Materials Research.

2014; 17(4): 1010-1022 © 2014

DDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1516-1439.265114

Analysis of Surface Roughness and Hardness in Titanium Alloy Machining with

Polycrystalline Diamond Tool under Different Lubricating Modes

Goutam Devaraya Revankara*, Raviraj Shettyb, Shrikantha Srinivas Raoc, Vinayak Neelakanth Gaitonded

a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tontadarya college of Engineering, Gadag, Karnataka, India
b
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,
Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal, Karnataka, India
c
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, India
d
Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, B. V. B. College of Engineering and Technology,
Hubli, Karnataka, India

Received: January 23, 2014; Revised: July 7, 2014

The present work deals with the investigation on machining of difficult-to-machine material titanium
alloy (Ti–6Al–4V) using poly crystalline diamond (PCD) tool under different coolant strategies,
namely dry, flooded and MQL. Taguchi technique has been employed and the optimization results
indicated that MQL lubricating mode with cutting speed of 150 m/min, feed rate of 0.15 mm/rev,
nose radius of 0.6 mm and 0.25 mm depth of cut is necessary to minimize surface roughness and dry
mode with cutting speed of 150 m/min, feed rate of 0.15 mm/rev, nose radius of 0.6 mm and 0.75 mm
depth of cut is necessary to maximize surface hardness. The results indicate the substantial benefit
of the minimum quantity of lubrication (MQL) and justify PCD inserts to be the most functionally
satisfactory commercially available cutting tool material for machining titanium alloys for better
surface finish and hardness.

Keywords: titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V), polycrystalline diamond (PCD) insert, surface roughness,
surface hardness, Taguchi optimization

1. Introduction
Titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) has been generally used the surface finish has been considered as the interpreter of
in modern manufacturing processes due to high strength- machining performance.
to-weight ratio at higher temperatures and superior Surface roughness prediction model in terms of cutting
corrosion resistance and thus finds extensive applications speed, feed rate and depth of cut using response surface
in aerospace, automotive, nuclear, chemical, marine and methodology has been widely reported in literature4-10. It
biomedical industries. Titanium alloy with low density, high was found that cutting speed and feed rate are the significant
specific strength, corrosion resistance and good process machining parameters affecting surface roughness, while the
performance is the ideal structural material, especially for effect of depth of cut is found to be negligible. The use of
the aerospace engineering1-3. However, titanium alloys have higher cutting speed with lower feed rate produces a better
often been classified into difficult-to-machine materials surface finish, mainly due to high temperature8,9. Azlan
because of low thermal conductivity. The lower modulus of Mohd Zain et al.11 investigated the effects of radial rake angle
elasticity of titanium leads to considerable spring back after of tool, combined with cutting speed and feed on surface
deformation under cutting load; causing titanium parts to roughness. They reported that the cutting conditions should
move away from cutting tool during machining, which leads be set at highest cutting speed, lowest feed and highest
to high dimensional inaccuracies in work pieces. The lower radial rake angle to achieve the minimal surface roughness.
hardness of titanium and higher chemical reactivity leads Selvakumar et al.12 used cermet inserts for finish turning of
to a tendency for galling of titanium with cutting tool and titanium alloy and observed remarkable effects of tool type
thus changing the tool geometry. The surface roughness of and feed rate on surface roughness. Ramesh et al.13 conducted
the workpiece is an important parameter, which influences experiments on turning of titanium alloy (Grade-5) to study
the quality of components. The surface roughness is an the effects of cutting parameters on surface roughness and
estimate of technological quality of component and also found that the feed is the most influential factor affecting
indicator for evaluating the productivity of machine tools the surface roughness. Kali Dass and Chauhan14 quantified
and machined parts. Desired value of surface roughness of the effects of cutting speed, feed rate, depth of cut and
a product is generally defined to achieve the required fatigue
approach angle on surface roughness and tangential force
strength, corrosion resistance, precision fits, tribological and
during titanium (Grade-5) alloy machining. The factorial
aesthetic requirements. Thus, measuring and characterizing
design was utilized to obtain the best cutting conditions
*e-mail: [email protected] for minimization of surface roughness and tangential
 Analysis of Surface Roughness and Hardness in Titanium Alloy Machining with Polycrystalline
2014; 17(4) Diamond Tool under Different Lubricating Modes 1011

force. Ezugwu and Wang2, Ribeiro et al.15, Rahman et al.16, regrinding is necessary. Oosthuizena et al.27 found that the
Yang and Liu17 and Ezugwu18 identified the main problems performance of conventional tool materials is poor during
associated with the machining of titanium and studied machining of Ti-6Al-4V at elevated speeds when compared
tool wear and the mechanisms responsible for tool failure. to PCD tools. Nabhani28 reported that the PCD tools have
Ribeiro et al.15 performed turning tests on Ti–6Al–4V with the lowest wear rate and produced better surface quality
conventional uncoated carbides. They observed certain during titanium alloy machining when compared to the
coherence in the behavior of the titanium alloy in relation to traditionally used tungsten carbide tools. Hence, PCD tool
variations in cutting parameters on tool wear and roughness is an alternative to the traditional tungsten carbide grades
produced in the work pieces. for Ti-alloy machining. In order to attain higher cutting
Poor thermal conductivity of titanium causes speeds for titanium alloys machining, the cutting tool
concentration of extreme heat near the cutting edge, which should be able to suppress the heat generated in the cutting
in turn leads to speedy damage of cutting tool. The situation, process as much as possible, while dissipating it quickly.
thus, demands application of an inventive cooling method The higher thermal conductivity of PCD could therefore
that would cause successful removal of heat to make perhaps allow for higher cutting speeds to be achieved29.
implementation of higher cutting speeds viable. Dhar et al.19 Brinksmeier and Riemer30 reported that the PCD tools
investigated the role of minimum quantity of lubrication exhibit better tool life than the CBN and tungsten carbide
(MQL) on cutting temperature; chip formation and product during machining of Ti alloys. Ram Cherukuri et al.31 and
quality during turning of AISI-1040 steel with uncoated Ezugwu et al.32 found a substantial improvement in tool
carbide insert and the experimental results were compared life during machining of Ti-6Al-4V alloy with PCD tools.
with dry flooded machining. The MQL system has shown Mori et al.33 also found that the PCD tools have a longer
encouraging potentials for precision machining at low feed tool life, especially at higher cutting speeds when compared
and high speed20. The experimental research by Machado to cemented carbide tools. Michiko et al.34 explored the
and Wallbank20 indicated that the MQL enables considerable possibility of improvement in cutting efficiency using PCD
decrease in cutting temperature and dimensional inaccuracy tool having high thermal conductivity during titanium alloy
depending upon the levels of cutting speed and feed rate. machining. Ezugwu et al.35 reported that surface finish
The results also showed that surface finish, chip thickness generated during machining Ti–6Al–4V with PCD tools is
and force variation are all affected with low coolant volume generally acceptable and free of physical damages such as
when compared to flood cooling. tears, laps or cracks for all cutting conditions investigated.
Gaitonde et al.21 performed experiments on turning PCD would be the most functionally satisfactory commercial
of brass with K10 carbide tool to estimate the optimum available cutting tool material for machining titanium alloys
amount of MQL and the most appropriate cutting speed in comparison to carbide and PCBN tools28. Some of the
and feed rate. Khan et al.22 compared the effects of dry, wet more important features and advantages of polycrystalline
and MQL machining of AISI 9310 alloy steel on chip–tool diamond are the higher cutting removal rates (self
interface temperature, chip formation mode, tool wear and sharpening abrasive), uniform surface finish, more uniform
surface roughness. Their investigation reveals that MQL particle size distribution, harder/ tougher particles, blocky
machining is found to be better when compared to dry shaped particles, hexagonal microcrystallites (equally
and wet machining due to substantial reduction in cutting hard in all directions) and surface area 300% greater than
zone temperature enabling favorable chip formation and monocrystalline diamond. In view of the above, PCD tool is
chip–tool interaction. Vishal et al.23 presented MQL, high preferred in our investigations on Titanium alloy machining.
pressure coolant (HPC), cryogenic cooling, compressed Taguchi design is an important tool for robust design,
air cooling and use of solid lubricants/coolants techniques which offers a simple and systematic approach to optimize
in turning, which resulted in reduction of friction and heat a design for performance, quality and cost36,37. Taguchi
at the cutting zone, consequently leading to an improved developed the procedures, which apply orthogonal arrays of
productivity in the process. Venkata Ramana et al. 24 statistically designed experiments to obtain the best model
evaluated the machining performance and optimized the with minimum number of experiments and thus reducing
process parameters in turning of Ti-6Al-4V alloy using the time and cost of experimentation.
uncoated carbide tool with different coolant conditions for As seen from the literature, most of the researchers
minimal surface roughness. Klocke et al.25 reported that used the cutting conditions such as cutting speed, feed
the machining efficiency with MQL could be enhanced and depth of cut as input parameters. But as per authors’
when compared to dry and conventional flood machining. knowledge, no methodical research work has been reported
Ibrahim et al.26 optimized the cutting parameters on surface in the literature to determine the best lubricating mode along
roughness using Taguchi method in Ti-6Al-4V alloy turning with appropriate cutting conditions for achieving better
with coated and uncoated cemented carbide tools under dry surface quality and surface hardness using poly crystalline
cutting condition and high cutting speed. diamond (PCD) inserts as the cutting tool. Interestingly, tool
The conventional tools used for machining of titanium nose radius, one of tool geometry parameters, has not been
alloys include high speed steels and carbide tools. Due scientifically investigated, most likely due to its spontaneous
to low thermal conductivity of titanium alloys, these effects on part surface finish. Hence, an attempt has been
tools can only be used at relatively low cutting speeds. made in this paper to find the optimum process parameters
When machining at higher cutting speeds, these tools lubricating mode, cutting speed, feed rate, nose radius and
have a relatively short lifetime and hence frequent cutter depth of cut during turning of Ti-6Al-4V alloy using PCD
1012 Revankar et al. Materials Research

tool so as to minimize the surface roughness and maximize Ti-6Al-4V work material is an (α+β) of aerospace Grade
surface hardness using Taguchi method. 5, the chemical composition of the work material is given
in Table 2. The PCD insert and tool holder with an ISO
2. Taguchi Method designation of CCMT09T304 (Figure 2) was used to
machine the Ti-6Al-4V work pieces; the tool geometry of
Taguchi procedure is used for finding the optimal levels
PCD insert is shown in Figure 3 and the image of the PCD
of the control parameters to make the product or process
insert is shown in Figure 4.
insensitive to noise factors36,37. Taguchi method is based on
According to Taguchi quality design concept, for three
orthogonal arrays (OA); allow the simultaneous effect of
levels and five factors, a standard L27 orthogonal array (OA)
numerous process parameters to be studied proficiently. The
was selected as exhibited in Table 3. The turning tests
purpose of conducting an orthogonal experiment is to decide
the optimum level for each of the process parameters and to were performed as per OA on ‘Ace Turn mill CNC Fanuc
establish the relative significance of individual parameter lathe’, which is equipped with 11 kW spindle power and a
on quality characteristic36,37. maximum spindle speed of 4000 rpm.
Taguchi suggests signal to noise (S/N) ratio as the To control the temperature during cutting for better
objective function for orthogonal matrix experiments. The surface finish, different lubrication systems are applied.
S/N ratio is used to measure the quality characteristics Three different types of lubricating modes used in the
and indicates the degree of predictable performance in present study are dry, flooded and MQL. Palm oil (viscosity
occurrence of noise factors. Taguchi classifies the S/N index of 190) having density 0.91 gm/cm3 and viscosity of
ratio into smaller the better type, larger the better type and 40 mm2/s at 40°C is used as lubricant in MQL lubricating
nominal the best type based on type of objective function. mode, whereas, for flood cooling, 5% water emulsion of
The analysis of means (ANOM) based on S/N ratio is used Vasco 1000, a commercially available water miscible,
to determine the optimal levels of the control factors. The vegetable oil based cutting fluid was used. This fluid is free
optimum level for a factor is the level that results in the from phenol, chlorine and other additives. In MQL type
highest value of S/N ratio in the experimental region. The application, the experiments were conducted using a thin-
analysis of variance (ANOVA) in Taguchi parameter design pulsed jet nozzle and controlled by a variable speed control
establishes the relative significance of control factors and is drive. The MQL setup employed in the current investigation
performed on S/N ratios to obtain the percent contribution
of each of the process parameters.

3. Experimental Details
In the current study, five parameters, namely, lubricating
mode, cutting speed, feed rate, nose radius and depth of
cut were identified. The ranges for feed rate and depth of
cut were selected based on the recommendations given by
the insert manufacturer. The highest value of the cutting
speed and the ranges of other parameters were selected
after preliminary tests. Each parameter was investigated at
three levels to study the non-linearity effect of the process
parameters. The identified control factors and their levels
are given in Table 1. 25 mm diameter bars of titanium
alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) were used as work materials (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Titanium work pieces used in the turning experiments.

Table 1. Control factors and levels.

Levels
Control Factors
1 2 3
Lubricating Mode (A) Flood MQL Dry
Cutting Speed(B), m/min 50 100 150
Feed rate (C), mm/rev 0.15 0.25 0.35
Nose radius(D), mm 0.2 0.4 0.6
Figure 2. PCD insert with tool holder employed in the current
Depth of Cut(E), mm 0.25 0.5 0.75 investigation.

Table 2. Chemical composition of titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) used in the current investigation.
Element Al V Fe O C N Y H Ti
Wt (%) 6.1 4 0.16 0.11 0.02 0.01 0.001 0.001 Bal
 Analysis of Surface Roughness and Hardness in Titanium Alloy Machining with Polycrystalline
2014; 17(4) Diamond Tool under Different Lubricating Modes 1013

Figure 3. Geometry of the PCD insert.

Figure 4. Image of the PCD insert.

is shown in Figure 5. It consists of a reservoir of 2 liters

capacity and a pneumatic piston pump to inject oil. A filter
regulator is fitted in air line to regulate air used in the MQL
set up and an oil filter cum air breather to filter oil with 149
micron. A pressure switch is used to make sure that required
air pressure is coming to system. The solenoid valve is used
for working of pneumatic piston pump and an air regulator
to control air pressure in both the lines. The Electronic
Timer B1DCA-X is a cyclic ON-OFF adjustable timer with
time range from 0.6 secs to 60 mins (8 ranges) to control Figure 5. Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) set up.
the frequency of oil piston pump. The discharge from the
pump is at the rate of 0.40cc/stroke. The intervals between
two strokes and duration of stroke can be adjusted to get the To measure the machined work piece surface roughness,
desired discharge. The nozzle is attached to a portable fixture a portable surface roughness tester ‘Mitutoyo, Japan Surftest
at the machining center spindle. The flexible design allowed SJ- 400’ was used with a cut off length of 0.8 mm. The
the injection nozzle to be located at any desired position surface roughness used in this study is an arithmetic mean
without interfering with the tool or work piece during the average surface roughness (Ra). Each trial was repeated three
machining process. The diameter of nozzle orifice is 1 mm times and an average reading was used for the analysis.
and the delivery pressure is set at 4 kgf/cm2. The direction The hardness was measured using computerized
of applying fluid nozzle in MQL system is set opposite to microvickers hardness testing machine (Model VM50
the feed direction. However, in the flood type application, 50PC). An average of six readings was taken at different
the flood fluid was delivered through three nozzles around regions along the specimen at a static load of 500 gm to
the tool at the rate of 8,000 ml/min. The various lubricating obtain the value of mean hardness (H). The measured
modes, namely, dry; MQL and flood lubrication employed values of surface roughness and hardness are summarized
for turning Ti-6Al-4V are shown in Figures 6-8 respectively. in Table 3.
1014 Revankar et al. Materials Research

Table 3. Control factor settings as per L27 OA, the measured responses and the corresponding signal to noise ratios.
Trial No A B C D E Surface roughness Hardness, H S/N ratio S/N ratio for
(Ra), µm (Hv) for surface hardness, η2 (dB)
roughness, η1 (dB)
1. 1 1 1 1 1 1.02 311 –0.1720 49.8552
2. 1 1 1 1 2 1.04 312 –0.3407 49.8831
3. 1 1 1 1 3 0.99 315 0.0873 49.9662
4. 1 2 2 2 1 2.05 316 –6.2351 49.9937
5. 1 2 2 2 2 2.45 318 –7.7833 50.0485
6. 1 2 2 2 3 2.8 319 –8.9432 50.0758
7. 1 3 3 3 1 2.65 318 –8.4649 50.0485
8. 1 3 3 3 2 2.15 320 –6.6488 50.1030
9. 1 3 3 3 3 2.43 321 –7.7121 50.1301
10. 2 1 2 3 1 1.35 323 –2.6067 50.1841
11. 2 1 2 3 2 1.75 325 –4.8608 50.2377
12. 2 1 2 3 3 1.65 326 –4.3497 50.2644
13. 2 2 3 1 1 3.85 327 –11.7092 50.2910
14. 2 2 3 1 2 3.65 328 –11.2459 50.3175
15. 2 2 3 1 3 3.49 329 –10.8565 50.3439
16. 2 3 1 2 1 0.91 331 0.8192 50.3966
17. 2 3 1 2 2 0.89 332 1.0122 50.4228
18. 2 3 1 2 3 0.92 334 0.7242 50.4749
19. 3 1 3 2 1 3.25 337 –10.2377 50.5526
20. 3 1 3 2 2 3.27 338 –10.2910 50.5783
21. 3 1 3 2 3 3.26 341 –10.2644 50.6551
22. 3 2 1 3 1 1.75 342 –4.8608 50.6805
23. 3 2 1 3 2 1.85 346 –5.3434 50.7815
24. 3 2 1 3 3 1.89 347 –5.5292 50.8066
25. 3 3 2 1 1 2.12 336 –6.5267 50.5268
26. 3 3 2 1 2 1.97 339 –5.8893 50.6040
27. 3 3 2 1 3 2.15 345 –6.648 50.7564

Figure 6. Dry cutting. Figure 7. MQL cutting.

 Analysis of Surface Roughness and Hardness in Titanium Alloy Machining with Polycrystalline
2014; 17(4) Diamond Tool under Different Lubricating Modes 1015

4. Results and Discussion hardness have been selected. The S/N ratio associated with
the objective functions for each trial of the OA is given by:
4.1. ANOM and ANOVA
η1 =-10 log10 ( Ra 2 ) (1)
In the present work, the objective is to minimize the
surface roughness and maximize the surface hardness.
η2 =-10 log10 ( H −2 ) (2)
Hence, “smaller the better type” category is used for surface
roughness and “larger the better type” category for surface The corresponding S/N ratios for each trial of L27
orthogonal array were determined using Equations 1 and
2 for surface roughness and surface hardness respectively
and are presented in Table 3 which gives the combinations
of experimental machining parameters and parameter levels
in the L27 orthogonal array (OA).A total of 27 experiments
were conducted in accordance with the parameter level of
each factors and observed values of surface roughness and
surface hardness were noted, which were further converted
to S/N ratio. Table 3 helps to find the optimal combination
level of the machining parameters and the degree to which
the machining parameters affect the observed values were
evaluated.
The analysis of means (ANOM) based on S/N ratio36
was carried out to determine the optimal levels of control
factors; the results of ANOM for surface roughness and
hardness are represented in Figures 9 and 10 respectively.
The level of a parameter with the highest value of S/N ratio
is the best combination level. The optimal parameter setting
is found to be MQL lubricating mode (A2), high cutting
speed of 150 m/min (B3), lowest feed rate of 0.15 mm/rev
(C1), higher nose radius of 0.6mm (D3) and lowest depth of
cut 0.25mm (E1) for minimum surface roughness and dry
mode (A3), high cutting speed of 150 m/min (B3), lowest
Figure 8. Flood lubrication. feed rate of 0.15 mm/rev (C1), higher nose radius of 0.6mm

Figure 9. Main effect plots of surface roughness based on S/N ratio.

1016 Revankar et al. Materials Research

(D3) and highest depth of cut 0.75 mm (E3) for maximum The summary of ANOVA results for surface roughness
surface hardness. and surface hardness are shown in Table 4 and Table 5
To examine the effects of control factors quantitatively, respectively. It can be seen from the ANOVA (Table 4) that
the analysis of variance (ANOVA) based on S/N ratio36 the feed rate (72.32%) and cutting speed (17.49%) have
has been performed. The ANOVA is accomplished by major contributions, whereas lubricating mode (7.87%) has
separating total variability of S/N ratio, which is measured significant role in minimizing the surface roughness. On the
by sum of squared deviations from total mean of S/N ratio other hand, nose radius and depth of cut have the least effects
into contributions by each of the factors and the error36. in minimizing the surface roughness. It is clear from ANOVA

Figure 10. Main effect plots of surface hardness based on S/N ratio.

Table 4. ANOVA for surface roughness based on S/N ratio.

Factor code Degrees of freedom Sum of squares Mean square % contribution
A 2 33.0537 16.5268 7.87
B 2 73.4293 36.7147 17.49
C 2 303.6227 151.8113 72.32
D 2* 0.5058 0.2529 0.12
E 2* 0.6891 0.3446 0.17
Error 16 8.5342 0.5334 2.03
Total 26 419.8348 16.1475 100
(Error) (20) (9.7291) (0.4865)
* Factors D and E are pooled.
Table 5. ANOVA for surface hardness based on S/N ratio.
Factor code Degrees of freedom Sum of squares Mean square % contribution
A 2 1.8938 0.9469 89.27
B 2 0.1119 0.0560 5.28
C 2 0.0186 0.0093 0.87
D 2 0.0337 0.0168 1.59
E 2 0.0496 0.0248 2.34
Error (16) (0.0138) 0.0009 0.65
Total 26 2.1214 0.0816 100
 Analysis of Surface Roughness and Hardness in Titanium Alloy Machining with Polycrystalline
2014; 17(4) Diamond Tool under Different Lubricating Modes 1017

results of Table 5 that the lubricating mode (89.27%) and cutting temperature; increasing the softening of the work
cutting speed (5.28%) are the major contributors, whereas piece material and then reduces the cutting forces and
feed rate, nose radius and depth of cut play less significant hence leading to better surface finish. A similar result
roles in maximizing the surface hardness. The validation was also reported by Che-Haron and Jawaid39 during
experiments were performed at the optimal levels of the machining of Ti‑6Al-4V alloy with 883 inserts under
control factors and the prediction error is found to be within dry cutting conditions where low surface roughness was
the 95% confidence limit; indicating the adequacy of the obtained with the increase in cutting speed. In addition, at
additivity of the proposed surface roughness and hardness higher spindle speed, the chip will break away with less
models. The best combinations of the control factors for material deformation at the immediate tool tip, which in
minimizing the surface roughness and maximizing the turn preserves the machined surface properties leading to
hardness along with the corresponding optimal values are minimal surface roughness. However, it is believed that the
presented in Table 6. spindle speed should be controlled at an optimum value, as
The main effect plots (Figures 9 and 10) are generated the influence of high temperature would significantly affect
using MINITAB statistical software38 for exploring the effects the chip formation mode, cutting forces, tool life and surface
of control factors on surface roughness and hardness. roughness. The surface roughness could be improved by
increasing cutting speed, though the improvement is very
4.2. Analysis of surface roughness limited at higher cutting speed (100-150 m/min). Producing
an enhanced surface finish at elevated cutting speed is
4.2.1. Effect of lubricating mode eminent in metal cutting. The conventional explanations are
From Figure 9, it is observed that, the surface roughness related to built-up-edge (BUE); i.e., the formation of BUE
is low for MQL machining when compared to dry and is favored in a certain range of cutting speed. By increasing
flooded conditions. For flooded lubricant conditions, cutting speed beyond this region, BUE is eliminated and as
the cutting fluid supplied at high pressure and velocity a result, the surface finish is improved. During our current
penetrates the minute particles into tool-chip and tool-work investigations on Ti-6Al-4V alloy machining, the cutting
piece surfaces, causing reduction in friction and hence speeds are higher than those favoring BUE formation.
leading to less surface roughness. On the other hand, MQL According to Chen40 and Bouacha et al.9, the deformation
machining provides both cooling and lubrication effectively. velocity influences the properties of the metals. Higher
The cooling provides convective as well as evaporative heat the velocity, less important the plastic behavior is. If the
transfer and hence less surface roughness is observed in material presents less plasticity by increasing cutting speed
MQL machining when compared to flooded lubrication20. and hence deformation velocity, the surface finish can be
Further, in flooded condition, an effective penetration of improved as a result of less significant lateral plastic flow
the cutting fluid into tool-chip as well as tool- work surface and thus less additional increase in the peak-to-valley height
is not possible along with convective heat transfer. Hence, of the machined surface roughness. In addition, at low
surface roughness is more in flooded when compared to cutting speed, grooves are developed on the tool wear face.
MQL condition. On the other hand, in dry machining, no Larger the development of the grooves, the more significant
cutting fluid is supplied; resulting into high friction, high deterioration of the surface finish takes place.
tool wear and low heat transfer, which in turn leads to high
4.2.3. Effect of feed rate
surface roughness. Finally, it can be concluded that MQL
machining provides better performance in reduction of From ANOVA (Table 4), it is seen that feed rate
surface roughness compared to dry and flooded lubricant has the major contribution (72.32%) in minimizing the
condition. Hence, it is recommended to implement MQL surface roughness. In general, as feed rate increases, the
machining in order to improve surface finish, reduction in surface roughness also increases for dry, flooded and MQL
quantity of lubricant, cost and environmental pollution. conditions. However, MQL shows reduction in surface
roughness when compared to dry and flooded condition
4.2.2. Effect of cutting speed under different feed rates due to the MQL delivery pressure
From ANOVA analysis (Table 4), it can be seen that applied, which in turn will remove chips (debris) from the
cutting speed has noticeable contribution (17.49%) in cutting zone. As can be seen from Figure 9, as the feed rate
minimizing the surface roughness. From Figure 9, it is increases, the surface roughness also increases because of
seen that the surface roughness of the machined component less available time to carry out the heat from the cutting zone,
decreases with increased cutting speed. This is due to the high amount material removal rate and an accumulation of
fact that, high spindle speed is associated with the higher chip between the tool-work piece zones.

Table 6. Optimal control factor settings and the corresponding optimal values of surface roughness and surface hardness.
Optimal process parameter setting
Optimal
Response Lubricating Cutting speed Feed Nose Depth of Cut value
mode (m/min) (mm/rev) Radius(mm) (mm)
Surface roughness MQL 150 0.15 0.6 0.25 0.81 µm
Surface hardness Dry 150 0.15 0.6 0.75 349 Hv
1018 Revankar et al. Materials Research

4.2.4. Effect of nose radius as a result of very high cutting temperature produced at the
local surface. The low thermal conductivity of titanium alloy
It is clear from the main effect plots of surface roughness
based on S/N ratio (Figure 9) that the surface roughness also caused the temperature below the machined surface to
decreases with increased tool nose radius. As tool nose be retained.
radius increases, the contact length between tool and work It is revealed from the investigations of Ezugwu and
piece increases; diminishing the height of feed marks and Tang42 that the combination of high compressive stresses and
therefore, diminishing the surface roughness. As predicted pressure at the cutting edge during machining contributed to
theoretically, surface roughness decreases with increased the occurrence of the work hardening effect. Additionally,
tool nose radius. It is also noticed that departure from the rapid heating and cooling may have contributed to the work
theoretical prediction (Rth= f 2/8r) tend to be significant at hardening effect during machining43. From the experimental
low feed rates. This is due to ploughing actions caused by work of Ramakrishna and Shunmugam44, it is seen that the
smaller uncut chip thickness. Large nose radius tools have depth of the work hardening layer varies depending on the
somewhat better surface finish than small nose radius tools type of mechanical and thermal interaction. According to
during the entire cutting period. The tool nose radius is Zou et al.45 the evolution of microhardness of the machined
very critical part of the cutting edge since it produces the surfaces was influenced by cutting speed, feed rate and
finished surface, if the nose is made to a sharp point, the depth of cut during turning NiCr20TiAl nickel-based alloy.
finish machined surface will usually be unacceptable and 4.3.1. Effect of lubricating mode
the life of the tool will be short.
From Figure 10, it is noticed that hardness is highest at
4.2.5. Effect of depth of cut the surface level for dry machining due to large amount of
It is quite evident from Figure 9 that the surface heat generated when compared to MQL and dry machining.
roughness increases with increased depth of cut, mainly due During dry machining as the workpiece material is subjected
to increase in thermal load and vibration on the machine tool. to high cutting temperature and high cutting pressure, a
Further, due to more contact area between tool and work competing process between work hardening and thermal
piece, high friction and tool wear exist and hence leading softening takes place and affects the fundamental behavior
to high surface roughness. Colafemina et al.41 conducted of the workpiece material. Moreover, according to the work
several experiments on Ti-6Al-4V alloy machining and of Lapin et al.46, the softening process of the sub‑surface
established relationship between depth of cut and roughness. region can be characterized by the effect of ageing on
They recommended low depth of cut to reduce the chatter, microhardness. The machined surface subjected to high
which in turn subsequently leading to good surface finish. cutting temperature during machining process is similar to
Our findings also closely agree with the experimental results the ageing process. From this discussion, it can be concluded
reported in the above literature. that the instability or alteration of microstructure in the form
of plastic deformation caused by high temperature during
4.3. Analysis of hardness dry machining leads to the softening of the titanium alloy
During machining, the surface and immediate sub- sub-surface (metallurgical alteration). However, the MQL
surface of the material become harder due to work hardening. is seen to induce lower softening at the outer layers of the
The effect of internal work hardening is determined by
the temperature, time and mechanism of internal stress
relaxation. The internal work hardening accumulation for
heating occurs with the engagement of tool for cutting the
workpiece material and accumulation for cooling occurs
with the disengagement of tool from the workpiece material.
The hardness values are averaged over 7-8 indents per
specimen (Figure 11). The hardness value of the surface is
much higher than the bulk material hardness and it takes
210 µm deep into the bulk material for the hardness value
to level. At 210 µm beneath the machined surface, the
difference in hardness was very small and the hardness
values approached the hardness of the base material as the
depth beneath the machined surface increased. The hardness
of titanium material before machining was 285 Hv and after
carrying out the machining for different trials, the hardness
varied between 311 Hv (minimum) to 347 Hv (maximum).
Work hardening of deformed layer beneath the machined
surface up to 200 µm caused higher hardness than the
average hardness of the base material. The top layer of the
machined surface experiences work hardening process and
hence the hardness is higher than the average hardness of
the work piece material. However, the material beneath the Figure 11. Micro hardness value measurement beneath the
top layer is softer as a result of over-aging of titanium alloy machined surface during turning with PCD inserts.
 Analysis of Surface Roughness and Hardness in Titanium Alloy Machining with Polycrystalline
2014; 17(4) Diamond Tool under Different Lubricating Modes 1019

ground surfaces. Generally, the hardening effect is due to of each machined sample was obtained in order to perform
high plastic flow rate combining with the heat generation a detailed study of the machined surface.
at the primary shear zone35. Flood lubrication increases Figures 13-15 show the SEM images of Ti-6Al-4V under
the access of the coolant to the chip‑tool interface and different lubricant strategies. Figure 13 depicts the surface
contributes to reducing friction coefficient and the resistance generated under dry mode with cutting speed of 50 m/min,
to primary shear stress35. Heat generation is decreased and feed of 0.35 mm/rev, nose radius of 0.4 mm and depth of cut
consequently lower temperatures and plastic flow, resulting of 0.25 mm and the recorded surface roughness of 3.25 µm.
in lesser hardening effect as well as micro structural The higher surface roughness is due to dry mode and high
damage29 .Softening of the machined surface implies feed rate of 0.35 mm/rev. The surface roughness measured
improved ductility and yield strength of the Ti‑6Al–4V under flood lubrication with cutting speed of 150 m/min,
alloy, thereby improving process ability. feed of 0.35 mm/rev, nose radius of 0.6 mm and depth of cut
of 0.25 mm is 2.65 µm as shown in Figure 14.This is because
4.3.2. Effect of cutting speed of high feed rate and high nose radius. Figure 15 shows the
It is observed from main effect plot of Figure 10 that, as surface generated with a better surface finish of 0.89 µm
the cutting speed increases the surface hardness increases. under MQL condition with cutting speed of 150 m/min, feed
This may most likely due to increase in the cutting force of 0.15 mm/rev, nose radius of 0.4 mm and depth of cut of
that occurs for increased cutting speeds. Also an increase
in cutting speed produces an increased cutting temperature,
which in turn increases the temperature on the machined
surface. These changes generate a sticking friction condition
between the tool-work interfaces; thus contributing to an
increase in subsurface plastic flow, giving a higher hardness
value. Similar observation was reported by Grzegorz et al.47
during duplex stainless steel machining.
4.3.3. Effect of feed rate
From Figure 10, it is clear that the hardness value does
not vary much with the feed rate. Again from ANOVA
(Table 5), it is also seen that the contribution of feed rate
towards hardness is almost negligible for maximizing
hardness. Hence, it can be concluded the hardness value is
almost independent of feed rate.
4.3.4. Effect of nose radius
From ANOVA Table 5, it is observed that nose radius
has minor contribution effect in minimizing surface
hardness. The increase in nose radius (Figure 10) has a direct
effect on cutting forces; leading to a significant increase
in the ploughing effect in the cutting zone. Increasing
the ploughing force leads to more material flow on the Figure 12. Specimen for SEM analysis.
machined surface thereby increasing the surface hardness.
Increasing the ploughing effect leads to more material side
flow on the machined surface. A large nose radius results
in to generation of compressive residual stress beneath the
machined surface48.
4.3.5. Effect of depth of cut
It is clear from Figure 10 that, the surface hardness
value increases with the increase in depth of cut because of
increased cutting forces. The ANOVA analysis from Table 5
also reveals that the depth of cut is a significant parameter
affecting the surface hardness.

4.4. SEM analysis

After machining, the plate form sample was produced
from ‘Electronica (Maxi cut)’ the wire electro discharge
machining (WEDM); the specimen is shown in Figure 12. Figure 13. Surface generated during machining of titanium alloy
The microstructure of the machined surface of titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) with PCD insert under dry mode (cutting speed: 50
work-piece was obtained for each machined sample by using m/min, feed: 0.35 mm/rev, nose radius: 0.4 mm and depth of cut
scanning electron microscope (SEM). The microstructure 0.25 mm).
1020 Revankar et al. Materials Research

0.5 mm. The better surface finish is attributed due to MQL surfaces revealed no plastic deformation after finish
condition, low feed and high cutting speed. machining at the cutting conditions investigated.
A large number of defects were observed on the
surface during the experimental trials conducted. The SEM 5. Conclusions
images of the machined surfaces show that micro-pits and Taguchi optimization method for titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-
re-deposited work material were the main damages to the 4V) machining with poly crystalline diamond (PCD) tool for
surfaces. However no damage on the surface like tears, laps minimizing the surface roughness and maximizing surface
or cracks was observed when machining Ti–6Al–4V with hardness is presented in the paper. Based on the analysis
PCD tools. Micro-structural examination of the machined of the experimental results, the following conclusions are
drawn:
• A combination of MQL lubricating mode, high cutting
speed, low feed rate, high nose radius with low depth
of cut is helpful for achieving the minimal surface
roughness during turning of titanium alloy;
• The cutting speed (72.32%) and feed rate (17.49%)
have major effects on minimizing surface roughness.
The lubricating mode also plays vital role in
minimizing the surface roughness;
• Reduced surface roughness is obtained for MQL
machining when compared to dry and flooded
conditions;
• The surface roughness decreases with increased
cutting speed and nose radius, whereas the surface
roughness increases with increased feed rate and
Figure 14. Surface generated during machining of titanium alloy depth of cut;
(Ti-6Al-4V) with PCD insert under flood lubrication (cutting speed: • Work hardening of deformed layer beneath the
150 m/min, feed: 0.35 mm/rev, nose radius: 0.6 mm and depth of machined surface up to 100 µm caused higher
cut: 0.25 mm). hardness than the average hardness of the base
material. However, the hardness of the subsurface at
200 µm below the machined surface was less than the
average hardness recorded for the base material;
• The lubricating mode (89.27%) and cutting speed
(5.28%) have key roles on maximizing the surface
hardness;
• The hardness is more at the surface level in dry
lubrication due to large amount of heat generated
when compared to MQL and flooded lubrication;
• PCD insert was successfully used as a cutting tool
material for machining titanium alloys for better
surface finish.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Government Tool
Figure 15. Surface generated during machining of titanium alloy
(Ti-6Al-4V) with PCD insert under MQL condition (cutting speed: Room and Training Centre, Hubli, Karnataka, India for
150 m/min, feed: 0.15 mm/rev, nose radius: 0.4 mm and depth of providing the necessary facilities to carry out the turning
cut: 0.5 mm). experiments on Titanium alloy.
 Analysis of Surface Roughness and Hardness in Titanium Alloy Machining with Polycrystalline
2014; 17(4) Diamond Tool under Different Lubricating Modes 1021

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