Heat transfer enhancement with surface-active thermal conductive media coating during orthogonal cutting Inconel 718

Surface-active thermal conductive media (SACM) may have the potential to improve the machinability of metallic workpiece material by decreasing cutting temperature. The effect of surface-active thermal conductive media coating on heat dissipation and cutting temperature during orthogonal cutting Inconel 718 is investigated in present study. An enhanced heat transfer model is proposed for the SACM-coated Inconel 718 machined by orthogonal cutting. The cutting temperature into the chip side is predicted with the proposed heat transfer model. The influence of SACM thermal conductivity on cutting temperature is analyzed and discussed. Three SACMs, including silicone grease (15 W/m/K), cupric powder adhesive (40 W/m/K), and graphene (5300 W/m/K), are applied to coat on the Inconel 718 surface to be machined. During SACM-coated Inconel 718 machining, the cutting temperature is measured. The measured cutting temperature decreases as the SACM thermal conductivity increases, which verifies the feasibility of the proposed heat transfer model. From research, it can be concluded that the SACM can improve the machinability of Inconel 718 by decreasing cutting temperature. Graphical abstract