Particle Tracking Velocimetry in high-speed analysis of coolant flow to validate a numerical model concerning discontinuous drilling of the nickel-base alloy Inconel 718

The novel process strategy of discontinuous drilling of Inconel 718 was designed to reduce thermomechanical wear at the cutting edges. The development is supported by creating a CFD simulation predicting the characteristics of the coolant flow during the drilling process. In this context, a validation of this simulation is required to build the foundation of including subsequently the influence of chip formation and the related temperature development into the numerical model. The present paper introduces the initial design of the fluid flow model and the required experimental validation achieved by high-speed recordings of the visualized cooling lubricant flushing the region of interest between tool and workpiece. The application of Particle Tracking Velocimetry to the evaluation of the numerical model to identify potential deviations between the coolant flow of the experimental drilling process and the simulated flow field is presented.