Influence of MoS₂-Based Nanofluid Minimum Quantity Lubrication on Machining Performance of AISI 316L Stainless Steel

The last decade witnessed a rapid increase in the development of advanced materials for high-performance applications. While these materials solve a great deal of technological issues, they also pose considerable challenges in machining due to their poor machinability characteristics. During the machining of these materials, heat generation is more, which increases with a subsequent increase in the cutting speed. This heat generated, if not dissipated successfully, may affect the finished surface quality and reduce the tool life and hence overall performance of the process. Numerous tactics have been developed. Environmental friendly machining techniques, such as minimum quantity lubrication (MQL), have received significant attention to achieve precise profiling and enhanced surface integrity. Although molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is frequently used as a solid lubricant because it promotes heat dissipation and reduces friction at the chip–tool interface, its potential as a valuable medium in MQL, particularly in surface integrity during turning operations, has not yet been investigated. The present study examines the effect of addition of MoS₂ nanoparticles, in two different base fluids, namely water-soluble conventional oil and paraffin oil, during the turning of AISI 316L grade austenitic stainless steel (SS). The influence of cutting parameters such as cutting speed and feed has also been investigated on the machinability characteristics of the material. Significant reduction was obtained in cutting temperature along with a decrease in surface roughness, cutting force, formation of white layer thickness, tool wear and chip thickness when MoS₂ powder was added to the base fluid. Results clearly exhibited the supremacy of MoS₂ powder-mixed MQL. However, the study established MoS₂ mixed conventional cutting fluid as a better coolant than MoS₂ mixed paraffin oil. It is attributed to enhanced heat transfer characteristics of water-soluble conventional oil and the anti-frictional property of MoS₂ nanoparticles.