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Tribological mechanism of carbon group nanofluids on grinding interface under minimum quantity lubrication based on molecular dynamic simulation

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Abstract

Carbon group nanofluids can further improve the friction-reducing and anti-wear properties of minimum quantity lubrication (MQL). However, the formation mechanism of lubrication films generated by carbon group nanofluids on MQL grinding interfaces is not fully revealed due to lack of sufficient evidence. Here, molecular dynamic simulations for the abrasive grain/workpiece interface were conducted under nanofluid MQL, MQL, and dry grinding conditions. Three kinds of carbon group nanoparticles, i.e., nanodiamond (ND), carbon nanotube (CNT), and graphene nanosheet (GN), were taken as representative specimens. The [BMIM]BF4 ionic liquid was used as base fluid. The materials used as workpiece and abrasive grain were the single-crystal Ni-Fe-Cr series of Ni-based alloy and single-crystal cubic boron nitride (CBN), respectively. Tangential grinding force was used to evaluate the lubrication performance under the grinding conditions. The abrasive grain/workpiece contact states under the different grinding conditions were compared to reveal the formation mechanism of the lubrication film. Investigations showed the formation of a boundary lubrication film on the abrasive grain/workpiece interface under the MQL condition, with the ionic liquid molecules absorbing in the groove-like fractures on the grain wear’s flat face. The boundary lubrication film underwent a friction-reducing effect by reducing the abrasive grain/workpiece contact area. Under the nanofluid MQL condition, the carbon group nanoparticles further enhanced the tribological performance of the MQL technique that had benefited from their corresponding tribological behaviors on the abrasive grain/workpiece interface. The behaviors involved the rolling effect of ND, the rolling and sliding effects of CNT, and the interlayer shear effect of GN. Compared with the findings under the MQL condition, the tangential grinding forces could be further reduced by 8.5%, 12.0%, and 14.1% under the diamond, CNT, and graphene nanofluid MQL conditions, respectively.

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Abbreviations

CBN:

Cubic boron nitride

CFRP:

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer

CNT:

Carbon nanotube

CNT-MQL:

Carbon nanotube nanofluid minimum quantity lubrication

DN-MQL:

Diamond nanofluid minimum quantity lubrication

EDS:

Energy dispersive spectrometer

GN:

Graphene nanosheet

GN-MQL:

Graphene nanofluid minimum quantity lubrication

LJ:

Lennard—Jones

MQL:

Minimum quantity lubrication

MWCNT:

Multi-walled carbon nanotube

ND:

Nanodiamond

NMQL:

Nanofluid minimum quantity lubrication

SEM:

Scanning electron microscope

A 1 :

Action area of lubricating film

A s :

Contact area between abrasive grain and workpiece

D :

Binding energy coefficient

E :

Total energy

F :

Embedding energy

F f :

Frictional force

K r :

Bond-stretching energy coefficient

K θ :

Bond angle-bending energy coefficient

K ϕ :

Torsion energy coefficient

n :

Multiphase factor

N :

Total amount of atoms in the system

q i, q j :

Electrical charges of the atoms i and j, respectively

r :

Bond length

r 0 :

Equilibrium bond length

r ij :

Distance between atoms i and j

R :

Pair interactions

t i :

Chemical species (Fe, Ni, or Cr)

V :

Volume of the sphere

α :

Gradient coefficient of potential energy curve

γ :

Equilibrium dihedral angle

ε ij :

Traditional well-depth

θ :

Bond angle

θ 0 :

Equilibrium bond angle

ρ i :

Local electron density around atom i

σ ij :

Distance between atoms i and j

σ v :

von Mises equivalent stress

τ 1 :

Viscous resistance of ionic liquid

τ s :

Shear strength of workpiece material

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51705272), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2018M642628), the 111 Project (Grant No. D21017), and the Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of High Performance Complex Manufacturing, Central South University, China (Grant No. Kfkt2020-06).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao, 266520, China

    Dexiang Wang, Yu Zhang, Qiliang Zhao, Jingliang Jiang, Guoliang Liu & Changhe Li

  2. State Key Laboratory of High Performance Complex Manufacturing, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Guoliang Liu

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  1. Dexiang Wang
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  2. Yu Zhang
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Correspondence to Changhe Li.

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Wang, D., Zhang, Y., Zhao, Q. et al. Tribological mechanism of carbon group nanofluids on grinding interface under minimum quantity lubrication based on molecular dynamic simulation. Front. Mech. Eng. 18, 17 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-022-0733-z

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