Effect of Coconut Oil-Based Cutting Fluid on Cutting Performance during Turning with Minimal Fluid Application

Abstract

In the present work, an attempt was made to use vegetable oil as cutting fluid during minimal fluid application to make the process more environment friendly. Coconut oil was selected as the vegetable oil in this study considering its availability, physical properties, and lubricating ability. The effect of newly formulated coconut oil-based emulsified cutting fluid on cutting performance during turning of hardened AISI 4340 steel with the minimal fluid application was investigated. It was observed that the coconut oil-based cutting fluid offered better cutting performance in terms of tool wear, surface roughness, cutting force, cutting temperature, and tool chip contact length when compared to mineral oil-based cutting fluid and raw coconut oil. It was also observed that the percentage of concentrate in the cutting fluid was to be maintained as 30% to achieve better cutting performance. The use of coconut oil-based cutting fluid holds promise as an environment friendly alternative for mineral oil-based cutting fluid.