Titanium Uses In Industry Despite the fact that the commercial production of Titanium has only been possible in the last sixty years and then only by a complex and expensive process.
BigNews.Biz - Sep 14,2011 - It's unique properties have resulted in advances in technology, aviation, marine, medicine and the many other applications that we now take for granted but may not have been possible or be as efficient by using an alternative.
A promising new development known as the FFC Cambridge Process may result in producing Titanium at a lower cost than the original Kroll process that is still in use to this day.
The Properties of Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti.
It has a silvery white metallic lustre when pure.
It is as strong as steel but is only just over half its weight and is twice as strong as aluminium.
Titanium based alloys have very high strength-to-weight ratios.
Titanium is ductile, malleable, wieldable and easily worked.
It is obtainable in a number of formats that include wire, sheet, rod, foil, granules, sponge and powder.
It has an extremely low response to magnetism.
Titanium has a very low electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity.
Titanium is highly corrosion resistant, it is impervious to seawater, chlorine and a broad range of acids, unless concentrated, and alkalis.
Titanium burns in air and is one of the very few elements to burn in Nitrogen (it makes great fireworks!)
The metal is physiologically inert and non-toxic. i.e. it has no effect on the human or animal body.
It is the ninth most plentiful element present in the Earths crust. It has been found in meteorites and detected in the sun and class M stars.
Approximately 90% of worldwide usage is in the form of Titanium alloys or Titanium compounds Titanium Applications
The Apollo 17 moon mission brought back rocks containing Titanium compounds.
Titanium Applications.
Titanium is recognized as a critical strategic metal for its’ importance to the military.
During the cold war the Soviet Union, a producer of Titanium, used the metal and its’ alloys as the principal material in the construction of its submarine fleet as it is impervious to seawater.
Russia made an attempt to corner the market in Titanium to deprive the US and its allies of the material.
Titanium and its’ alloys are used in the manufacture of armored vehicles, military aircraft including stealth planes, naval applications, ordnance and spacecraft.
Titanium Dioxide is widely used in paint, paper, plastics, toothpaste and cement for its intense whiteness, permanency, excellent covering properties and the ability to add strength to the product.
It is recognized for its ability to alloy with other metals to improve their strength durability and lightness.
Titanium alloys are an essential component in the skins of wide body aircraft, landing gear and hydraulic tubing. A Boeing 777 uses 58 tons of the metal and the Airbus A380 is projected to use 67 tons and a further 10 tons in the engines.
Heat exchangers in desalination plants rely on Titanium for its non-corrosion properties and it is even used in heater-chillers in aquariums.
It is an effective catalyst in a number of commercially important chemical processes.
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