Experimental study on surface grinding of titanium alloys

Authors

  • António Festas University of Aveiro, Centre for Mechanical Technology and Automation, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3335-860X
  • Rui Sousa University of Aveiro, Centre for Mechanical Technology and Automation, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
  • João Paulo Davim University of Aveiro, Centre for Mechanical Technology and Automation, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5659-3111

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14311/AP.2026.66.0290

Keywords:

titanium alloys, surface grinding, roughness, Ti-6Al-4V ELI, Ti-6Al-7Nb, Ti-13Zr-13Nb

Abstract

Due to their unique characteristics, titanium alloys have found increasing application in a wide range of sectors, including aerospace, automotive, and biomedicine. The aim of developing new alloys is to enhance their properties and address emerging challenges. In this regard, Ti-6Al-7Nb and Ti-13Zr-13Nb alloys are potential replacements for the widely used Ti-6Al-4V alloys and its Ti-6Al-4V ELI variant.
This study aimed to evaluate the difference in surface finish obtained through surface grinding of the aforementioned alloys. For this purpose, test-samples were subjected to grinding tests where the differentiating factors were the number of cutting passes, depth of cut, and use of lubrication. The results indicate that the lowest roughness values were obtained using a multi-pass deep cutting strategy and abundant cooling. According to the analysis that was carried out, the results indicate that the lowest roughness values were obtained for the Ti-13Zr-13Nb alloy in the longitudinal cutting direction (20–30 % lower than for the transverse direction), using a multi-pass deep cutting strategy (ap = 2 μm×10 times) with Ra = 0.29 μm and Rt = 2.73 μm and for abundant cooling with Ra = 0.55 μm and Rt = 4.81 μm (20 % lower than the dry condition).

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

[1] A. Festas, A. Ramos, J. P. Davim. Machining of titanium alloys for medical application – A review. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture 236(4):309–318, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/09544054211028531

[2] S. Carvalho, A. Horovistiz, J. P. Davim. Surface topography in machining Ti alloys for biomedical applications: Correlative microscopy approach for qualitative and quantitative analysis. International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 114(3):683–694, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-06824-x

[3] G. Xiao, Y. Zhang, Y. Huang, et al. Grinding mechanism of titanium alloy: Research status and prospect. Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Science and Technology 1(1):2020001, 2021. https://doi.org/10.51393/j.jamst.2020001

[4] A. V. de Mello, R. B. de Silva, Á. R. Machado, et al. Surface grinding of Ti-6Al-4V alloy with SiC abrasive wheel at various cutting conditions. Procedia Manufacturing 10:590–600, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2017.07.057

[5] K. Ronoh, F. Mwema, S. Dabees, D. Sobola. Advances in sustainable grinding of different types of the titanium biomaterials for medical applications: A review. Biomedical Engineering Advances 4:100047, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bea.2022.100047

[6] A. Banerjee, M. Mukhopadhyay, A. Kundu, et al. On the performance of dry grinding of titanium grade 1 using alumina wheel. Global Journal on Advancement in Engineering and Science 2(1):134–138, 2016.

[7] Z. Tao, S. Yaoyao, S. Laakso, Z. Jinming. Investigation of the effect of grinding parameters on surface quality in grinding of TC4 titanium alloy. Procedia Manufacturing 11:2131–2138, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2017.07.344

[8] A. Kundu, M. Mukhopadhyay, S. Mahata, et al. Grinding titanium grade 1 alloy with an alumina wheelusing soap water. Procedia Manufacturing 20:338–343, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2018.02.049

[9] S. Mahata, M. Mukhopadhyay, A. Kundu, et al. Grinding titanium alloys applying small quantity lubrication. SN Applied Sciences 2(5):978, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-2792-2

[10] Z.-W. Zhong. Advanced polishing, grinding and finishing processes for various manufacturing applications: A review. Materials and Manufacturing Processes 35(12):1279–1303, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/10426914.2020.1772481

[11] A. Saravanakumar, S. Dhanabal, E. Jayanand, P. Logeshwaran. Analysis of process parameters in surface grinding process. Materials Today: Proceedings 5(2):8131–8137, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2017.11.500

[12] W. Kacalak, D. Lipiński, B. Bałasz, et al. Performance evaluation of the grinding wheel with aggregates of grains in grinding of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy. International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 94(1):301–314, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-017-0905-x

[13] M. Mukhopadhyay, P. K. Kundu. Finding optimum cutting conditions for augmented grindability of Ti-6Al-4V. Materials and Manufacturing Processes 38(12):1561–1571, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1080/10426914.2022.2149789

[14] M. F. Pereira, B. S. Abrão, A. S. Abrão, et al. Influence of grinding wheel conditioning on the grindability of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 125(3):1531–1542, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-10790-3

[15] X. Cui, C. Li, Y. Zhang, et al. Grindability of titanium alloy using cryogenic nanolubricant minimum quantity lubrication. Journal of Manufacturing Processes 80:273–286, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmapro.2022.06.003

[16] A. J. Festas, S. Carvalho, A. Horovistiz, et al. Comparative study of titanium alloys machinability used for medical applications. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part E: Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering 236(5):1845–1856, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/09544089221074852

[17] W. Ding, B. Zhao, J. Xu, et al. Grinding behavior and surface appearance of (TiCp+TiBw)/Ti-6Al-4V titanium matrix composites. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics 27(5):1334–1342, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2014.08.006

[18] D. Y. Pimenov, M. Mia, M. K. Gupta, et al. Improvement of machinability of Ti and its alloys using cooling-lubrication techniques: A review and future prospect. Journal of Materials Research and Technology 11:719–753, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2021.01.031

[19] M. H. Sadeghi, M. J. Haddad, T. Tawakoli, M. Emami. Minimal quantity lubrication-MQL in grinding of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy. International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 44(5):487–500, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-008-1857-y

[20] Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT). Uid/00481/2025. Centro de tecnologia mecânica e automação [In Portuguese; Centre for mechanical technology and automation], 2025. https://doi.org/10.54499/UID/00481/2025

Downloads

Published

2026-07-10

Issue

Vol. 66 No. 3 (2026)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 António Festas, Rui Sousa, João Paulo Davim

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Festas, A., Sousa, R., & Davim, J. P. (2026). Experimental study on surface grinding of titanium alloys. Acta Polytechnica, 66(3), 290-297. https://doi.org/10.14311/AP.2026.66.0290