Metalworking fluids are a major cause of health hazards for operators apart from being sources of environmental pollution, thus necessitating research in dry and minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) machining. Ionic liquids are a relatively new family of environment-friendly chemicals that have significant potential to be employed as lubricants in MQL machining. This paper presents the results of preliminary studies in which three ionic liquids based on the 1-methyl 3-butylimidazolium cation were applied as additives to vegetable oil in MQL machining of AISI 1045 steel under interrupted orthogonal cutting conditions. The results show that the presence of even minute quantities of ionic liquids can significantly affect the machining process through reduction in cutting forces and surface roughness of the machined workpiece, as compared to dry cutting, conventional flood-cooled cutting, and MQL machining with neat vegetable oil.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.