Preparation and Characterization of SiO2 Nanofluid by Flame Spray System for Machining Process

Abstract

Nanofluids are a relatively new class of fluids which consist of a base fluid with nano-sized particles suspended within them. Nanofluids showed a large enhancement of thermal conductivity in comparison with their base fluids. Machining experiences high temperatures due to friction between the tool and workpiece, thus influencing the workpiece dimensional accuracy and surface quality. Further, the cutting fluids also incur a major portion of the total manufacturing cost. These particles that used in nanofluid applications, generally a metal or metal oxide, increase conduction and convection coefficients, allowing for more heat transfer out of the coolant. In this study, SiO2 nanoparticles were produced by using flame spray method and they were suspended in a specified volume of the base fluid. Regarding the analysis of materials, phase analysis was determined by using Xray diffactometer (XRD) and the average particle size distribution (APS) using particle size analyzer. Besides, successful synthesis of the SiO2 nanoparticles were confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FT-IR). The present work shows the effect of nanofluid with SiO2 nanoparticles on the performance of the cutting tools.