An investigation on machinability of nitronic 50 in dry environment using uncoated WC-Co tool inserts Ayan Banerjee ⇑ , Kalipada Maity Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, 769008, Odisha, India article info Article history: Available online 6 May 2022 Keywords: Nitronic 50 Dry environmental condition Uncoated WC-Co tool abstract A variety of nitrogen strengthened austenitic stainless steels namely Nitronic 50 is a very useful alloy for marine industry finding its application in the form of drive shafts, pump shafts, valve fittings, pressure vessels, fasteners, sucker rods for oil rigs etc. Studies regarding machinability of this alloy is almost nil and hence it demands a proper investigation of the machining characteristics of this alloy. In the current work, turning has been performed on Nitronic 50 under dry environmental condition using uncoated tungsten carbide inserts and responses in the form of magnitude of tool-tip temperature, surface rough- ness, cutting force and tool wear were studied. Results showed that employment of higher cutting speed (170 m/min) resulted in enhanced cutting forces, rapid tool wear and BUE development while lower cutting speed promoted higher surface roughness. Use of cutting speed at the intermediate level of 130 m/min showed lesser tool wear, acceptable surface roughness and maintained an overall productivity. Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 3rd International Con- ference on Processing and Characterization of Materials 2021 (ICPCM 2021). 1. Introduction Machinability and its studies especially pertaining to difficult- to-machine materials have always been a challenge for both researchers and industries. Properties like high strength and poor thermal conductivity in a material give rise to high shear forces, excessive cutting temperatures, rapid tool wear, chip-tool bonding at the cutting edge and subsequent increased surface roughness. Mahata et al. [1] dealt with such difficulties while grinding Inconel 718 and later on addressed the problem with the use of alkaline soap water in micro-jet mode. Similar technique was later adopted by Mukhopadhyay et al. [2,3] who used alkaline soap water to bring down high cutting forces and temperature while grinding another difficult-to-machine material Ti-6AL-4V. Cutting force and surface roughness under dry conditions were reported to be very high by Mukhopadhyay and Kundu [4–6] who thereafter resorted to the use of unconventional fluids such as propylene gly- col to achieve satisfactory results during grinding Ti-6Al-4V. Khan and Maity [7] conducted dry turning tests on Ti-6Al-4V and iden- tified the major parameters affecting its machinability. They asserted that tangential cutting force and tool wear were mostly affected by cutting speed while feed was the most influential factor for surface roughness. Austenitic and ferritic stainless steels fall under the category of difficult-to-machine materials of which AISI 304, 316 are typical examples. Basmaci [8] opined the use of lower depth of cut and feed values for while turning AISI 316L stainless steel. Nur et al. [9] performed dry turning tests on 316L stainless steel under various cutting speeds and feeds, and perceived that both high cutting speeds and feeds increase power consumption and diminish tool life. Kulkarni et al. [10] performed experimental trials on AISI 304 stainless steels using AlTiCrN coated K-20 cemen- ted carbide inserts and obtained appreciable surface finish at higher cutting speeds while optimum tool wear at intermediate level of cutting speeds used. Nitrogen strengthened austenitic stainless steels are iron-base alloys containing chromium and manganese. These group of alloys are said to provide significant tensile strength, oxidation resis- tance, corrosion resistance, excellent high-temperature strength, and increased yield strength some of which even superior to those offered by 3xx series stainless steels. Nitronic 50 falls under this category of steels and has superb mechanical properties both at high and sub-zero temperatures and also exhibits low magnetic https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.04.823 2214-7853/Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 3rd International Conference on Processing and Characterization of Materials 2021 (ICPCM 2021). ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: ayan.092063@gmail.com (A. Banerjee). Materials Today: Proceedings 62 (2022) 5971–5974 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Materials Today: Proceedings journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr