Experimental and analytical efforts to characterize cutting fluid mist formation and behavior in machining

The use of cutting fluids in machining operations is being carefully scrutinized by industry for several reasons, including its overall cost in the manufacturing process and its impact on worker health. Given the concerns associated with the use of cutting fluids, a number of experimental and analytical research efforts are being conducted to gain an understanding of the role of these fluids in various machining processes. The knowledge gained by this research will aid in the development and implementation of strategies to reduce or eliminate the negative effects of cutting fluids, while maintaining their beneficial role. This article presents the results of designed experiments focused on determining the significant variables that influence air quality during turning operations, as well as characterize the aerosol emissions associated with wet and dry turning. Air quality is characterized by measuring the mass concentration and particle size distribution of the dust and mist created during a set of machining experiments. The relative importance of vaporization/condensation and atomization as mist-generating mechanisms is also explored. The experiments revealed that spindle speed has a dominating effect on both mist mass concentration and aerodynamic particle size. Analytical models are presented that predict the average droplet size of the mist generated by atomization and are used to investigate droplet size trends for various cutting fluids and machining parameters. The results predicted by the models are consistent with the expected trends.