Avaliação do desempenho de fluidos de corte contaminados no processo de torneamento do aço inoxidável Austenítico V304UF

Abstract

In machining processes the main functions of cutting fluids (FC) are cooling and lubrication of the tribological system comprised of the workpiece, the chip and the cutting tool. When adequately chosen and correctly applyed they may raise tool lives, reduce machining forces and improve the surface finishing of the workpiece. However, during their use, research has demonstrated that water based cutting fluids (emulsions and solutions) become suceptible to microbiological contamination (by bacterias) that uses nutrients encountered in their composition to grow and reproduce. According to the specialised literature, the metabolic activities of these microorganisms degrade the cutting fluids, altering their chemical and phisycal properties. However, the study of this theme is limited and there is no research work that quantitatively indicates the influence of these contaminants in the machinability parameters. Therefore, the present work has the main objetctive of quantifying three machinability parameters (cutting force, surface roughness and tool life) when turning V304UF stainless steel using two water based cutting fluids (emulsion of vegetable base and semi-syntetic of mineral base). These two cutting fluids were intentionaly contaminated in an induced manner by periodic inoculations up to a mean contamination of 105 UFC/mL. With this procedure it was possible to compare the eficiency of new and contminated cutting fluids during the turning process. The results showed that the contaminated cutting fluids with 105 UFC/mL changed the pH, destabilized the emulsions and caused small changes in the machinability parameters (maching force, surface roughness and tool life), mainly under low cutting speeds and feed rates. Thus, the contamination of the cutting fluids, particularly the vegetable base ones, can promote small influences in important machinability parameters.