Characterization of the lubricating effect of quasicrystalline powders in orthogonal cutting

Climate change and the increasing scarcity of fossil resources lead to a growing demand for economic and ecological solutions in industrial processes. Machining processes are an important part of industrial production chains. Therefore, a more sustainable design is of great interest. The cutting fluid significantly contributes to the resource and energy consumption of machining processes, which is why improving cooling and lubrication offers considerable potential for increasing sustainability. One approach to increase the effectiveness of cooling and lubrication is the addition of solid lubricants, that have significant potential to improve lubrication performance, especially under challenging conditions. However, most solid lubricants depend on specific temperature ranges and environmental conditions to achieve good lubrication. In contrast to that, quasicrystals exhibit friction-reducing properties across a wide range of temperatures and environmental conditions due to their unique atomic structure, which is characterized by a quasiperiodic arrangement of the atoms. This paper therefore investigates the potential use of quasicrystals as additives in cutting fluids to reduce friction in machining processes. The potential of quasicrystals and their interaction with various cutting fluids were examined in orthogonal cutting experiments. The impact of quasicrystals was primarily assessed based on cutting forces. Additionally, high-speed videos were recorded to analyze the chip formation process. It could be demonstrated that the use of quasicrystals in machining processes can contribute to reduced process forces. Furthermore, quasicrystals showed significant potential to influence the chip formation, resulting in a notable reduction in chip thickness.