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Design and Development of Nanoparticles

Lubricant (Nano-lubricant) Test Rigs

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 Design and Development of Nanoparticles Lubricant (Nano-lubricant) Test Rigs

C.X.Lee

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), 26600 Pekan,

Pahang, Malaysia, Phone: +60179861095
Email: ma12083@stdmail.ump.edu.my

ABSTRACT

In machining, the key solution for power-efficient and pollution-preventing is by increasing

the effectiveness of existing lubrication systems as this reduces the power required to
overcome the friction component in machining processes for less fuel consumption and
pollution. This study present the development of the test rig to investigate experimentally the
improvement on the lubricating system with the implementation of nano-lubricant.
Experiments are carried out based on the heat transfer of the fluid with nanoparticles and
properties of the nanoparticles. The compatibility of nano-lubricant with conventional
lubricant was studied before the lubricating system performance test. Detailed analysis with
the proper parameter setup are mandatory to ensure the efficiency of implementing nano-
lubricant. In this research, SiO2 nanoparticles are mixed with ordinary mineral oil having
0.2% weight concentration. A proper sonification method is used to mix and suspend the
particles thoroughly and efficiently. The result indicate that the performance of the lubricating
system is better with the implementation of nano-lubricant. There was reduction in the
coefficient of friction in the tool/chip interface, which also reduce the cutting force and
working power. Consequently, considerable power savings, less oil consumption, and less
pollution are achieved.

Keywords: Lubricating system; Nanoparticles; Efficiency; Performance.

INTRODUCTION

Manufacturing industries have been pressured to use less power and reduce pollution by the
development of power-efficient and pollution-preventing policies from the government[1, 2].
However, quality and cost are of main concern in this agenda. In machining processes, in
particular, improved lubrication systems will increase batch production rates with better
product quality[3]. Introducing nanolubrication reduces power consumption as the rolling
action of a billion units of nanoparticles in the tool chip interface decreases the cutting forces
significantly. Additionally, using nanolubrication in machining minimizes the consumption of
the lubrication oil, which decreases pollution [4]. In the present study, a few investigations
has been carried out using nanoparticles. Bi, Shi & Zhang (2008) conducted the experiment
on the reliability and performance of a domestic refrigerator with nanoparticles in the working
fluid. Mineral oil with TiO2 nanoparticles mixtures were used as the lubricant instead of
Polyol-ester (POE) oil in the 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (HFC134a) refrigerator. Energy
consumption test showed that HFC134a and mineral oil with TiO2 nanoparticles works
normally and safely in the refrigerator. In fact, the performance is much better the
conventional [5, 6].
K.-H. Park etal. (2011) studied the effect of nanoenhanced Minimum Quantity Lubrication
(MQL) to eliminate the heat generation during more aggressive machining conditions. A
potential addictive to MQL lubricant is developed and evaluated for its tribological and
machining behaviors together with the suspension stability of the mixture[7]. MQL-ball
milling tests with nanographene enhanced lubricant were performed to show a remarkable
performance improvement in reducing both central wear and flank wear as well as edge
chipping at cutting edge [8, 9]. The thermal conductivity of nanofluids depends on various
parameters, such as concentration, temperature, particle size, pH, shape, material, and
possibly on the manufacturing process of the nanoparticles [10, 11]. A study reviewed the
undertaken on convection heat transfer with nanofluids. Experiments were conducted with
different nanofluids, at various concentrations and temperature ranges, for the estimation of
the heat transfer coefficient and friction factor for water-based nanofluids. Result showed
both factors had significant influence on the heat transfer coefficient [12, 13].

Liquid containing nano-sized particles offer a significant advantage over conventional heat
transfer fluids. A review explained the parameter influencing the decrease in convection heat
transfer of nanofluids, observed by certain researchers [14]. An experiment carried out to
determine the efficiency of an evacuated tube solar collector using water-based Titanium
Oxide (TiO2) nanofluids. The results showed a higher values of thermal conductivity
compared to the base liquid. The thermal conductivity increases with the concentration and
temperature of the nanofluid [15]. SiO2 nanoparticles are well known as hard and brittle
materials. It can be easily found in the market at an affordable price. These nanoparticles have
very good mechanical properties, especially in terms of hardness (Vickers hardness, 1,000 kgf
mm−2) [4]. They can also be found within a size range of 5 to 100 nm. The present paper
emphasizes the development of a test rig to investigate the performance of SiO2 nanoparticles
in lubricating system of machining process towards the improvement in power-efficiency and
environmental issues.

An analysis is undertaken to determine the forced convection heat transfer coefficient and
friction factor of the flow of water and nanofluid in a vertical packed bed column. The
column is filled with spherical glass beads as the bed material. The heat transfer coefficients
with Al2O3 nanofluid was showed to increase with the volume concentration compared with
water[16].

EXPERIMENTAL SET UP

Design of Experiment

The experimental setup used in this research is shown in Fig. 1. The machine used is a
vertical type machining center (Mitsui Seiki VT3A). The spindle has constant position
preload bearings with oil–air lubrication and a maximum rotational speed of 20,000 min−1
with a power of 15 kW. To investigate the cutting forces during the cutting process, the slot-
milling test is carried out on a cutting process of a rectangular workpiece of aluminium
AA6061-T6 with dimension of 50×50×200 mm. Table 1 shows the mechanical properties of
the workpiece material whereas Table 2 shows the cutting conditions used in this research
work[17, 18]. The cutting tool used in this research work is high-speed steel (HSS) with two
flutes and a diameter of 10 mm.

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 Figure 1 Experiment setup

Table 1 Mechanical properties of aluminium (AA6061-T6)

Table 2 Cutting conditions

There are two different types of lubrication modes used in this research to reduce the cutting
force for less power consumption, namely, ordinary lubricant oil and nanolubrication system
[19, 20]. The ECOCUT SSN 322 neat lubricant oil type with 40.2 cSt at 40°C from FUCHS is
used in the both lubrication modes. This oil is free from phenol, chlorine, and other additives.
The nanoparticle–oil is prepared by adding silicon dioxide nanoparticles SiO2 (0.2 wt.%)
with an average size of 5–15 nm into the mineral oil, followed by sonification (240 W, 40
kHz, 500 W) for 48 h in order to suspend the particle homogeneously in the mixture. The
mechanical properties of SiO2 are presented in Table 2.

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 Table 2 Mechanical properties of SiO2

Experimental Procedure

Workpiece is hold with hydraulic clamp on the machining slot of CNC Milling Centre. Edge
finder is then use to set the position of the workpiece to origin in the direction of X, Y and Z.
The cutting tool is controlled manually to moves in the +X direction to cut a stroke of 250
mm. Each test is repeated three times in order to have accurate readings of the cutting force.
The cutting forces are measured using Kistler three-axis dynamometer (type 9255B). The
measured cutting force signals (X, Y, and Z directions) are captured with the Yokogawa
Digital Oscilloscope (model DL1540), the sampling frequency is set so that 20 points per one
spindle revolution. This captured force signal is filtered with low-pass filters (10 Hz cut-off
frequency). The cutting force is measured periodically at a 5-min interval up to six readings in
the continuous cutting process. Figure 2 shows the workpiece and tool paths.

Figure 2 Workpiece and tool paths

To deliver the oil to the tool chip interface area, the MQL system is used in both lubrication
modes. The experimentation is carried out using a thin-pulsed jet nozzle, which has been
developed in the laboratory and controlled by a variable speed control drive. For the
nanolubrication system, the nozzle is equipped with an additional air nozzle to accelerate the
lubricant into the cutting zone and to reduce the oil consumption up to 25%. In this
experiment, the air pressure is set as 50 MPa. The nozzle system is attached to a flexible
portable fixture fixed on the machining spindle [21, 22]. The flexible design enables the
injection nozzle to be located at any desired position without interfering with the tool or
workpiece during the machining process. In this research, the nozzle angle is set at 45. The
diameter of the nozzle orifices is 1 mm, and the MQL oil pressure is set to be 20 MPa with a
delivery rate of 2 ml/min and 4 pulses/s.

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 MATHEMATICAL MODELLING

The specific energy and the power required at the cutting tool can be obtained from Eq. 1 and
2, respectively[23]:

(1)

where Ec is the specific energy, Fc is the cutting force (newtons), vc is the cutting speed
(meters per minute) of the tool, f is the work feed (millimeters per minute), da is the axial
depth of cut (millimeters), and dr is the radial depth of cut (millimeters).

(2)

where P represents power (kilowatts), Fc is the cutting force (newtons), and Vc is the cutting
speed (meters per minute).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Statistical Modeling

Table 3 The cutting force values in both modes of lubrications

Figure 3 shows the cutting force records for both ordinary and nanolubrication modes during
the whole experiment, whereas Fig. 4 shows the cutting force reduction values (i.e., cutting
forces using ordinary lubricant oil and nanolubrication oil) and the percentage of cutting force
reduction. From Figs. 3 and 4, it is clearly shown that the cutting forces are reduced
significantly for the nanolubrication mode compared with the ordinary lubricant mode,
whereby the range of cutting force reduction is 40.22–42.13%. In addition, the trend of
cutting force recorded during the whole experiment using nanolubrication in Fig. 3 shows
smaller deviation with time compared with the ordinary lubricant. This indicates that the tool
wear change is reduced as well. Figure 4 confirms the observations in Fig. 3, since the
percentage of cutting force interval is 45.67% at the end of the cutting process, indicating less
tool wear and longer tool life.

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 Figure 3 The cutting forces for both modes of lubrication

Figure 4 The cutting force reduction and the percentage of cutting force reduction

Figures 5 show the power required at the cutting tool for both lubrication modes, respectively.
Figure 6 shows the power reduction (power required with ordinary lubricant oil and
nanolubrication oil) and the percentage of power reduction for both lubrication modes. As can
be seen in Fig. 6, the power consumption is reduced significantly for the nanolubrication
system compared to the ordinary lubrication system, whereby the range of power
consumption reduction is 40.22–42.13%.

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 Figure 5 The power required at the cutting tool for both lubrication modes

Figure 6 The power reduction and percentage of power reduction for both lubrication modes

Nanolubrication System

Figures 3 - 6 show that the cutting forces and the power required at the cutting tool are
reduced considerably using the nanoparticle lubricant. This can be explained by the fact that
the deformation of the chip is flowing over a tool, leading to localized regions of intense shear
occurring due to the friction at the rake face, known as secondary shear. If the coefficient of
friction is greater than 0.5, the sticky friction and flow will occur only within the workpiece
and not at the tool– workpiece interface. Consequently, the thickness of the deformed chip
will increase, leading to a decrease in cutting ratio and shear angle and an increase in shear
length. Hence, the force and power needed to remove the chip will increase significantly, as
shown in Fig. 8 [24]. On the other hand, the friction force in the tool chip interface will
normally increase due to the formation of tool wear which leads to an increment in cutting
force and friction force (Fc) component. Applying the lubrication system to the tool chip
interface will reduce the coefficient of friction and hence leads to lower cutting force with less
power consumption.

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However, introducing nanolubrication will give lesser cutting force and power consumption.
This is mainly attributed to the nanoparticles in the mineral oil, which act as a combination of
rolling and sliding bearings at the tool chip interface. This, in turn, reduces the coefficient of
friction significantly. Therefore, the cutting force is obtained to be lower in the
nanolubrication system compared to the pure oil without nanoparticle lubricant. The reduction
of cutting force leads to a reduction of specific energy and power required during the
machining process.

Additionally, from Fig. 3, it is clearly seen that the trend of cutting force recorded during the
entire experiment using nanolubrication shows smaller deviation with time compared with the
condition in which ordinary lubricant is used. This indicates the possibility that the tool wear
is reduced in the nanolubrication system, as tool wear is the primary reason for the increase in
cutting force[25].

Figure 7 Mechanism of nano-lubricant

Figure 8 Cutting force mechanism

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 CONCLUSIONS

In this research, the development of a nanolubrication system in machining processes is

investigated for less power consumption and pollution. Based on the results obtained, the
following conclusions can be derived:

1. SiO2 nanoparticles suspended in mineral oil improve the machining process

performance by reducing the coefficient of friction and cutting forces compared to the
case of an ordinary lubrication system.
2. Smaller specific energy and power required during machining process is achieved
with the application of the nanolubrication system compared to the ordinary
lubrication system.
3. With the application of the nanolubrication system, the increment in cutting force is
reduced compared to the ordinary lubrication system.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to be obliged to University Malaysia Pahang, specifically Faculty of
Mechanical Engineering for providing opportunity to study the related articles and journals
related to research topic under subject of Mechanical System Design. Last but not least,

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