Journal of Molecular Liquids 386 (2023) 122465

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Journal of Molecular Liquids

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

Synthesis, characterization, and application of Al2O3/coconut oil-based

nanofluids in sustainable machining of AISI 1040 steel
Saurabh Tiwari a, M. Amarnath b, **, Munish Kumar Gupta c, d, *
a
Tribology and Machine Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design, and Manufacturing, Jabalpur,
Madhya Pradesh 482005, India
b
Tribology and Machine Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design, and Manufacturing, Jabalpur,
Madhya Pradesh 482005, India
c
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Opole University of Technology, 76 Proszkowska St., 45-758 Opole, Poland
d
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The nanoparticles are suspended in a base fluid to create a colloidal suspension. They have great thermophysical
Nanofluids and rheological qualities, making them a promising candidate for use in heat transfer applications. Nonetheless,
Machining vegetable oil has poor thermal and oxidative stability at higher temperatures, thus nano-additives are utilized to
Wettability
improve its cooling and lubricating properties. In this context, the thermophysical characteristics of nano-Al2O3
Dynamic viscosity
enriched coconut oil and their significant influence on the machinability of AISI-1040 steel have been investi­
Thermal conductivity
gated. The different %wt. concentrations (0.25% to 1.50%) of nano-Al2O3 are dispersed in coconut oil to analyse
the wettability, dynamic viscosity, and thermal conductivity. Then, the turning experiments are carried out
under dry, flood, MQL with pure coconut oil (MQL-CO), and nanofluid-MQL (NFMQL). The findings reveal that
the incorporation of nanoparticles in coconut oil results in a reduction of up to 70% in the contact angle,
indicating improved wettability. In addition, nanoparticle addition greatly improves the dynamic viscosity and
thermal conductivity of the base fluid. NFMQL also greatly decreases tool wear and surface roughness in com­
parison to other cooling methods.

1. Introduction technicians often causes skin problems and respiratory-related diseases

In manufacturing industries, the effectiveness of machining opera­
tions is often measured by the characteristics of a machined surface. The
machining process generates high cutting force and temperature during
metal cutting which has a substantial impact on the surface finish
quality [1,2]. To minimize these forces and temperature mineral-based
cutting fluids are abundantly utilized during the metal-cutting opera­
tion. These fluids offer lubrication and cooling between the workpiece-
tool-chip interaction surfaces and also washed away the chips. In spite of
the lubrication and cooling provided, its dangerous impact on ecological
integrity and workers’ health cannot be neglected. These mineral-based
cutting fluids are non-biodegradable as well as highly toxic in nature.
Also, these fluids contain sophisticated organic compounds, which
causes soil and water contamination due to their disposal. Furthermore,
direct exposure and vaporization of these cutting fluids with the
[3,4]. Therefore, the adverse effects on the environmental ecology by
the extensive utilization of mineral-based cutting fluids no longer justify
the requirements of sustainable manufacturing.
On the other hand, conventional flood cooling requires a significant
amount of cutting fluid to flow through the workpiece-tool-chip inter­
action surface, causing a sudden drop of temperature in the interaction
zone. This develops a temperature gradient on the surfaces, which
generates thermal cracks and ultimately results in increased tool wear
[5,6]. Furthermore, the cutting fluid is unable to penetrate between the
workpiece-tool-chip interacting surfaces with the flood cooling tech­
nique which results in inefficient cooling and lubrication. Thus, flood
cooling is not much effective, also it consumes a huge amount of cutting
fluid that contributes to higher manufacturing costs. As a consequence,
minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) appears as an appropriate sub­
stitute for the conventional flood cooling system. In MQL, a very less

* Corresponding author at: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Opole University of Technology, 76 Proszkowska St., 45-758 Opole, Poland.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: saurabhgtiwari@gmail.com (S. Tiwari), amarnath@iiitdmj.ac.in (M. Amarnath), m.gupta@po.edu.pl (M.K. Gupta).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2023.122465
Received 25 May 2023; Received in revised form 16 June 2023; Accepted 27 June 2023
Available online 28 June 2023
0167-7322/© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
S. Tiwari et al.
amount of oil is mixed with pressurized air and sprayed as an air-oil mist
between the interacting surfaces [7–9]. Hence, the usage of fluid is being
largely reduced in favor of the MQL technique. It has been stated in
numerous investigations that MQL, not only effectively decreased the
workpiece-tool-chip interface temperature, also it can extensively
enhance the quality of the machined surface and reduces tool wear
[10,11]. In addition, MQL provides an economical and environmentally
friendly approach for cooling and lubrication during metal cutting.
1.1. Potential use of nano-fluids in machining
As environmental protections become more demanding, finding a
sustainable green coolant/lubricant is inevitable. It is widely acknowl­
edged that numerous types of vegetable oils are biodegradable, renew­
able, and innoxious in nature. They incorporate fatty acids derived from
the polar group of triglycerides, which are more effective in boundary
film lubrication by facilitating the adherence of lubricating film to the
surface [12–14]. From the various literature survey, it is found that
vegetable oils exhibit better lubrication properties, lower coefficient of
friction, and a comparable scuffing load capacity in comparison with
mineral-based cutting fluids but they also possess inferior thermal and
oxidation stability [15–17]. To improve the heat transfer capability of
vegetable oils, many researchers have implemented several nanoparticle
suspensions in the base fluid. The implementation of nano-suspensions
will improve the various properties of vegetable oils such as wetta­
bility, thermal conductivity, shear rate, viscosity, thermal diffusivity,
density, etc. in aiming to improve the overall heat transfer capability
and oxidation stability [18–20]. Additionally, adding nanoparticles into
vegetable oils enhances the cooling and lubrication capabilities by
increasing the surface area-to-volume ratio. Fig. 1 shows the various
characteristics, benefits, applications, and preparation methods of
nanofluids in different machining operations.
Fig. 1. Characteristics, benefits, applications, and preparing methods of nanofluids.
2
Journal of Molecular Liquids 386 (2023) 122465
Several studies have reported the effective contribution of nano­
particles in the improvement of various properties and the machining
performance of vegetable oils [21–24]. The thermal properties of
aluminium trioxide nanoparticles (nAl2O3) dispersed in coconut oil with
varying volume fractions were measured and analysed experimentally
across a wide temperature range by Sujith et al. [25]. According to their
research, the thermal conductivity, density, and thermal diffusivity of
nAl2O3 nanoparticles all increased with increasing nAl2O3 nanoparticle
concentration. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were tested
for their effectiveness in the machining of Monel 400 steel, as well as
their thermophysical properties, including their thermal conductivity,
wettability, and viscosity, by Ross et. al. [26]. The authors reported that
the inclusion of MWCNTs in the soyabean oil has increased the ther­
mophysical properties of the nanofluids up to 0.6 %wt. fraction of
nanoparticles. Rashin et al. [27] examined the variation of shear rate
and nanofluid’s dynamic viscosity. The nanofluid is prepared through
the inclusion of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles at various concentrations
in the coconut oil (CO). The author’s findings revealed that, at low
nanoparticle concentrations the shear thinning behavior of nanofluids
can be attributed to the non-Newtonian behavior of the carrier fluid. In
the study of Makhesana et al. [28] the thermophysical characteristics of
pure canola oil, including thermal conductivity, wettability, and dy­
namic viscosity were investigated. They also examined the impact of
incorporating various fractions of nano-MoS2 particles into the canola
oil. The authors’ findings indicated that the inclusion of nMoS2 nano­
particles improved the thermal-physical properties of the canola oil,
with the optimal enhancement observed up to a 1% weight fraction of
nanoparticles. Sarkar et al. [29] executed experimental research on the
machining performance of CO with 0.2% dispersion of MWCNTs during
the turning of hardened steel. The flank wear, tool temperature, and
cutting forces were evaluated as machining performance indicators. The
reported findings indicated that the lesser cutting forces, reduced
S. Tiwari et al. Journal of Molecular Liquids 386 (2023) 122465

cutting zone temperature and minimal flank face wear were observed 2. Materials and methods
with the NFMQL environment with respect to dry machining.
The literature presented above indicates that the inclusion of nano- 2.1. Nano-fluids preparation
sized particles can improve the effectiveness of vegetable oils as a
coolant-lubricant. However, the composition of nanoparticles signifi­ The nano-fluids are prepared by mixing commercially available
cantly affects output parameters, energy utilization, and yet also envi­ Al2O3 nanoparticles with pure coconut oil. Using ImageJ and the mean
ronmental degradation [30,31]. The comparison of numerous works of line intercept approach, the average particle size and the associated
literature perceived that the optimum quantity of nano-sized particle frequency of nanoparticles were determined as depicted in Fig. 2(b).
suspensions is different from one study to another. This emphasizes the Table 1 presents the other specification of Al2O3 nanoparticles.
importance of identifying the suitable quantity of nano-suspensions in The SEM and EDS images of nAl2O3 and the nanofluids preparation
the base fluid. Therefore, the thermophysical characterization of nAl2O3 method is depicted in Fig. 2 and 3, which primarily incorporates a two-
dispersed in CO with a concentration ranging from 0.25% to 1.50% is step process. Firstly, nAl2O3 powder is weighted accurately using a
examined. This range of concentrations is based on previous literature in digital analytical balance with respect to %wt. concentration ranging
the field [32,33]. nAl2O3 particles have an exceptionally high surface-to- from 0.25% to 1.5%. and weight calculation was deducted from Eq. (1).
volume ratio. This enhanced the nanoparticle’s ability to conduct heat. The physical properties of pure coconut oil is presented in Table 2.
When added to vegetable oils, the nanoparticles dissipate more heat
(w)Al2O3
than conventional coolants. The nano-size particles of Al2O3 possess φ= (1)
(w)Al2O3 + (w)CO
excellent tribological, thermal, and chemical properties. In addition,
they are non-toxic and can withstand high cutting forces when dispersed
where, φ is defined as weight concentration, and w is represented as
with the base fluid during machining [34,35]. Additionally, it has been
weight of the element.
observed that the incorporation of nanofluids generates a thin lubricant
The nano-powder was then mixed thoroughly with coconut oil with
film between the interacting surfaces which reduces friction during
the help of a magnetic stirrer for 30 min. The mixed fluid was then
machining [36,37].
sonicated by utilizing LabMan ultrasonic cleaner LMUC-12. The soni­
On the other hand, coconut oil provides high oxidation stability and
cation process was performed in a continuous mode at a frequency of 40
thermal stability owing to the availability of more than 90% of saturated
Hz for 60 min to achieve a homogenous suspension without any phase
fatty acids by molecular weight in comparison to other vegetable oils. It
separation as depicted in Fig. 3(a).
also contains the highest concentration of lauric acids which makes it
suitable for base fluid during the machining [38]. This motivates us to
explore the effectiveness of nAl2O3 dispersed in CO during the
machining process. Therefore, the cutting performance of nAl2O3-CO-
based nanofluid with different %wt of nanoparticles is an area of interest Table 1
for enhancing machinability. This experimental investigation presented Specification of Al2O3 nanoparticles [34].
an analysis of thermophysical characteristics such as wettability, dy­ Property Value
namic viscosity, and thermal conductivity of different wt% concentra­
Purity 99.9%
tions of nanofluids and its machining performance evaluation of AISI-
Average particle size 60.5 ± 2 nm
1040 steel. The evaluation of machining performance was conducted Color White
by assessing the development of tool flank wear, analyzing the surface Morphology Nearly spherical
topography of crater wear, and examining the characteristics of the Specific surface area (SSA) 110 m2/g
Bulk density 0.5 g/cm3
machined surfaces.

Fig. 2. Examination of Al2O3 nanoparticles: (a) SEM, (b) Particle distribution, and (c) Elemental spectra.

3
S. Tiwari et al. Journal of Molecular Liquids 386 (2023) 122465

Fig. 3. (a) Procedure followed for the preparation of nAl2O3-CO nanofluids; (b) Thermo-physical property measurement of nanofluids.

In the end, the dynamic viscosity is measured by means of B-one touch

Table 2
rotational viscometer manufactured by Lamy rheology instruments. A
Physical properties of coconut oil [39].
temperature for each test ranging from 30 ◦ C to 140 ◦ C is measured by
Specifications Range using a K-type thermocouple sensing system with an accuracy of ± 0. 5
Saturated fatty acids 90–94%
◦
C.
Unsaturated fatty acids 6–10%
Viscosity index (VI) 142
Viscosity in cSt at 40 ◦ C 28.56 2.3. Machining tests
Viscosity in cSt at 100 ◦ C 6.76
Refractive index at 25 ◦ C 1.448–1.450 AISI-1040 steel having Ø 65 mm and 500 mm length was used for
Specific gravity at 25/25 ◦ C 0.915
machining tests. The ISO-designated DCMT11T308 carbide cutting tool
Flash point (◦ C) 278
Smoke point (◦ C) 232
inserts and SDJCR 2020K11 WIDAX tool holder are utilized for the
Cloud point (◦ C) 27 machining operation. The experimental methodology followed in this
Melting point (◦ C) 21 investigation is presented in Fig. 4. Turning experiments are conducted
Pour point (◦ C) 20 on a PACTURN-360 center lathe driven by a 2.4 kW AC motor with fixed
parameters i.e., feed (0.1 mm/rev), speed (620 rpm), and depth of cut (1
2.2. Characterization of nano-fluids mm) respectively. The assessment of machining effectiveness involves
evaluating tool wear and surface quality. The progression of flank wear
Before conducting the machining operation, the thermophysical on the tool inserts was examined using a USB digital microscope (AM
characteristics of nanofluids were examined. Firstly, the wetting capa­ 4113ZT, Dino-Lite). To assess the average surface roughness (Ra) of the
bility of mineral-based oil (MO), coconut oil (CO), and different con­ machined surfaces, the TESA rugosurf 10-G gauge was utilized. The
centrations of nanofluids is examined with the help of a contact angle measurement of Ra was conducted along the axial direction of the
goniometer. A droplet volume of 10 µl was taken with the help of a workpiece at three different lengths to minimize measurement errors.
micrometer syringe at room temperature and dropped over a tungsten
carbide tool insert substrate to measure the contact angle of nanofluids. 2.4. Cooling conditions
The evaluation of thermal conductivity was carried out by the hot wire-
assisted method with the utilization of a Thermtest THW-L2 instrument. The machining tests for 50 min were performed under dry, flood
cooling, MQL, and NFMQL cutting environment. Servo-cut soluble

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S. Tiwari et al. Journal of Molecular Liquids 386 (2023) 122465

Fig. 4. Schematic representation of the experimental methodology.

mineral oil (6–8% concentrated) diluted with pure water is utilized in a
flood-cutting environment and employed with a flow rate of 10 ml/min
into the cutting zone. Commercially available coconut oil is utilized for
the MQL cutting environment and nAl2O3 dispersed in coconut oil is
utilized under NFMQL applied with a flow rate of 50 ml/h at 4–5 bar
compressor pressure. A brass nozzle of Ø1 mm at an angle of 45◦ with a
distance of 50 mm is allowed to spray the coolant/lubricant during the
MQL cutting environment.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Wettability
Wettability is a measure of a liquid’s capability to spread over a solid
surface. The wettability characteristic of a liquid is affected by the in­
ternal properties of the liquid medium, temperature of the substrate, and
surface quality [30]. The intensity of wettability is calculated using the
Young-Dupre equation (2) based on the contact angle of liquid formed at
the solid–liquid-gas interface. The higher contact angle resulted in lower

Fig. 5. Contact angle measurement on tungsten carbide substrate: (a) MO, (b) CO, (c) NF with 0.25%, (d) NF with 0.50%, (e) NF with 0.75%, (f) NF with 1%, (g) NF
with 1.25 %, and (h) NF with 1.50%.

5
S. Tiwari et al.
heat transfer efficiency and lesser fluidity.
γsg − γsl
cosθ =
γgl
θ = contact angle, γ sg, γsl, and γ gl are the surface tensions of solid–gas,
solid–liquid, and gas–liquid surfaces.
Fig. 5 depicts the contact angle of MO, CO, and nanofluids with
different %wt. concentration of nanoparticles spread over tungsten
carbide substrate having an average surface roughness value of 0.45 µm.
The contact angle was measured after the droplet was settled over the
substrate. It was observed that the MO and CO showed higher contact
angles of 46.1◦ and 33.7◦ . Nevertheless, the contact angle of CO is
reduced after adding nAl2O3 as depicted in Fig. 6. As the concentration
of nanoparticles increased, the contact angle decreased from 33.7◦ to
9.4◦ . This can significantly lower the amount of surface energy needed
for cutting fluid to spread on the tool’s surface. The decrease in contact
angle promotes wetting, which in turn improves the liquid’s capacity to
disseminate, penetrate, and interact with the workpiece’s, tool’s, and
chip’s respective surfaces. However, the nanoparticles’ agglomeration at
increasing concentrations led to a larger contact angle when the con­
centration was greater than 1% wt.
The contact angle can be lowered by incorporating nano-sized par­
ticles into the base fluid up to a certain concentration. However, as the
concentration surpasses a specific limit, nanoparticles agglomerate
together rather than uniformly distributed in the base fluid and even­
tually settle down due to the loss of their dynamic stability [40]. Since
nanoparticles are denser and heavier than oil molecules, they can exert
substantial downward pressure on the latter at the contact surface as
depicted in Fig. 7. This agglomeration of nanoparticles led to an
increased contact angle which resulted in reduced wettability of nano­
fluids. Additionally, the accumulation of nanoparticles may also cause
poorer stability which can also settle the nanoparticles at the bottom of
base fluid. Because of the nanoparticles’ tendency to settle to the bot­
tom, the lubricating coating on the workpiece’s surface might be
damaged, leading to an increase in friction, poor surface quality, and a
higher cutting temperature when the workpiece is machined. As a
consequence, the cutting forces increases and the cutting efficiency
decreases [41,42].
3.2. Dynamic viscosity
It is well acknowledged that the cooling and lubricating behavior of
nanofluids is decisive in enhancing the efficiency of machining. The
Fig. 6. Variation of contact angle with different % wt. concentration
of nanofluid.
Journal of Molecular Liquids 386 (2023) 122465
lubricating capabilities of nanofluids primarily depend on viscosity,
while the cooling capabilities can be correlated with thermal conduc­
(2) tivity [43]. Viscosity is a property of fluid that measures the interior
friction between the layers of fluid. The higher viscosity can lead to a
stronger lubricating oil film; however, it can also hinder the penetration
of coolant/lubricant between the workpiece-tool-chip interfaces and
reduce the heat dissipation capability. This is due to increased frictional
resistance within the fluid, which can restrain the effectiveness of
coolant/lubricant in transferring heat and reaching the cutting area
[44,45]. Moreover, while a decrease in viscosity at higher temperatures
will increase the fluidity and wetting properties of the coolant/lubricant,
it can also reduce its lubricating effectiveness in the interacting surfaces.
This is because of the reason that a lower viscosity can reduce the oil film
thickness and weaken the protective barrier between the tool and
workpiece, leading to increased friction and wear. The viscosity of
nanofluid is given by Eq. (3) [46].
μnf
= (1 − φ)− 2.5
(3)
μbf
μnf = dynamic viscosity of nanofluid, μbf = dynamic viscosity of base
fluid.
Fig. 8 illustrates the relationship between increasing temperature
and the corresponding variation in the dynamic viscosity of nanofluids.
The graph clearly shows that the viscosity of both coconut oil (CO) and
nanofluids decreased with increasing temperature. Several approaches
have been proposed for analysing the temperature dependence of vis­
cosity for various fluids. The Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann (VFT) equation is
a modification of Andrade’s equation that describes the dependence of
viscosity on temperature for various fluids. It introduces three additional
coefficients to account for non-linear behavior at lower temperatures
[47]. The Equation (4) was proposed as follows [47]:
B
Ln (η) = A + (4)
T − T0
where A, B, and T0 are the adjustable parameters,η is the dynamic vis­
cosity, T is the temperature. The initial values of A, B, and T0 were
considered from the previously published research article [48]. The
accuracy of curve fitting with VFT can be demonstrated in Fig. 8. At
higher temperatures, the inter-molecular adhesion forces of the base
fluid become weakened, due to this the molecular structure gets broken
and entertains the molecule to have random motion. Increased viscosity
due to the incorporation of nAl2O3 into the base fluid indicates greater
resistance to shear stress in the nanofluids at elevated temperatures
[49].
3.3. Thermal conductivity
Fig. 9 displays the effect of increasing temperature on the thermal
conductivity of the base fluid and various wt.% of nanofluids. The
nanofluid’s thermal conductivity can be calculated by Eq. (5) [50].
knf = kbf (1 + 3φ) (5)
knf = thermal conductivity of nanofluids, kbf = thermal conductivity
of base fluid.
It is noticeable that a nonlinear rise in thermal conductivity with
temperature is observable in nanofluids. This is due to an increase in the
Brownian velocity of nanoparticles at higher temperatures which results
in rapid heat flow because of the continuous collision between coconut
oil molecules and Al2O3 nanoparticles. However, as the temperature
increased, coconut oil’s thermal conductivity decreased. This is because
as the temperature of the coconut oil is raised, the mean free path be­
tween the molecules grows. This reduces the possibility of collision
between the molecules, which ultimately reduces thermal conductivity
[51,52]. In evaluating the thermal conductivity of nAl2O3-CO nanofluid,
Sujith et al. [53] also have similar conclusions. The authors claimed that
6
S. Tiwari et al.
Fig. 7. Nanoparticle concentration-dependent changes in contact angle;
Fig. 8. Temperature-dependent changes in the dynamic viscosity of nanofluids
prepared from a range of nanoparticle weight percent concentrations.
Fig. 9. Temperature-dependent changes in the thermal conductivity of nano­
fluids of varying nanoparticle weight concentrations.
raising the fraction of nanoparticles elevated the base fluid’s tempera­
ture conductivity.
The higher thermal conductivity of nanofluids is desirable as it fa­
cilitates effective heat dissipation. However, a higher viscosity may
impede the nanofluids’ ability to penetrate the interacting surfaces, also
it could potentially affect the lubricant flow through MQL nozzle.
7
Journal of Molecular Liquids 386 (2023) 122465
Additionally, the higher concentration of nAl2O3 resulted in a little
decrease in wettability. Hence, it is crucial to optimize the nano­
particle’s concentration in order to balance the dynamic viscosity and
thermal conductivity of the nanofluid.
3.4. Tool wear analysis
Machinability attributes viz; cutting zone temperature, surface finish
quality, and dimensional accuracy are usually relied on tool wear and
affected by it. The efficiency of the manufacturing process is also greatly
altered by the life of cutting tool. There are several variables that
contribute to tool wear and life, including the tool’s material, the cutting
environment, the coating applied, the cutting parameters, etc. [54]. In
this section of study, the performance of cutting tool inserts under
NFMQL was analyzed and compared with other selected cutting envi­
ronments. The development of maximum flank wear on the tool insert
under selected cutting environments with respect to machining time is
depicted in Fig. 10. The rapid tool wear and highest flank wear were
observed under the dry cutting environment due to the high frictional
heat in the absence of coolant/lubricant. Conversely, with the applica­
tion of NFMQL, stable tool wear, and minimum flank wear were recor­
ded compared to the other selected cutting environments. This
facilitates the bearing effect at the workpiece-tool interfaces by nano­
particles due to which the friction coefficient decreases. During metal
cutting operation, the deformation and shearing of material produced
chips at the cutting region. The generated chips will pass over the tool
surface, causing frictional heating and mechanical wear on the rake
surface. As the chips pass over the tool surface, they can cause small
craters on the rake face. This crater wear will decrease the surface finish
quality of the machined workpiece and reduce the life of the cutting tool
[55].
The 3D surface topographies of the tool insert’s rake face is depicted
Fig. 10. Flank wear variations under different cutting environments.
S. Tiwari et al.
in Fig. 11. During dry cutting, severe crater wear and adhesive wear
were noticed on the rake surface of the tool inserts as depicted in Fig. 11
(a). This can be correlated to high frictional heat and higher compressive
stresses generated on the chip-tool interacted surfaces due to a lack of
lubrication and coolant. The continuous interaction of chips removes the
tool materials along with the flow, and workpiece materials get adhered
to the tool surface. Significant crater wear was also observed during the
flood cooling environments due to the lack of penetration of mineral-
based cutting fluid between the chip-tool interfaces as depicted in
Fig. 11(b). As the MQL is employed, a noticeable reduction in crater
wear depth and area was observed which can be correlated to the
effective chip removal by the pressurized air from the tool rake surface
as depicted in Fig. 11(c). The lubricating mechanism of CO molecule
also decreases the friction among the chip-tool interacting surfaces
resulting in lesser temperature on the rake surface of tool insert.
Moreover, with the application of nanofluid, the crater wear depth is
decreased by 36%, 30%, and 16%, in correlation with the dry, flood
cooling, and MQL cutting environments. The anti-friction as well as anti-
wear effects of nano-suspensions along with the CO molecule signifi­
cantly minimized the friction and compressive stress on the chip tool
interface as depicted in Fig. 11(d).
Furthermore, the nanoparticles exhibit synergistic behaviors of anti-
wear and anti-friction at workpiece-tool-chip interfaces. The utilization
of a multi-layer structure with the combination of coconut oil, as illus­
trated in Fig. 12, facilitates the effective filling of pits on the workpiece
surface by the lubricating oil. This leads to an increase in surface
smoothness, thereby enhancing the overall lubrication performance.
Aluminum oxide also offers superior lubricating capabilities since its
intermolecular forces are low compared to those of competing materials.
The layered molecular structure exhibits resistance to deformation
under high loads encountered during machining, thereby ensuring the
presence of lubrication, and promoting a smooth sliding action between
the layers.
Fig. 11. 3D surface images of rake surface (a) Dry, (b) Flood, (c) MQL-CO, (d) NFMQL.
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Journal of Molecular Liquids 386 (2023) 122465
3.5. Surface roughness
The quality of surface produced during machining is very significant
for machinability since it provides insights into friction, wear, actual
contact area, lubrication, fatigue strength, etc. [56]. Generally, the
assessment of machined surface quality often relies on the average
surface roughness parameter (Ra) value. The surface roughness of
machined surfaces is greatly affected by both the rate of tool wear and
the mechanisms of lubrication [57]. There are other many parameters
also such as; cutting speed, cutting depth, feed rate, tool material, etc.
which also affect the quality of surface finish. Therefore, the implication
of selected cutting environments on the average surface roughness (Ra)
has been taken into consideration.
The values of surface roughness (Ra) varies across cutting conditions,
as shown in Fig. 13. In a dry cutting environment, the presence of
workpiece material adhering to the cutting edge led to a degradation in
surface finish quality, resulting in higher values of surface roughness.
The effective penetration of cutting fluids in the workpiece-tool-chip
interfaces showed the efficacy of MQL in decreasing friction. Addition­
ally, the easy chip removal by pressurized air from the cutting zone
facilitates larger heat dissipation during machining. Nanoparticles of
high thermal conductivity nAl2O3 have a bearing effect, which, com­
bined with MQL, further decreases the coefficient of friction and im­
proves heat dissipation. This allows for a 54% increase in surface
smoothness compared to a dry cutting environment, as well as increases
of 32% and 28% compared to flood and MQL conditions. During the
NFMQL cutting environments, improvement in surface quality showed
the ability of nanoparticles to form a thin lubricating film and thus
minimized friction at the workpiece-tool interface. Also, incorporating
nanoparticles into vegetable oil has led to an increase in the viscosity of
the resulting lubricant mixture. As a result, the nanofluid can remain at
the workpiece surface for a longer period of time.
Fig. 14 depicts the 3D surface topographies of the machined surfaces
under selected cutting environments. In a dry cutting environment, the
S. Tiwari et al. Journal of Molecular Liquids 386 (2023) 122465

Fig. 12. Physical mechanism of nAl2O3-Coconut oil-based nano-fluids during machining.

absence of coolant/lubricant results in irregular feed marks and higher

peaks on the machined surface, as illustrated in Fig. 14(a). As the
mineral-based cutting fluid was allowed to flow under flood-cutting, a
little improvement in surface roughness is observed. However, as seen in
Fig. 14(b) the flood flow of coolant prevents the cutting fluid from
efficiently penetrating the cutting zone, leading to more pronounced
feed marks and peaks on the machined surface. Conversely, when MQL
is applied in conjunction with coconut oil, the presence of coconut oil
molecules with enhanced lubricating properties leads to a reduction in
feed marks on the machined surface as shown in Fig. 14(c). The utili­
zation of nanoparticle-based minimum quantity lubrication (NFMQL)
plays a crucial role in further enhancing surface topography by reducing
the presence of feed marks and peaks. This improvement can be
attributed to the high thermal conductivity and bearing effect of nano­
particles during the machining process. The impact of nanofluid in
improving the surface finish can be seen in the Fig. 14(d) indicating the
application of NFMQL leads to improved surface quality which is
confirmed by the various studies.

4. Conclusions
Fig. 13. Surface roughness values under different cooling conditions.
The purpose of this research was to examine the machinability of

Fig. 14. 3D surface images under; (a) dry, (b) flood, (c) MQL- coconut oil, and (d) NFMQL cutting environments.

9
S. Tiwari et al.
AISI-1040 steel using nano-enriched coconut oil and to characterize its
thermophysical parameters under MQL. The study aimed to optimize the
concentration of nanoparticles in the base fluid by means of thermo-
physical characterization. Based on the obtained results, several note­
worthy observations can be highlighted:
1. Adding nAl2O3 to coconut oil improved the nanofluid’s wettability.
However, an increase in contact angle is seen due to nanoparticle
agglomeration when the concentration of nanoparticles exceeds 1%
wt, leading to decreased wettability.
2. The dynamic viscosity and thermal conductivity of coconut oil have
been enhanced by the addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles. Unfortu­
nately, the nanofluid’s enhanced viscosity has prevented it from
being evenly distributed throughout the cutting zone.
3. A significant reduction in tool wear is achieved with the utilization of
NFMQL cutting environment which showed the implication of
nanoparticles has provided better lubrication and enhanced the
retention of vegetable oil between the interacting surfaces. Also, the
bearing effect and excellent thermal conductivity of nanoparticles at
higher temperature has lowered the coefficient of friction and
enhanced the heat dissipation capability of nanofluids.
4. The effective penetration of cutting fluids under MQL and the pres­
ence of thin lubrication film at the workpiece-tool-chip interfaces has
considerably improved the surface finish quality under MQL and
NFMQL cutting environment. Under NFMQL, the surface roughness
value exhibited a reduction of 54%, 32%, and 28% in comparison
with dry, flood, and MQL cutting environments.
5. By using NFMQL, cutting temperatures have been reduced by 55%,
38%, and 20%, respectively. When compared to the conditions of dry
cutting, flood cooling, and MQL cutting, in that order. Nanoparticles’
bearing effect and nAl2O3′s high thermal conductivity are respon­
sible for the dramatic drop in friction coefficient and improved heat
dissipation.
5. Future scope
The accumulation of nanoparticles in the base fluids is still a chal­
lenge for the long-term stability of nanofluids. The proper use of sur­
factants and ultrasonication time and frequency are the research areas
for enhancing dispersion stability. The effects of various sizes of nano­
particles on the thermophysical properties of nanofluids can be explored
in the future. Furthermore, most of the published work exclusively
highlights the benefits and applications of nanofluids without consid­
ering the costs of their production, system reliability, and consequences
on the environment and human health. Thus, in order to accurately
evaluate the application possibilities of nanofluids, it is vital to consider
the limitations of nanofluids in the future.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Saurabh Tiwari: Investigation, Data curation, Formal analysis,
Methodology, Software, Visualization, Writing – original draft. M.
Amarnath: Supervision, Funding acquisition, Project administration,
Writing – review & editing. Munish Kumar Gupta: Investigation,
Writing – review & editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
10
Journal of Molecular Liquids 386 (2023) 122465
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