An experimental investigation on the effects of minimum quantity nano lubricant application in grinding process of Tungsten carbide

Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) technique is an efficient and eco-friendly method of lubricant application in machining processes. The lubricant type applied in this technique is not only important in relation to environmental aspects but also has a great effect on machining efficiency. Nanolubricant (nanofluid) is composed of nanoparticles suspended in base oil and shows prominent lubrication performance. In the present study, the effects of minimum quantity nano-lubrication (MQNL) in surface grinding of Tungsten carbide grade YG8 is experimentally investigated. The nanolubricants applied in the experiments include MoS2, graphite, and Al2O3 nanoparticles (with varying concentration) dispersed in two different base oils- mineral oil (paraffin) and vegetable oil (sunflower). The grinding outputs such as specific energy, cutting force, and surface quality were used as measurands for determining the process efficiency. Furthermore, performance evaluation of MQNL in grinding process of WC material was performed by comparing the grinding outputs at different environment such as dry, wet, and MQL. The results show that, if nanoparticles are selected properly, MQNL technique is an effective method to improve the process efficiency by reducing the grinding force, specific energy, and increasing surface quality.