Experimental study on the effect of combination ratio of Al₂O₃-MWCNT hybrid nano-cutting fluids while turning AISI 304

Abstract This experimental study has been executed with an objective of comparing the efficacy of mono and hybrid nano-cutting fluid (NCF) with respect to cutting insert’s flank wear while turning AISI-304 stainless steel. Furthermore, the influence of the combination ratio of constituent nanoparticles has also been investigated. The creation of the hybrid nano-cutting fluids (hy-NCF) involved the simultaneous suspension of alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) nano-particles and multi-walled carbon nano tube (MWCNT) in a vegetable oil derived from soybean at weight concentrations of 1, 1.5, and 2 wt% in combination ratios of 80:20 (R = 0.2) and 60:40 (R = 0.4). Their thermal conductivity and viscosity depicting thermophysical behaviour and wettability depicting tribological behaviour have also been evaluated and compared to that of mono nano cutting (mo-NCF) fluid comprising solely of alumina particles. To balance the advantages of thermal conductivity, viscosity and wettability, the weight concentration of 1.5% has been selected for further machining experiments. Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) based turning tests were conducted, and the findings were compared considering tool flank wear. For hybrid nano-cutting fluid (R = 0.2) and hybrid nano-cutting fluid (R = 0.4), the percentage reduction in tool wear was found to be 11.35% and 8.2%, respectively, in comparison to mono nanofluid.