Surface integrity in ultrasonic-assisted turning of Ti6Al4V using sustainable cutting fluid

Titanium alloys have been commonly used in the aerospace and automotive industries because of their high strength-to-weight ratio and superior wear resistance. However, due to poor thermal conductivity, higher shear modulus, higher chemical reactivity, these alloys exhibit higher cutting forces, rapid tool wear and poor surface quality. Ultrasonic-assisted turning (UAT) has shown promising results in machining of Titanium alloys. In this article, an in-house developed UAT setup is used to analyze the surface integrity of Ti6Al4V under sustainable machining condition, i.e., vegetable oil-based cutting fluid (VCF). Input process parameters such as cutting speed, feed, depth of cut and tool geometries are kept constants. The surface integrity is analyzed in terms of surface roughness, surface topography, microhardness and microstructure. The results are compared for conventional turning and UAT under dry and VCF conditions. The results show a significant improvement in UAT under VCF condition due to an excellent lubrication property of Canola oil, promoting sustainability in the machining of Titanium Ti6Al4V.