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Oil flow distribution in Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) plays an important role in the efficiency of machining processes, but it remains challenging to measure experimentally. This paper presents a new method to measure the oil flow distribution in through-channel drill bits based on the reflected light intensity. Measurements were conducted from multiple angles in order to map the flow distribution across the channel cross-sectional area. The method is applied to drill bits of a circular cross-section channel and two helix angles, 0° and 30°. The results show that, for the 0° helix angle channel, the oil concentrates near the periphery of the channel, while for 30° helix angle channel, the oil concentrates towards the center of the drill point. Furthermore, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation was conducted to compare with the measurement results, and it was observed that the oil distribution is correlated to the velocity field. Oil flow concentration is high in low velocity regions. Though preliminary, this study has concluded that the velocity field generated using single-phase CFD is a critical indicator for oil distribution in an MQL flow.
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Characterizing Mist Distribution in Through Tool Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) Drills
Mist distribution is a critical factor in through-tool minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) drilling since a small amount of lubricant is used. However, it has rarely been discussed because of the difficulty in measuring the mist flow experimentally. In this paper, an optical approach is developed to approximate the mist distribution by using high-speed images from multiple angles. Drill bits with two through-tool channel shapes (circle and triangle) and three helix angles (0°, 30°, and 45°) are 3D-printed for mist distribution analysis. Further, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is conducted to investigate the underlying physics behind mist flow variations. The results show that, in the circular channel, the mist is concentrated near the periphery; the low concentration region shifts away from the chisel point as the helix angle increases. For the triangular channel, the mist is concentrated near three vertices but is less affected by the helix angle. Furthermore, based on the CFD solution, high mist concentration tends to be in low-velocity regions and vice versa. This study confirms a noticeable difference of mist flow distribution in different through-tool channel designs.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1760985
- PAR ID:
- 10175946
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering
- Volume:
- 142
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 1087-1357
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 031002
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4045799
