutting fluid as a quenchant. .The primary idea of effectively controlling temperatures in machining to improve subsurface integrity with different quenching media shows good correlation with the results obtained in this paper.