Machining comparison of aerospace materials considering minimum quantity cutting fluid: A clean and green approach

Efficient removal of heat from the chip formation zone in the machining of aerospace materials is quite crucial for attaining viability with respect to cost and productivity. The recently embraced cooling and lubrication method in the context of environmental friendly and sustainable manufacturing includes the application of minimum quantity cutting fluid. This article presents an experimental investigation, complemented with an evolutionary optimization technique, for studying the impact on cutting forces, surface roughness, tool wear, and chip control in the turning of the two aero-engine alloys (Inconel-800 and titanium-II) with or without using minimal-quantity cooling lubrication fluid. In addition, the multiple regression technique is applied to find the relationship between responses and input parameter such as cutting speed, feed rate, and approach angle. Afterward, the sensitivity analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests have been performed to test the statistical significance of proposed predictive models. At the end of work, the experimental data have been optimized through two evolutionary techniques, i.e. particle swarm optimization and bacterial foraging optimization, also compared to the much-used desirability technique. It has been concluded that the cooling option of applying minimum quantity cutting fluid proved beneficial for machining these aerospace materials. Moreover, the evolutionary techniques gave much more accurate results when compared to the desirability technique with particle swarm optimization and was concluded as the best one out of the three techniques on the basis of minimum average time taken and minimum percentage error.