Bio-Based Lubricant Selection for Metal Cutting Operations using MADM Technique

Increased concerns about potential environmental hazards, due to mineral oil based lubricants foster the use of vegetable oil as base oil in various metal cutting operations. The selection of vegetable based oil that caters to the need for all metal cutting operations is a complex task. Selection of appropriate base oil for a specific operation depends on a number of diverse criteria or attributes. In this paper, nine attributes such as viscosity index, flash point, pour point, oxidation stability, availability, cost, anti-wear, extreme pressure properties, coefficient of friction and fourteen alternative vegetable base oils were considered for decision making. The preference index for ranking of base oil is computed by using MADM technique, and it was suggested that palm oil is more significant base oil to be used for further formulation. In this paper, subjective as well as objective weights are compared. Subjective preferences are evaluated using AHP and integrated weights are also calculated. However, castor oil, jatropha oil, rapeseed oil and coconut oil can also be strived with an appropriate set of additives, in order to render it a suitable lubricant for specific metal cutting operation.