Term of Award

Spring 2015

Degree Name

Master of Science in Applied Engineering (M.S.A.E.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Committee Chair

Brian Vlcek

Committee Member 1

David Williams

Committee Member 2

Gustavo Molina

Abstract

Metalworking fluids are essential for a grinding operation. They provide the workpiece with thermal protection, lubrication, and corrosion protection. Advancements in chemistry and technology have allowed coolant manufacturers to develop complex solutions for a multitude of applications. The main hurdle now for manufacturers is to determine which coolant would work best in their application. To address this issue, a process was developed to test and analyze a variety of metalworking fluids in an operational manufacturing environment. The testing consisted of two phases to account for the time constraints of commercial manufacturing. For Phase 1, a four hour testing procedure was developed to evaluate a sufficient amount of factors to confidently choose the top two coolants. The two coolants from Phase 1 were tested over a four week period in Phase 2. Phase 2 was more of a study of the longevity and durability of each fluid. The safety of the machinists and the quality of the workpiece remained at the foundation of the testing for each phase. Coolant A and Coolant B were selected to continue from the Phase 1 analysis, with Coolant A ranking the highest. Phase 2 produced similar results with Coolant A exemplifying superior metalworking fluid properties.

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