A review of metallographic preparation procedures for niobium and niobium alloys

Many investigations of niobium and niobium alloys have been conducted with the aim to control and improve the physical properties of the material and to achieve a better understanding of its physical metallurgy. metallographic studies are frequently a vital part of these investigations, techniques for the preparation of metallographic specimens must be available, and through the years the development of these techniques has been the subject of study of many metallographers. Since A standard metallographic technique has not been universally accepted for niobium and niobium alloys, rather each metallographer appears to have developed a specific technique which "works" well for him. of reported techniques appear to have sufficed for most of the routine and specialized metallographic studies that are made on niobium and niobium alloys, whether utilizing optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy or transmission electron microscopy. The combination The purpose of the present paper is to review some of the various techniques that have been used for the metallographic preparation of niobium and to describe these techniques in a form convenient for workers in the field. It is recognized that the preparation of metallographic specimens is still very much in the realm of arts and crafts, and each metallographer often finds that his individual skills enable him to achieve the most satisfactory results with a particular technique, whereas another metallographer may achieve equally satisfactory results with a different technique. Therefore, no attempt will be made to recommend the use of specific techniques in this paper... (AU)