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A novel cooling and lubrication approach: Device development and machining performance evaluation of ultrasonic vibration–assisted MQL

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Abstract

Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) as a sustainable technology has gained popularity in addressing the conflict between environmental protection and the machining requirements during cutting processes. However, conventional MQL systems employ pneumatic atomization, resulting in the generation of oil droplets with large particle sizes and uneven distribution, eventually leading to the inadequate lubrication performance of the MQL jet. In this case, the present study employed a combination of ultrasonic atomization and MQL technique to propose a novel cooling and lubrication approach and fabricate the ultrasonic vibration–assisted MQL (UVMQL) device. Geometric parameters of the ultrasonic vibrator of this device were designed and optimized using the theoretical design and finite element simulation techniques. Additionally, the impedance and amplitude detected to evaluate the performance of the UVMQL device. Subsequently, the comparative experiments were carried out under five cooling and lubrication conditions in machining of ultra-high strength steels: dry cutting, wet cutting, high-pressure air cooling, MQL, and UVMQL. Then, the machining performance of the UVMQL was discussed, in terms of cutting forces, cutting temperature, surface roughness, surface topography, and chips. Results demonstrate that in comparison to MQL, UVMQL has a lower cutting force by 5.3 N, leading to the formation of a more effective oil film lubrication layer. Due to the excellent penetration of fine oil droplets, UVMQL possesses a slightly higher cutting temperature than that of wet cutting by 43 °C, whereas results in optimal surface roughness value (Ra = 0.3 µm) and surface topography of the workpiece. Additionally, under UVMQL condition, the length of chip bonding zone is reduced by 39.8%, and the sawtooth height of chip is decreased by 35.9% compared to dry cutting.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 92160301, 92060203, 52175415, 52205415, and 52322510), the Science Center for Gas Turbine Project (No. P2023-B-IV-003-001), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20210295), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2023T160315), the National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Helicopter Transmission (NUAA) (No. HTL-A-22G12), the Huaqiao University Engineering Research Center of Brittle Materials Machining (MOE, 2023IME-001), and the Foundation of Graduate Innovation Center in NUAA (No. XCXJH20230510).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Helicopter Transmission, Nan**g University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nan**g, 210016, China

    Minxiu Zhang, Bangfu Wu, Biao Zhao & Wenfeng Ding

  2. Institute of Machinery Manufacturing Technology, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, 621000, China

    Hailong Cui

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  1. Minxiu Zhang
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  2. Bangfu Wu
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  3. Biao Zhao
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Contributions

Minxiu Zhang: experimentation, data curation, and writing the original draft; Bangfu Wu: data collection; Biao Zhao: manuscript revision; Wenfeng Ding: experimentation and methodology; Hailong Cui: supervision and conceptualization

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Correspondence to Biao Zhao.

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Zhang, M., Wu, B., Zhao, B. et al. A novel cooling and lubrication approach: Device development and machining performance evaluation of ultrasonic vibration–assisted MQL. Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-024-13832-0

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