Experimental study on turning of TC9 titanium alloy with cold water mist jet cooling

Titanium alloys, as difficult-to-cut materials, have poor machinability due to their superior mechanical properties, heat resistance and corrosion resistance. High cutting temperature that will greatly accelerate tool wear often occurs in titanium alloy cutting process. In this paper, cold water mist jet (CWMJ) cooling method, an eco-friendly cooling method, was used to obtain a lower cutting temperature during TC9 titanium alloy turning process. The effects of CWMJ were mainly discussed as compared with cold air jet and flood cooling methods. A comprehensive evaluation on the cooling effects of CWMJ was carried out by hydrodynamic tests, heat transfer tests and turning tests, respectively. Experimental results indicated that CWMJ had better cooling effects as compared with other two cooling methods. Cutting temperature was greatly reduced, and tool life was improved with CWMJ during TC9 turning process. Machined surface quality and chip morphology were also acceptable, (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.