Heat transfer and lubrication performance of palm oil-Al2O3 nanofluid compared to traditional cutting fluid

The heat transfer and lubrication ability of palm oil-based Al2O3 nanofluid were investigated experimentally. Palm oil- Al2O3 nanofluids with different sizes and concentrations of nanoparticles were prepared by a two-step method. Through analysis of its specific experimental performance in the process of milling, it was found that both the heat transfer and lubrication ability of Al2O3 nanofluid were superior to those of traditional cutting fluid. Moreover, the temperature difference of the workpiece was more than 10 degrees C when the spindle speed was 1000 rpm, and the average deviations of three-dimension cutting forces were about 8%, 10% and 13%, respectively. Furthermore, the heat transfer and lubrication ability varied with the size and concentration of nanoparticles in the nanofluid. Under the same operation conditions, the milling process with 1.0 vol% Al2O3 nanofluid bearing 20 nm-nanoparticles showed the best heat transfer and lubrication performance.