Machining of TiAl6V4 Using Lubricants Containing Renewable Microalgae-Born Performance Additives

Titanium and its alloys represent a special class of materials. A density of 4.81 g/cm³, a tensile strength of over 1,200 MPa, a fatigue strength greater than that of steel, a low modulus of elasticity and its self-passivating, inert surface make titanium an ideal material for lightweight structures in aerospace, marine applications, the chemical industry and medical implants. Although titanium is inert in its oxidised state, its nascent surface created in machining reacts with almost everything in its environment, including the tool. Moreover, its poor thermal conductivity results in high thermal stress on the tools. Overall, these properties lead to high wear rates and result in the requirement for finding a particularised solution for processes such as milling that involve the need to overcome such challenges. Such processes therefore require lubricants with well-selected performance additives. However, most of these performance additives are based on mineral oil and thus come from a non-renewable resource. In the presented work, environmental-friendly alternatives to conventional mineral oil-based performance additives were investigated. Due to the working mechanisms of performance additives in machining, this work focusses on sulphur- and phosphorus-containing polysaccharides and proteins from microalgae. It has been successfully shown that lubricants using extracts from microalgae as performance additives can be used for high-speed milling (HSC) of TiAl6V4. The investigated extracts were able to reach the performance level of conventional additives in terms of tool lifetime and wear. The results obtained show that appropriate alternatives to mineral oil-based additives exist from renewable raw-material sources.