Metallographic Sample Preparation for Titanium
Alloys Titanium alloys feature high strength, low density, outstanding corrosion resistance and thermal stability, making them vital lightweight materials for advanced manufacturing. Balancing superior mechanical properties and reliability, they perform well under harsh service conditions. They are widely adopted in aerospace structural components, premium medical devices, marine equipment, chemical machinery and other sectors, serving as a key material driving high-end industrial development.
However, metallographic preparation of titanium alloys is far more challenging than conventional steels. Preparation artifacts frequently interfere with accurate microstructure observation.
Three major challenges stand out:
✅ High ductility leads to deformed layers and mechanical twins during cutting and grinding, obscuring genuine microstructures.
✅ Poor thermal conductivity traps heat during grinding/polishing, triggering surface microstructural alterations.
✅ A hard native oxide film easily forms on the surface, leaving fine scratches after polishing and poor contrast post-etching.
Our optimized workflow addresses these pain points: • Use Trully custom S-series cutting discs to minimize mechanical and thermal damage • Cold mounting is recommended to avoid hydrogen fluctuation caused by hot mounting • MET-P abrasive papers for rough grinding, paired with POS plates for gentle fine grinding • Final chemo-mechanical polishing with ZN cloth + SO-A439 suspension to fully remove deformed layers and oxide films, revealing authentic titanium alloy microstructures.
Standard preparation sequence:
① Rough Grinding: MET-SP P400
② Fine Grinding: POS Plate + 9μm PD-WT Polycrystalline Diamond Suspension
③ Rough Polishing: SC Cloth + 3μm PD-WT Polycrystalline Diamond Suspension
④ Final Polishing: ZN Cloth + SO-A439 Silica Suspension
