Abstract
In MQL machining it is required to improve the machining performance with reduced oil consumption. This requirement must be achieved by optimizing the supply of oil mist. Hence the flow analysis of oil mist in MQL grooving was conducted using a general purpose code of computational fluid dynamics, and then, some characteristics associated with the mist flow under different conditions of mist supply were compared and related with the levels of flank wear. In this study the oil mist was supplied from only an oil hole on the flank face of grooving tool with and without controlling the mist flow. The analyses under different air pressures showed distinct differences in the flow and pressure of oil mist near the cutting edge. The multivariate analysis between the levels of flank wear and characteristic parameters of mist flow showed that the air blowing pressure had a significant effect on the depression of tool flank wear, and that the increase in mass flow rate near the tool tip can compensate the decrease in cutting oil.
