Investigating the Minimum Quantity Lubrication in grinding of Al ₂O₃ engineering ceramic

Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) is an efficient and environmentally friendly method of applying cutting fluids in machining processes. The aim of MQL is to minimize the amount of cutting fluid and to simultaneously utilize ecologically friendly lubricants. Additionally, MQL has immense potentials to be successfully employed in various machining processes. In this study, the performance of four types of lubricants, namely mineral, hydrocracked, synthetic, and vegetable oils, are evaluated with regard to the reduction in cutting force, specific energy and surface roughness during near dry grinding (MQL grinding) of Al₂O₃ engineering ceramic. The Taguchi mixed level parameter design (L₁₆) is used for experimental design and the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio objective function is applied for optimizing the process. The optimal lubricant and grinding parameters including depth of cut, feed rate and abrasive grain size for minimal cutting force, specific energy and surface roughness are obtained and reported. Moreover, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) is carried out to identify the significant parameters influencing the grinding force, specific grinding energy and surface roughness.