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Shape Memory Nickel Titanium Material

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Memory alloys are alloys of titanium and nickel. If the alloy is deformed by external force, it can be restored to its original appearance by slightly heating. This kind of alloy has been applied in many fields. Open the time tunnel to explore the mystery of “memory alloy”. In 1963, the US Naval Armament Laboratory was ordered to develop a new type of equipment. In the experiment, the experimenters received some bent Ti-Ni alloy wires. They felt it was inconvenient to use them, so they straightened the Ti-Ni alloy wires. In the experiment, when the temperature rises, all the stretched Ti-Ni alloy wires suddenly return to their original curved shapes and are exactly the same as before. The experimenters were puzzled and repeated experiments. The results were exactly the same. This is the memory alloy that people want to know and are interested in nowadays.

The human brain has the function of memory. Through the memory of the brain, people can accumulate the knowledge they have learned and bring about knowledge change. Just like today’s knowledge economy, people can promote the progress and development of human society. Similarly, “memory alloy” is like the human brain. It has already been used as a “hero” and has been widely used in military, aerospace, medical and other fields. The most famous example is the antenna brought to the moon by Apollo 11. It uses very thin memory alloys to make antennas in normal conditions according to predetermined requirements, and then lowers the temperature to press them into a ball, loaded into the lunar module and brought to the moon. Under the sunlight, the antenna “remembers” its original appearance and becomes a huge hemisphere. It is reported that Ti-Ni alloy has not been used in civil field for a long time because of its high cost. Now it’s different. Scientists are trying to make the precious metal civilian. They have successfully adjusted the temperature of the “memory titanium” to the temperature range of the body. The women’s bra cushion produced with it is usually soft as silk, and it will stand up in the heat after wearing. Scientists also use it as an esophageal stent, which can expand into a new esophagus in the larynx for patients with esophageal cancer who have lost their eating function. If necessary, as long as ice is added to the esophagus, the esophagus will contract when it is cold, so it can be easily removed. In 1986, the 6th Golden Rooster Award-winning science and education film “Rising Third Metal-Titanium” included a set of lenses, which were made of “Memory Titanium” automobile shell, and then the impact test was carried out. After the shell was deformed, a bucket of hot water was poured on it, and the deformed part was restored to its original shape.

Shape Memory Nitinol Bra Frame

Shape memory Nitinol foil sheet made from Nickel Titanium Alloy

Titanium Alloy Used in Manufacturing Automotive Parts

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In recent years, with the rapid development of the automobile industry, the problems of fuel consumption, environmental protection and safety caused by automobiles have attracted more and more attention. Looking forward to the future development direction of the automobile industry, lightweight, low fuel consumption and low emissions are the development theme. According to the statistics of international authoritative departments, 60% of automobile fuel combustion energy is consumed by its own quality. Although high strength steel sheet, aluminum, magnesium, metal matrix composites and plastic resin materials have played a role in reducing the weight of automobiles, the emergence of industrial titanium materials has made automobile manufacturing possible. Better choices.

Titanium metal has the advantages of low density, high specific strength and good corrosion resistance. The use of titanium material in automobiles can greatly reduce the body quality, reduce fuel consumption, improve engine efficiency, improve the environment and reduce noise. But because of the high price, titanium alloys can only be used in luxury cars and sports cars, but seldom in ordinary cars. Therefore, the research and development of low-cost titanium alloys to meet the needs of the market is the key to promote its application in ordinary household cars.

Application Status of Titanium Alloy in Automotive Industry

Although titanium alloys have been widely used in aerospace, petrochemical and naval industries, their application in automotive industry has developed slowly. Since the first all-titanium automobile was developed by General Motors in 1956, titanium automobile parts did not reach the level of mass production until the 1980s. In the 1990s, with the increasing demand for luxury cars, sports cars and racing cars, titanium parts developed rapidly. In 1990, the amount of titanium used for automobiles in the world was only 50 tons, reached 500 tons in 1997, reached 1100 tons in 2002, and reached 3000 tons in 2009. It is expected that the amount of titanium used for automobiles in the world will exceed 5000 tons in 2015. Titanium alloy parts are commonly used as follows.

  1. Engine connecting rod

Titanium alloy is an ideal material for connecting rod. The engine connecting rod made of titanium alloy can effectively reduce engine mass, improve fuel utilization and reduce exhaust. Compared with steel connecting rod, titanium connecting rod can reduce the mass by 15%-20%. The application of titanium alloy connecting rod was first demonstrated in the new Italian Ferrari 3.5LV8 and Acura NSX engines. Ti-6Al-4V, Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al, Ti-3Al-2.0V and Ti-4Al-4Mo-Sn-0.5Si are the main materials used in titanium alloy connecting rods. Other titanium alloy materials such as Ti-4Al-2Si-4Mn and Ti-7M-4Mo are also being developed.

titanium connecting rod from Baoji HOSN Titanium Co., Ltd.

  1. Engine valves

The automobile engine valve made of titanium alloy can not only reduce the mass and prolong the service life, but also reduce the fuel consumption and improve the reliability of the automobile. Compared with steel valves, titanium valves can reduce mass by 30%-40% and increase engine speed by 20%. As far as current applications are concerned, Ti-6Al-4V is the main material of intake valve, Ti-6242S is the main material of exhaust valve, Sn and Al are usually added together to obtain lower brittleness and higher strength; Mo addition can improve the heat treatment performance of titanium alloy, strengthen the strength of quenching and aging titanium alloy, and increase the hardness. Other potential titanium alloys are:

1) Ti-62S can be used in the intake valve. Its characteristics are equivalent to Ti-6Al-4V, and the price is cheaper.

2) The exhaust valve can be Ti-6Al-2Sn-4.0Zr-0.4-Mo-0.45Si. Because of the low Mo content, the latent resistance of the exhaust valve is better than that of Ti-6242S, and the oxidation resistance temperature can reach 600 C.

3) The exhaust valve can be made of gamma-TiAl, which has the characteristics of high temperature resistance and light weight, but it is not suitable for traditional forging method, only suitable for casting method and powder metallurgy method.

Titanium valves which made from high strength titanium alloy from HOSN TITANIUM

  1. Valve spring seat

High strength and fatigue resistance are the necessary properties of valve spring seat. Beta titanium alloy is heat treatment alloy, which can obtain high strength through solution aging treatment. The suitable materials are Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al-3Sn and Ti-15Mo-3Al-2.7Nb-0.2Si. Mitsubishi automobile uses Ti-22V-4Al titanium alloy valve spring seat on its large-scale production vehicle, which reduces the mass by 42% compared with the original steel lock, reduces the inertia mass by 6%, and increases the maximum engine speed by 300 r/min.

Titanium Valve Spring Retainers made from Ti6Al4V
  1. Titanium alloy spring

Titanium and its alloys have lower modulus of elasticity and larger_s/E value than steel, so they are suitable for manufacturing elastic components. Compared with steel automobile spring, titanium spring is only 40% of the height of steel spring and 30%-40% of the mass of steel spring on the premise of the same elastic work, which is convenient for car body design. In addition, the excellent fatigue and corrosion resistance of titanium alloy can improve the service life of spring. At present, Ti-4.5Fe6.8Mo-1.5Al and Ti-13V11C-3Al can be used to manufacture automotive springs.

High performance Titanium valve springs from www.hosnti.com
  1. Turbocharger

Turbocharger can improve the combustion efficiency of the engine and increase the power and torque of the engine. Turbocharger rotor needs to work in high temperature exhaust gas above 850 C for a long time, so it requires good heat resistance. Traditional light metals such as aluminium alloys can not be used because of their low melting point. Although ceramic materials have been used in turbine rotors because of their light weight and good heat resistance, their application is limited because of their high cost and shape. In order to solve these problems, Tetsui et al. developed TiAl turbine rotor, which not only has good durability and performance, but also can improve the acceleration of the engine. This design has been successfully commercialized on the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution series.

  1. Exhaust system and muffler

Titanium is widely used in automobile exhaust system. The exhaust system made of titanium and its alloys can not only improve reliability, life and appearance, but also reduce quality and improve fuel combustion efficiency. Compared with steel exhaust system, titanium exhaust system can reduce the mass by about 40%. In Golf series automobiles, the quality of titanium exhaust system can be reduced by 7-9 kg. At present, the main titanium used in exhaust system is industrial pure titanium.

Titanium muffler has a mass of only 5-6 kg, which is lighter than stainless steel muffler. In 2000 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 cars, an 11.8 kg titanium muffler and tail gas system replaced the original 20 kg stainless steel system, resulting in a 41% reduction in mass. The strength of the replaced system remains unchanged, making the car faster, more flexible and fuel-saving. Titanium used in mufflers is also mainly industrial pure titanium.

HOSN Titanium Low weight titanium muffler
  1. Car body frame

In order to improve the safety and reliability of automobiles, it is necessary to consider design and manufacturing, especially manufacturing materials. Titanium is a good material used to make car body frame. It has not only high specific strength, but also good toughness. In Japan, automobile manufacturers choose pure titanium metal welding control as body frame, which can make drivers have enough sense of safety when driving.

  1. Other Titanium Alloy Components

In addition to the above components, titanium is also used in engine rocker arm, suspension spring, engine piston pin, automotive fasteners, hanging ear nuts, automotive door inrush beam, automotive baffle brake caliper piston, pin bolt, pressure plate, transmission button and automotive clutch round plate and other automotive parts.

Low weight and high strength titanium lug nuts and wheel bolts Grade 5 Titanium piston pin with high strength and low weight

Application of Titanium Alloys

  1. Advantages

Titanium alloys are widely used in automotive industry because of their light weight, high specific strength and good corrosion resistance. The most widely used titanium alloys are automotive engine systems. There are many advantages in using titanium alloy to manufacture engine parts, mainly in the following aspects:

1) The low density of titanium alloy can reduce the inertia quality of moving parts. At the same time, the titanium valve spring can increase the free vibration, reduce the body vibration, and increase the engine speed and output power.

2) Reduce the inertia quality of moving parts, so as to reduce friction and improve the fuel efficiency of the engine.

3) Selection of titanium alloy can reduce the load stress of related parts and reduce the size of parts, thus reducing the quality of engine and vehicle.

4) The reduction of inertia quality of components reduces vibration and noise and improves engine performance.

The application of titanium alloy in other parts can improve the comfort of personnel and the beauty of automobile. Titanium alloys play an immeasurable role in energy saving and consumption reduction in automotive industry.

  1. Application limitations

Although titanium alloy parts have such excellent properties, there is still a long way to go before titanium and its alloys are widely used in automotive industry. The reasons include high price, poor formability and poor welding performance.

With the development of near net forming technology of titanium alloy and modern welding technology such as electron beam welding, plasma arc welding and laser welding in recent years, the forming and welding problem of titanium alloy is no longer the key factor restricting the application of titanium alloy. The main reason that hinders the widespread application of titanium alloy in automobile industry is the high cost.

The price of titanium alloys is much higher than that of other metals in both initial smelting and subsequent processing. The cost of titanium parts acceptable to the automotive industry is $8-13 per kg for connecting rods, $13-20 per kg for valves, and less than $8 per kg for springs, engine exhaust systems and fasteners. At present, the cost of parts manufactured with titanium materials is much higher than these prices. The cost of production of titanium sheets is mostly higher than $33/kg, 6-15 times as much as that of aluminium sheets and 45-83 times as much as that of steel sheets.

Research status of titanium alloys for automobiles

At present, cost reduction is the main research direction of titanium alloys for automotive industry. In view of the characteristics of cost distribution of titanium alloys for automotive industry, materials researchers mainly aim at reducing costs from the following two aspects: developing new low-cost alloy systems and using new processing and preparation technologies.

  1. New Low Cost Titanium Alloy System

Researchers in various countries have developed new low-cost titanium alloy systems, focusing mainly on the following aspects: alloy design using cheap alloy elements and alloy design improving processing characteristics. Among them, Japan and the United States are the representatives. Two Low-cost Titanium alloys, Ti8LC and Ti12LC, have been successfully developed in China. In the composition design of Low-cost Titanium Alloys for automobiles, the commonly used low-cost alloying elements are Fe, Cr, Si, Al and so on.

  1. New Processing Technology

The processing cost of titanium alloys accounts for more than 60% of the total cost in the production process. Therefore, how to reduce the processing cost of titanium alloys has become the focus of research. The research in this field is mainly divided into two aspects: one is to improve the traditional casting and forging process, and the other is to adopt near net forming technology of powder metallurgy.

In the research and development of new forging technology, cold forging is one of the most promising methods for manufacturing automotive parts with titanium alloy. Beta titanium alloys have low deformation resistance at room temperature and good cutting and forming. They can be used for cold forging. At present, three kinds of cold deformation beta titanium alloys have been developed in Japan. Beta titanium alloy also has some shortcomings. It is easy to produce uneven deformation during cold forging, and it is easy to adhere to the die. Therefore, the mass production of beta titanium alloy parts by cold forging technology needs further exploration and development.

Powder metallurgy is an important technology in reducing the processing cost of titanium alloys. In the manufacturing of powder metallurgy automotive parts, the traditional pressing-sintering method is still in the leading position, mainly including element powder method (BE) and pre-alloyed powder method (PA). At present, elemental powder method is widely used in the field of low-cost automotive titanium alloy powder metallurgy because of its simple process and lower cost. In recent years, other powder metallurgy technologies, including laser forming technology and metal powder injection molding (MIM) technology, have been widely used in the trial production and production of complex automotive parts, which can greatly shorten the product development and production cycle and further reduce the cost.

epilogue

The new generation of automobile design pays more attention to lightweight body, low fuel consumption, low noise and light vibration of engine to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of the environment. In this context, light metal titanium will become a major choice for future automotive applications.

Considering the current research status of Low-cost Titanium Alloys for automobiles, we can find that in order to further reduce the cost of titanium alloys for automobiles, we should focus on the following aspects:

1) In the development of low-cost alloy systems, we should try our best to develop alloys that do not use or use less expensive alloy elements without affecting their properties. At the same time, we should fully develop and utilize recovered titanium alloys.

2) In the aspect of casting and forging process development, we should develop beta titanium alloy and cold-deformed titanium alloy, and study the feasibility of mass production.

3) In powder metallurgy, the performance of titanium parts should be further improved while ensuring the advantages of low cost.

With the development of economy and the reduction of titanium cost, more and more engineers will choose titanium parts as automobile parts. Titanium alloys will eventually play an important role in the automotive industry.

Application of Titanium in Seawater Desalination Equipment

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Freshwater accounts for about 3% of the earth’s water resources. It is a trend for the world to obtain new freshwater resources by desalination. At present, desalination has become the main way to obtain water resources in water-deficient areas such as the Middle East. 1. The status of desalination in the world

Titanium widely used in seawater desalination,Baoji HOSN Titanium Co., Ltd.

Titanium tubes widely used as heat tubes for Seawater Desalination

By 1993, there were 9014 desalination equipments in 5738 regions of the world, with a total capacity of 1.624 X107 m3/d. The total capacity in the Middle East alone was 8.91*106 m3/d, accounting for 55%, while that in the United States was 2.37*106 m3/d, accounting for 5%.

As early as the 1950s, seawater desalination has been used to produce fresh water. The main methods of seawater desalination are as follows:

(1) Evaporation method: multi-stage flash method, single-stage flash method, vertical multi-effect method, transverse multi-effect method, immersion tube method, vapor compression method; and (2) membrane method: electrodialysis method, reverse immersion method;

(3) Compound method.

Among them, 60% were evaporation method, 33% were reverse immersion method and 5.5% were electrodialysis method. Table 1 shows the main desalination methods used in Japan and their practical proportions.

Application of Titanium 2 in Seawater Desalination Equipment

2.1 Heat Conducting Pipe in Seawater Desalination Equipment

The heat pipe of the original seawater desalination equipment is mainly made of copper alloy tube, which has been replaced by titanium tube with high reliability and maintenance-free because of its many shortcomings. (1) Thickness of the wall of the titanium tube

The wall thickness of heat-conducting pipe is determined by using conditions, material of tube sheet, construction ability of expanding operation and welding technology of pipe end. Because the diameter of heat-conducting pipe is small and the strength requirement is not high, thin-walled pipe is adopted in practical use. Generally, copper-alloy pipe is 0.9mm-1.2mm in equal wall thickness; Titanium pipe is used instead of titanium pipe, and its corrosiveness is small. Where possible, thin-walled welded pipes with a wall thickness of 0.3 mm can be used.

2) Thermal Conductivity of Titanium Tubes

Because of the different materials of heat pipe, the thermal conductivity is different, such as titanium 17W/(m?K), aluminium brass lOW/(m?K), 90/10 white copper 47W (m?K), 70/30 white copper 29W/(m?K), so the thermal conductivity of heat pipe can be controlled by the change of wall thickness. In the above materials, the thermal conductivity of titanium is the smallest. For example, the thermal conductivity of thin-walled titanium welded pipe is worse than that of aluminium brass, but it is equal to that of 90/10 white copper and better than that of 70/30 white copper.

(3) Economy of Titanium Tube

The unit mass price of titanium tube is 2-6 times higher than that of copper alloy, but considering the cost performance, the price of titanium tube can compete with that of copper alloy tube. Because of the low density of titanium and the same wall thickness, the quality of titanium tube with the same length is only 50% of that of copper alloy tube. When the wall thickness of titanium tube is 50% of that of copper alloy tube, the quality of titanium tube with the same heat transfer area is only 50%. According to the current price level, the overall price of thin-walled titanium welded pipe is the same as that of aluminium-copper pipe, which is cheaper than that of white copper pipe. It can be seen that titanium pipe is competitive in price.

Development and Application of 2.2 Japan Thin-walled Titanium Welded Pipe

The successful development of rolling technology of titanium strip has become the basis of mass production of titanium welded pipe. In the 1960s, titanium wire was used in the production of mercury caustic soda electrolysis; in the early 1990s, in order to prevent pollution, the production process of caustic soda was improved. With the adoption of diaphragm method, more than 700 tons of titanium strips were applied. Taking this as an opportunity, Japan developed the technology of continuous production of hot-rolled and cold-rolled titanium strips and established it. The production technology of thin-walled titanium welded pipe for seawater desalination and power station condenser has been developed.

Power plant condensers produced by Hitachi, Mitsubishi and Toshiba use titanium welded pipes 0.5mm thick, seawater desalination devices produced by Mitsubishi, Kawasaki, Hitachi, Mitsubishi and Kobe Steel, and use titanium welded pipes 0.5mm-0.7mm thick.

Titanium welded pipes have been widely used as heat transfer pipes in seawater desalination, ironmaking, shipbuilding, petroleum refining, chemical industry and other fields. By 1983, in 16 years, Japan had produced 4038t thin-walled titanium welded pipes for desalination equipment all over the world. So far, no damage has occurred due to seawater corrosion.

(1) Ventilation condenser and jet compressor

Japan’s real desalination equipment is 2650t/d desalination equipment built by Matsushima Carbon Mine Co., Ltd. in 1967. Because of the corrosion of Br – in seawater, the heat transfer tube and tube sheet of the air condensator and jet compressor of the device can not be made of copper alloy. After the replacement of titanium, no failure caused by corrosion has occurred.

(2) Condenser of heat release unit

Multistage flash condenser uses sea water as cooling water to cool water vapor generated by flash chambers at all levels. Because sea water is often mixed with sediment and marine organisms, they adhere to heat transfer tubes and tube ends, and corrode copper alloy tubes. Therefore, titanium tubes are used in almost all MSF desalination equipment heat transfer condensers. Especially in order to kill bacteria in seawater, when oxygen has to be injected, titanium tubes with good corrosion resistance are needed.

(3) Condenser in Heat Recovery Department

The heat transfer area of the condenser in the heat recovery unit is large. For economic reasons, copper alloy tubes are usually used now. Titanium tubes are only used in special occasions, such as those containing contaminants such as ammonia or hydrogen sulfide. In 1977, the MSF desalination unit of 3600 t/d exported to Germany adopted titanium instead of copper alloy because it was an accessory equipment of ammonia. Due to the corrosion of oxygen sulfide, the 3120 t/d MSP desalination equipment in Peru was corroded after one year of use. Finally, all heat transfer tubes were replaced by titanium tubes.

It is reported that 60,000 titanium pipes are used in 100 tons of seawater desalination units per day. From 1967 to 1994, 52 sets of condensers and 7 sets of seawater desalination equipment originally used in energy-level thermal power generation were produced in the past 30 years, totaling 11,000 tons of titanium welded pipes.

  1. Problems needing attention in use

(1) galvanic corrosion

Titanium has a positive potential in seawater and can promote the corrosion of other metals when it contacts with other metals. Titanium or sacrificial anode are used in both heat transfer tubes and tube sheets. In order to prevent hydrogen absorption, Fe-90% Ni alloy is used as sacrificial anode above 80 C, and coated or rubber-lined steel plate is used below 80 C.

(2) Gap corrosion

Titanium tube is installed on the titanium tube plate by expanding method. Gap corrosion can occur in seawater with pH 8 at 100 C. However, when copper alloy is used in the actual water chamber, even if the seawater temperature reaches 120 C, there will be no gap corrosion. In reality, in order to improve the reliability of equipment, pipe end welding is often used to prevent gap corrosion when used above 100 C.

(3) Hydrogen absorption

Titanium may absorb hydrogen in seawater above 80 C. When cathodic protection is applied, it will cause hydrogen absorption when overprotection is applied. If Fe-9% Nq alloy is used as sacrificial anode plate, titanium will not absorb hydrogen. (4) Vibration.

Due to the thin wall of titanium tube, when replacing copper alloy tube, attention should also be paid to the damage caused by tube vibration. This problem can be solved by the method of smaller spacing between tube support plates than copper alloy tubes.

Application of 3D Printing Titanium and Titanium Alloy in Repair of Jaw Defect

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Jaw is an important part of craniofacial bone, which maintains the integrity of facial shape, undertakes masticatory function, and is closely related to swallowing, language, breathing and other functions. After implantation, jaw prosthesis is not only pulled by surrounding muscles, but also masticatory pressure. Therefore, the prosthesis should restore the patient’s personalized appearance, and have enough mechanical strength to ensure its stability and function in vivo. It is better to load the prosthesis as a tissue engineering scaffold with osteogenic potential. Energy cells and bone-promoting growth factors can regenerate jaw bone.

titanium Jaw bone produced by 3D printing

Titanium 3D printing technology is widely used in Surgical implants field

Titanium and titanium alloys are widely used in oral and maxillofacial surgery due to their excellent mechanical properties, low quality, corrosion resistance and good bone bonding ability. Titanium and titanium alloy can be used to make titanium plate, titanium mesh, retaining screw and artificial prosthesis to repair maxillofacial bone defects. Because of the complex anatomical structure and contour of the jaw, traditional techniques can not accurately prepare titanium alloy prostheses that match the morphological and biomechanical characteristics of the defect area and can complete denture restoration. Therefore, some complications often occur after surgery, leading to the failure of restoration. 3D printing technology has the potential and unique advantages of completing complex structural design and making complex structures more accurately and quickly, especially in craniofacial defect prosthesis with complex shape and structure as well as complex internal structure. Therefore, with the help of digital medical imaging technology and computer aided design software, 3D printing of titanium and titanium alloy is expected to achieve the purpose of personalized design, production and repair of jaw defects. This paper reviews the recent research of 3D printing titanium and titanium alloy in the field of jaw defect repair.

  1. Advantages of 3D Printing of Titanium and Titanium Alloys

1.1 Sexualized Design and Manufacture of Metals

Three-dimensional printing technology includes selective laser sintering (SLS), selective laser melting (SLM) and selective electron beam melting (EBM). It uses electron beam or laser as energy source and uses computer to model three-dimensional solid parts. Through computer layered processing, it can be transformed into two-dimensional data, and then through 3D printing equipment, metal powders are melted and accumulated layer by layer to complete solid manufacturing with the advantages of high accuracy, high efficiency and low consumption.

According to the image data such as CT and the software of computer aided design (CAD), we can design the restorations which are consistent with the jaw structure and shape of the patient, and we can also design the complex structures such as porous/reticular. Making these complex restorations by metal 3D printing technology can help us to realize the jaw structure. Personalized repair. A hollow pure titanium mandibular condyle has been designed and fabricated by SLM. The condyle is not only light in weight, but also completely reconstructs the anatomical shape of the condyle, which matches the patient’s temporomandibular joint.

Chen et al. designed and applied SLM to produce two kinds of maxillary incisor implants, one is root-shaped implant and the other is root-shaped screw implant. The results show that 3D printing can design and produce root-shaped implants with high density, high strength and high precision. Root-shaped screw implants have better stress distribution, lower fretting and better quality. Good initial stability. Complex and fine structures, such as porous or three-dimensional mesh, can reduce the quality of titanium and titanium alloy restorations, and provide space for the growth of cells and blood vessels and the transport of nutrients. However, the shape of jaw is irregular, and the design of three-dimensional mesh structure is not easy, especially the topological optimization design of complex mesh structure is more difficult. Initial modeling of three-dimensional reticular scaffold for mandibular tissue engineering shows that the ideal structure of the reticular scaffold can be obtained by combining 3D printing technology with finite element topology optimization.

Mechanical Properties of Titanium and Titanium Alloys for 1.2 3D Printing

As bone tissue repair, the mechanical properties of titanium and titanium alloys are closely related to their stability, safety and osteogenic ability after implantation. The process of 3D printing technology is different from traditional metal methods such as casting, forging and powder metallurgy. Different fabrication processes will affect the structure and mechanical properties of titanium and titanium alloys. It is reported that the microstructure of forged titanium alloys is mainly coarse, plate-like or needle-like interphase beta phase, cast titanium alloys are Alpha-titanium phase, SLM titanium alloys are alpha-martensite mixed alpha phase, EBM titanium alloys are uniform needle-like alpha phase, and there are a few beta phases at grain boundaries. The Young’s modulus of titanium produced by SLS is about 104 GPa, which is close to that of forged titanium. The ultimate tensile strength and yield stress of Ti-6Al-4V made by SLM are similar to those of forging, which is superior to EBM.

The ductility of EBM is better than that of forging, SLM and casting, while that of SLM is worse. The hardness of EBM is higher than that of SLM and forged titanium alloys, while that of SLM and forged titanium alloys is similar. Fatigue strength is one of the most important properties of titanium alloy restorations. Joshi et al reported that the fatigue strength of EBM titanium alloy with vertical orientation was higher than that of horizontal orientation. After hot isostatic pressing treatment, the fatigue strength of the titanium alloy prepared by EBM is obviously improved, and the fatigue strength of the alloy is similar to that of the forged titanium alloy.

In general, the mechanical properties of titanium and titanium alloys prepared by 3D printing technology are similar to those of forged titanium alloys, but still higher than those of bone tissue. The design of porous or reticulated structure can reduce the mechanical properties of titanium and titanium alloys. Adjusting the parameters of porous or three-dimensional reticulated structure can precisely control the mechanical strength of titanium alloys and make them more compatible with bone tissue. However, such porous metals as powder metallurgy, foaming, fiber sintering and other methods can not achieve the accurate fabrication of such designs, while metal 3D printing technology can accurately fabricate complex porous or three-dimensional mesh structures with fully interconnected pores according to the design.

The stiffness and compressive strength of porous titanium alloys prepared by 3D printing decreased with the increase of porosity. Ti6Al4V implant with 61.5% porosity prepared by EBM has a compressive strength of 172 MPa and a modulus of elasticity of 3.1 GPa, which is similar to human bone tissue. By testing the mechanical properties of 3D printed reticulated titanium alloy scaffolds, it is confirmed that the biomechanical properties of the optimized reticulated titanium alloy scaffolds can meet the needs of mandibular reconstruction. However, pore structure also affects the fatigue strength of titanium alloys. It has been reported that the fatigue limit of SLM porous titanium alloys is lower than that of solid titanium alloys. Titanium alloys with different porosity have different fatigue strength, but the fatigue strength of porous titanium alloys is similar under low stress.

Therefore, according to the mechanical requirements of titanium and titanium alloy prostheses, a more reasonable stress distribution prosthesis should be designed through mechanical analysis. The mechanical properties of the prostheses should be adjusted by 3D printing technology to match the bone tissue and ensure the stable function of the prostheses in vivo. At present, the research in this field is still in progress. Very seldom.

  1. The experimental study of 3D printing titanium and titanium alloy in the field of jaw repair has been carried out. The stress distribution of SLM printed individualized pure titanium condylar prosthesis has been analyzed by three-dimensional finite element method. It is believed that three-dimensional printing and finite element analysis can provide a more reliable technical guarantee for the design and manufacture of temporomandibular joint repair and reconstruction. Schouman et al. used EBM to make two kinds of porous titanium metal scaffolds with different stiffness (10 times difference between high and low) to repair segmental defect of 18 mm mandible of sheep. The results showed that the amount of new bone in low stiffness porous titanium scaffolds was more than that in high stiffness scaffolds. It was believed that the growth of bone tissue could be improved by adjusting the stiffness of porous titanium scaffolds printed in However, the retaining screw of the low stiffness porous titanium alloy scaffold loosened during the experiment, which indicated that the mechanical properties of the scaffold still did not match the mandibular tissue. The study confirmed that the titanium alloy made by EBM had no effect on the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, and had good cell compatibility. When the three-dimensional mesh titanium alloy scaffold made by EBM was used to repair the mandibular defect of Beagle dogs, it did not cause adverse reactions of the body and successfully repaired the continuity of the mandibular defect. 。 This study suggests that the three-dimensional reticulated titanium alloy scaffold made by EBM has good biocompatibility, and the three-dimensional reticulated titanium alloy scaffold is expected to be used as a bone tissue engineering scaffold to repair mandibular defects.

  1. Clinical study of three-dimensional printing titanium and titanium alloy in the field of jaw repairing It is our concern. According to the preoperative CT and prosthetic intention of patients, titanium mesh with thickness of 0.6 mm was made by CAD software and 3D printing equipment. Autogenous bone particles and Bio-Oss were loaded to repair the alveolar bone of maxillary atrophy. The titanium mesh only relies on its own retention, without other retention methods. After 8 months, the vertical height and horizontal width of alveolar ridge increased by 2.57 mm and 3.41 mm, respectively. After removal of titanium mesh, implants were implanted and occlusal function recovered well. Shan et al. used mirror technology and 3D printing equipment to make titanium mesh with thickness of 1 mm. Two cases of type III and V maxillary defects and two cases of mandibular chin defects caused by tumor resection were repaired with autologous fibula. All patients healed well without complications. The outline of the face was restored well.

Because the shape of the finished titanium mesh can not be completely consistent with the jaw shape of the patient, pre-bending is often required during the operation, while the pre-bending operation of the titanium mesh is difficult. In addition, after repeated adjustments, the titanium mesh is easy to fatigue, leading to fracture, and ultimately make the repair failure. The individualized titanium mesh with 3D printing is consistent with the defect area of the patient. It is easy to operate during the operation and has a good effect in the reconstruction of the jaw after the operation. It has a wide application prospect in the reconstruction of jaw. According to the patient’s CT, image technology, CAD and EBM printing equipment, individualized pure titanium guide plate, reconstructed titanium plate and titanium mesh with load-bearing plate were designed and manufactured. Four patients with mandibular defect were repaired. Individualized guide plate is used to guide the removal of jaw bone during operation, rebuild titanium plate and titanium mesh to fix vascularized fibula or free autogenous bone to repair defects. The results show that 3D printing titanium prosthesis has better operation and matching in operation and saves operation time, but the cost of 3D printing titanium metal is higher.

Suska et al. reported a case of segmental mandibular defect repaired with titanium alloy prosthesis made by 3D printing technology. The patient’s left mandible and mandibular angle were resected because of the tumors. Through the design of CAD software, a 0.8mm thick personalized titanium alloy prosthesis was made by 3D printing. The volume of the prosthesis was about 12 cm3 and the weight was 53 grams. The joint between the prosthesis and the host bone was designed as a porous structure to promote bone growth and increase the retention of the prosthesis. Six months after operation, the patient’s outline recovered well and his mental state was good.

  1. Summary and Prospect

Because of the complex anatomy and structure of maxillofacial bone, the design and fabrication of titanium alloy individualized prosthesis is very important. The traditional fabrication process is not only difficult to meet the requirements of accuracy, but also time-consuming and material-consuming. The 3D printing technology does not need mould, and has high precision. It saves time and material in the manufacturing process. With the rapid development of digital medicine, computer software and 3D printing technology, it is expected to realize the individualized design, manufacture and repair of maxillofacial defect prosthesis. These techniques provide great convenience for the operation and the analysis of the effect after the repair of jaw defect. It reduces the number of patients’visits, helps doctors in oral and maxillofacial surgery communicate with patients, and improves the effect of jaw repair. However, metal 3D printing technology is not perfect. Many factors will affect the performance of metal in the process of 3D printing. The printing accuracy and design of porous or three-dimensional mesh structure will have some deviations, and sometimes even print incompletely.

It is found that the micro-structure of porous titanium alloys printed in 3D has some small defects, such as sharp angle, which can easily cause stress concentration, lead to crack formation and reduce the fatigue strength of titanium alloys. Composition, printing parameters, post-processing methods and structural design of metal materials all affect the performance of 3D printing metal prostheses. There are few studies on the biological and mechanical properties of titanium and titanium alloy jaw prostheses prepared by 3D printing technology. Further studies are needed to improve the surface properties and adjust the mechanical properties. 。 At present, the technology of metal 3D printing has been used to prepare individualized titanium implants at home and abroad, but there are few animal experiments and clinical studies as jaw implants. In August 2015, the first metal 3D printing acetabular cup in China was approved by the State Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). On May 6, 2016, China’s first individualized metal 3D printing vertebral implant was approved by CFDA. However, up to now, there is no access to metal 3D printing individualized jaw prosthesis. Therefore, metal 3D printing personalized jaw implants still need further animal validation, clinical observation and strict registration review before they can be applied in clinical practice. With the development of 3D printing technology and related equipment, the cost of 3D printing of titanium and titanium alloys will gradually decrease. The application of 3D printing of titanium and titanium alloys in the field of jaw repair has great prospects.

Prospect of Application and Development of Titanium Equipment

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In the process of petroleum refining in petroleum industry, sulfide and chloride in petroleum products are seriously corroded to equipment. Especially for petroleum refining equipment such as primary distillation tower, top of atmospheric tower and top condenser, titanium material is used as the material of the above parts, which has achieved good results and basically solved the corrosion problem of the above parts.

Titanium pipes were first used as coolers in foreign refineries. Titanium was not only applied to seawater corrosion sites, but also to process heat exchangers without seawater cooling. Titanium tube is used in condensation cooling system of crude oil distillation tower, which can prevent chloride and sulfide corrosion. Titanium tube bundles and tubesheets have been used not only in the United States but also in the United Kingdom for many years. They include heat exchangers for heating crude oil and final product condensers for cooling waste water. They were originally made of traditional copper-nickel or Monel alloys. However, due to corrosion such as sulfuration, the service life of the equipment is very limited. After using titanium heat exchanger, the effect is very good. For example, Exxon Bayway Refinery has more than 40 successful applications of titanium tube heat exchangers. In addition, the refinery has also used a large number of titanium equipment in catalytic cracking, process water treatment, hydrofining, desulfurization, unsaturated separation, hydrogen purification, reforming, tubular distillation and polymerization processes.

In metallurgical industry

With the development of metallurgical industry, titanium materials have been widely used as structural materials with high strength and corrosion resistance. In the process of hydrometallurgy, the traditional materials such as aluminium alloy and acid-resistant stainless steel can not meet the needs of production process because of the equipment’s contact with alkali, acid and various corrosive gases, smoke and dust, which limits the development of hydrometallurgy. The use of titanium equipment is of great significance for improving production efficiency, solving common phenomena of running, running, dropping and leaking in hydrometallurgy, and reducing environmental pollution.

Application in Electrolytic Nickel Production

In the production of electrolytic nickel, the equipment contacts the solution with high acid content and active ions, and the corrosion resistance of titanium is excellent, so it becomes the ideal material for manufacturing electrolytic nickel equipment.

Compared with stainless steel motherboard, cathode motherboard in electrolytic nickel production has better economic effect and superior performance, such as deposited nickel skin is not easy to stick to the plate, easy to peel off, and higher peeling rate; titanium motherboard has straight starting plate, good rigidity, and uniform current density in electrolysis. Titanium cathode motherboard has been used in Shanghai Smelter and Jinchuan Nonferrous Metals Company, and good economic benefits have been obtained.

In addition, titanium is widely used in heaters, pumps and valves of electrolytic nickel production equipment. Application in Electrolytic Copper Production

The cathode roller of electrolytic copper production equipment was originally made of steel cathode roller. The corrosion of electrolyte resulted in pitting corrosion on the surface of the roller, which affected the quality of copper foil, and regularly grinding the roller also wasted human and financial resources. The above problems can be solved by using titanium roller.

In addition, most of the heaters and cathode motherboards in the production of electrolytic copper are made of titanium.

Titanium equipment is also used in metallurgical industries such as cobalt, zinc, aluminium, Mercury Smelting and tungstic acid purification. The main equipment includes electrolyzer, reactor, scrubbing tower, heat exchanger, agitator, evaporator, dust collector and so on, which have achieved remarkable benefits.

Application in Electric Power Industry

Condensers in thermal power plants and nuclear power plants are important equipment for generating units. The application of titanium equipment in power industry mainly refers to the application of condensers in coastal power plants. The condenser of power station is equipped with large amount of sea water. Because the condenser uses sea water as cooling water, and the sea water contains a lot of mud sand, suspended substances, marine organisms and various corrosive substances, the situation is more serious in the dilute brine where sea water alternates with river water. The traditional condenser is made of copper alloy tubes, which are often severely damaged due to various corrosion in seawater. The condenser leaks after running for about one year.

titanium heat exchanger from baoji hosn titanium co., ltd

Titanium and Titanium Alloys for Automobile

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  1. Application of Titanium Alloy in Automobile

Titanium alloy automotive parts mainly include: turbine charger rotor blades made of TiAL, connecting rods and valves made of Ti-6AL-4V alloy, etc. In order to achieve low cost, Ti-6AL-4Sn-4Zr-1Nb-1Mo-0.2Si-0.3C alloy matrix prepared by powder metallurgy method was added with TiB particles dispersed Ti-based MMC, and engine valves were manufactured with the TiB particles dispersed in Ti-6AL-4Sn-4Zr-1Nb-1Mo-0.2Si-0.3C alloy matrix. This is an early application example of the development of new titanium-based materials for automotive engine valves. In addition to connecting rods and engine valves, the original secondary cost beta titanium alloy TImetaL LCB suspension spring is also the initial application example. Recent advances have been made in the development of Low-cost Titanium Alloys for engine valve and exhaust. Especially the demand of titanium alloy on exhaust system (muffler) of motorcycle is increasing, so the development of low cost alloy for exhaust system is more prevalent.

  1. Research Status of Titanium and Titanium Bar Alloys for Automobile

The countries that use most titanium in automobiles are the United States and Japan. First of all, the United States attaches great importance to the application of titanium in automobiles, such as Timet set up a special automobile factory to develop titanium automobile parts. The United States has produced titanium intake valves, exhaust valves, valve guards and connecting rods for racing cars. In Japan, titanium was used in racing cars and some sports cars as early as 20 years ago, but it has not been used in general passenger cars that pay attention to cost. For example, Nissan R382 won the Japanese competition because of its titanium alloy valve. At present, Titanium and its alloys are mainly used in automobiles, such as engine components, springs, poles, connecting rods, standard parts, wheels, power valves, etc. China is vigorously developing the promotion of automotive titanium. Firstly, the knowledge of titanium application is popularized to every corner of society through websites, newspapers, magazines and promotional meetings.

  1. Low Cost Technology of Titanium for Automobile

Titanium is much more expensive than aluminium and steel because of the cost of smelting and processing. Melting cost is essentially the energy cost necessary to separate titanium from oxygen. Processing cost generally refers to the processing cost and polishing cost at lower temperatures. The most noticeable technology is near net-shape permanent casting and powder metallurgy (P/M method). Considering the cost, P/M method should be adopted. A precedent for the use of P/M titanium components in cars is the valves on Toyota’s Alteezza. Ti-6Al-4V automobile parts with sufficient strength can be obtained by pressing/sintering low-cost metal powder mixture. In this case, there is no need to carry out HIP (hot hydrostatic compression forming) and other redundant compression processes, and the cost will not rise. At the same time, TiB2 or TiC alloys with improved rigidity and wear resistance were developed. In the TiC alloy market, the powder cost is $4/kg ($1.80/1b). Metal matrix composites (MMC) based on titanium have been used in connecting rods, valves, pistons, etc. Adding 12% TiC to strengthen can reduce weight by up to 44%.

  1. Forecast of Titanium Market for Automobile in China

Titanium for automobile in China has a broad market. Firstly, China’s economy still has some room for development. The increase of per capita disposable income and urbanization will promote the stable growth of the automobile industry. It is predicted that China’s car ownership will reach about 200 million by 2020. The production and sales of automobiles will reach 23.74 million to 24.18 million in 2013. It is estimated that in 2014, there will be 23.85 million to 24.29 million vehicles, 11.44 million vehicles imported and 1.03 million vehicles exported, with an increase rate of 8%-10%, and the related parts and components industry will continue.

  alloy titanium valve from Baoji HOSN Titanium Co., Ltd. titanium exhaust system from www.hosnti.com  

Application and Development Trend of Titanium in Home Cars

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Due to the excellent properties of titanium, more and more occasions are used in automobiles, but the higher price hinders its application. The following focuses on the application status and recent trends of titanium in family automobiles, and introduces two applications that have become breakthroughs in expanding applications.

The excellent properties of titanium mainly refer to its high strength, low density and excellent corrosion resistance, which can be used in the power transmission and chassis of automobiles. These applications are mainly aimed at the fact that titanium is a lightweight alloy and can replace stainless steel. Reducing the weight of automobiles is expected to improve the performance of automobiles.

Weight reduction is very flexible for car design, which is very important for sports cars and family cars. So far, the manufacturers of sports car engines have chosen titanium as raw material in order to lighten the weight of valves and connecting axles for automobiles. The performance improvements are manifested in the reduction of rotation distance, output power and deformation of connecting parts.

The advantages of using titanium in automobiles are that the power transmission effect or weight reduction can save fuel, reduce engine noise and vibration, and reduce component load, which can improve the durability of automobiles. Titanium can be used as valves, connecting axles, valve springs and supporting devices in car parts.

Titanium uses in places other than engines: For example, if titanium is used in the chassis of a car, it can reduce the weight of the car and save fuel. Most notable are the use of titanium in suspension springs, exhaust devices, crankshafts and other fasteners. The biggest obstacle to the extensive use of titanium in sports cars and cars is still the price problem.

The world titanium market is about 45,000 mt/year, half of which is in the United States. The world’s total production of automobiles is about 60 million units per year, with the United States accounting for 1/4 of that. Therefore, if half of the world’s automobiles are made of titanium, the consumption of titanium can be increased by another 30% based on the consumption of about 500 g per unit of titanium. In this way, the amount of titanium used in automobiles is considerable.

Application of Titanium in Home Cars

Timet, the largest titanium manufacturer in the United States, lists the advantages of using titanium as a component in automobiles as follows:

(1) The use of titanium solves some practical problems.

(2) Coordination with the market;

(3) Relevant technology of titanium material application exists.

(4) The established technology can be utilized;

(5) The use of titanium material has new value.

Titanium was first used in the mass-produced NSX V-6, a premium car, and then in the valves of Toyota’s two-door convertible car, which won an award in Japan in 1998. Ti-6Al-4V/TiB alloy produced by powder metallurgy was used in the intake valve and Ti-Al-Zr-Sn-Nb-Mo-Si/TiB alloy with heat resistance was used in the exhaust valve. The engine of the car is 2000 cc. It uses one 27g intake valve and eight 24g exhaust valves. The total titanium material used in a car is 408 G. When the raw material is steel, their respective weights are 40.0g and 44.6g, and the total weight of the valve is more than twice that of the titanium material. Titanium is also used in the valve springs of the car, and its weight is reduced from 43 g to 36 G. Toyota initially produced 4,000 of the new cars, half of which were made of titanium.

In addition, examples of other Japanese companies using titanium are Honda S2000 and R models. Titanium is also used in mass-produced connecting axles on some cars in Europe.

Titanium for family cars has recently been used in 2 cases. For example, in the case of exhaust valve of GM Chevrolet Z06, the reduction of total weight is beneficial to the improvement of performance. The weight of two titanium silencers and one group of silencers is 11.7g, and the weight is reduced by 41%, which is helpful to improve the performance of the car. And the life of the muffler is semi-permanent.

Timet and Arvin Meritor have jointly developed a new Timetal exhaust grade titanium alloy (the same as Ti2 grade) based on the market and existing technology. The material was tested by the two companies in accordance with the contract and its performance was confirmed. During the test, the punching, bending, cold rolling and welding technologies established for stainless steel will be improved so as to be applied to titanium flexibly and achieve the purpose of reducing weight.

Compared with steel, titanium metal has low modulus of elasticity and low density, which is suitable for spring. Titanium springs are widely used in the aerospace industry dominated by Boeing, but Timet believes that these components are too expensive to be used in automobiles. Therefore, the company jointly developed titanium springs for automobiles with aerospace component manufacturers, and received strong support from German VW company. Timet and VW are both automotive parts manufacturers, using standard steel spring production equipment to produce titanium springs. Muhrund Bender, a component manufacturer chosen by VW, has transformed its steel spring manufacturing equipment to produce titanium springs. As a result, the cost of using low-cost beta-alloy Ti-4.5Fe-6.8Mo-1.5Al is 50% lower than that of existing beta-alloy. The weight of the spring made of this material is 1/3 less than that of the same steel spring, and it has the best fatigue life. The 2001 Lupo FSI car with this titanium spring is 81.6 kg lighter than the standard FSI. The Lupo FSI is the world’s lowest fuel-charged car at 48 mpg (mile/gallon) and is sold in the European market. VW’s annual production of this type of vehicle in 2001 is 3500 units.

Future Prospects

Titanium material is widely used in the automobile’s beginning. Titanium is used in special parts. Of course, the car body steel plate can not be replaced by titanium plate whose price is 50-100 times higher than that of the car body steel plate. The use of the special parts developed is expanded by the development of design and production technology in the future, and new special uses can be considered. The problem to be solved is to transfer the use of titanium components from special state to mass production by reducing costs. It is hopeful to get cheap titanium sponge, but it is unlikely to be achieved by drastically improving Crowl or Hunter processes. Fray’s law is currently in the experimental stage and is likely to be a promising new technology. At present, powder metallurgy technology and primary melting technology (cold furnace EB melting or plasma technology, etc.) are expected to reduce the cost of titanium products. Titanium manufacturers and users may also reduce costs if they sign long-term price contracts. The stable supply and quality assurance of titanium materials for automobiles are also crucial by making the best use of large-scale equipment for iron and steel production.

Properties and Applications of Titanium and Titanium Alloys

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(1) Properties of Titanium

The appearance of titanium is very similar to that of steel. Its density is 4.51 g/cm 3, which is less than 60% of steel. It is the lowest density metal element in refractory metals.

Titanium is very stable in air at room temperature. When heated to 400 – 550 C, a solid oxide film is formed on the surface, which can prevent further oxidation. Titanium has a strong ability to absorb oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen. This kind of gas is a very harmful impurity to titanium metal, even if its content is very small (0.01%-0.005%) it can seriously affect its mechanical properties.

The mechanical properties of titanium, commonly known as mechanical properties, are closely related to its purity. High purity titanium has excellent machinability, good elongation and section shrinkage, but its strength is low and it is not suitable for structural materials. Industrial pure titanium contains appropriate amount of impurities, has high strength and plasticity, and is suitable for making structural materials.

Among the titanium compounds, titanium dioxide (titanium dioxide) has the most practical value. Ti02 is inert and harmless to human body. It has a series of excellent optical properties. Ti02 is opaque, with high gloss and whiteness, high refractive index and scattering power, strong covering power and good dispersion. The pigment is white powder, commonly known as titanium white, which is widely used.

(2) Application of Titanium

  1. Application of Titanium and Titanium Alloys

Titanium, a compact metal, has attracted great attention in aviation industry because of its light weight, higher strength than aluminium alloy and its ability to maintain higher strength than aluminium at high temperature. Since the density of titanium is 57% of steel, its specific strength (strength/weight ratio or strength/density ratio) is high, and its corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance and fatigue resistance are strong, three quarters of titanium alloys are used as structural materials represented by Aeronautical Structural alloys, and one fourth is mainly used as corrosion resistant alloys.

Titanium alloys have low strength and high plasticity, medium strength and high strength, ranging from 200 (low strength) to 1300 (high strength) MPa, but in general, titanium alloys can be regarded as high strength alloys. They have higher strength than aluminium alloys considered to be medium strength, and can completely replace some types of steel in strength. Compared with the rapid decrease of strength of aluminium alloys at temperatures above 150 C, some titanium alloys still maintain good strength at 600 C.

In addition to strength, titanium alloys with heat resistance, corrosion resistance, low temperature and special functions (such as TiNi shape memory alloys, TiFe hydrogen storage alloys) can also be divided into several types according to their phase composition, such as alpha, alpha+beta and beta, and nearly alpha, metastable, etc. Up to now, more than 100 kinds of alloy brands have been put into production, and only 10 kinds have been widely used in industry. Among them, Ti-6Al-4V, which is used as structural alloy, accounts for 60% of the total sales market of titanium alloys and occupies the leading position, followed by Ti-5Al-2.5Sn, whose long-term working temperature can reach 500 C (strength 780-980 MPa).

However, there are two main factors that prevent this resource-rich element from becoming a common metal. The first is cost. According to the market price in the United States, $8-12 per pound (1 pound = 0.45 kg) of titanium ingots, $1.00-1.30 per pound of aluminium ingots and $0.20-0.40 per pound of carbon steel. But the main factor is that titanium itself is very active and difficult to deal with. The atmosphere in the furnace must be strictly controlled and the welding should be carried out in inert atmosphere. Titanium metal has high activity, low thermal conductivity, high deformation resistance and poor plasticity at room temperature. It is not only easy to bond with the die in the deformation process, but also has the tendency to bond the tool and abrasive to the hot machined surface, which makes the manufacturing of standard structural parts produce a large number of scrap titanium chips, namely the so-called residual titanium. In general, 70% of the residual titanium can be produced by forging titanium ingots, sometimes up to 90%.

In order to reduce the burden caused by excessive cost, on the one hand, the remnant titanium treatment process has been developed, on the other hand, near net forming, superplastic forming, precision casting and powder metallurgy, as well as hot isostatic pressing and diffusion bonding have been developed. For example, the powder metallurgical products processed by powder making, forming, sintering or hot isostatic pressing consolidation method are near net forming parts. The material utilization rate is as high as 80%, which not only reduces the material consumption, but also significantly reduces the cutting amount. Another example is the application of large thin-wall precision casting technology in titanium alloy, which makes the properties of titanium castings close to that of titanium forgings and reduces the cost by about 50%.

Titanium and titanium alloys are mainly consumed in the aviation industry. In the 1980s, titanium used in American aviation industry accounted for 74.8% of the total titanium consumption. Russia, Britain and other countries were also mainly used in aviation industry. 90% of titanium used in Japan was used in civil industry. In recent years, the application of titanium materials in non-aerospace industry has been increasing, and aerospace is still in the leading position. Titanium has been used as engine cabin and partition for Douglas DC-7 since 1952. Titanium alloys have been used in many aircraft structures up to now. Titanium components play a key role in Boeing 757, supersonic SR-71 Blackbird, F-22 jet fighter, space satellite and missile. For example, the fan discs and engine blades in the aircraft are all made of titanium castings and forgings.

The second application area of titanium is related to the use of its corrosion resistance. Among them, the largest amount is used as electrode material for chlor-alkali production. The service life of titanium anode is 10 times longer than that of graphite anode, which increases the productivity by nearly one time and saves 15% of electricity. Annual production of 10,000 tons of caustic sodium, about 5 tons of titanium.

In the shipping industry, titanium has been glorious in the past. Each of the 6-7 3,000-ton nuclear submarines manufactured by the former Soviet Union uses 560 tons of titanium (its Alpha-class submarines use more than 908 tons of titanium). In recent years, titanium has shown tremendous power in offshore oil and gas exploration and development. During 1997-1999 alone, Europe invested US$15 billion in North Sea oil and gas development to build 21 suspended production vessels and 64 platforms. The life safety system of a new platform needs 50-500 tons of titanium, the wedge-shaped stress joint needs 50-100 tons of titanium, the telescopic lifts need 400-1200 tons of titanium, and the fixed lifts need 1400-4200 tons of titanium.

In the energy industry, it is known that the condensers and heat exchangers using titanium as power generation devices, such as Taizhou Power Plant, Shanghai Jinshan Thermal Power Plant and Zhenhai Power Plant in China, have all chosen titanium tube condensers, which use about 700 tons of titanium. All-titanium condensers are used in Qinshan and Daya Bay nuclear power plants. In recent years, in geothermal development of geothermal wells, titanium has also shown great elegance, fully demonstrating its corrosion resistance. In the high temperature corrosive environment of geothermal brine, as a power steam turbine, other materials have to be replaced by titanium because of their short life. The advantage of using titanium is that it can improve the productivity of heat recovery and the life of geothermal wells. In the 1990s, a geothermal well was drilled in Salton Sea, Southern California, where the temperature was as high as 300 C. Ti-6Al-4V-0.1Ru alloy was used for hot rolling 227 tons seamless. It is estimated that the amount of titanium used for geothermal development worldwide may reach 2400 tons in the next decade. If the Yangbajing Hydropower Station in Tibet is made of titanium, its appearance will be greatly improved.

Ti-6Al-4VELI, Ti-3Al-2.5V, Ti-6Al-4V-0.1Ru, Ti-3Al-2.5V-0.1Ru and Ti-38644 (Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Zr-4Mo) alloys are mainly used in offshore oil and gas drilling and geothermal development. Ti-5111 (Ti-5Al-1Sn-1Zr-1V-0.8Mo) alloy is used for marine fasteners. In order to meet the needs of marine engineering, Ti75, Ti31 and Ti631 alloys have also been developed in China.

According to statistics, the amount of titanium used in a 200,000 kilowatt thermal power unit is 90 tons, and that used in a nuclear power plant is 80-100 tons. It can be seen that the amount of titanium used in energy and corrosion should not be ignored.

Golf, biomaterials and automobile manufacturing are three promising new applications of titanium.

In the field of sports and leisure, the increase of golf gear consumption is quite dramatic. Titanium has not entered this field in 1993, and in 1997, the amount of Titanium used increased to 4000 tons. The reason is that using titanium as a bat has high strength, light texture, and an average hitting distance of 20-30 yards (1 yard = 0.9144 meters) or 15%. The advent of titanium bats added 448 new stadiums to the United States in 1998. The number of players reached 25 million (nearly half the world’s). Only 500 bats were sold in 1994, up from 190,000 in 1995 to 1.72 million in 1997. Titanium has great potential in the field of leisure sports, such as skiing, sledding, ice axe, claw and other climbing facilities.

Titanium has excellent biocompatibility, low coefficient of expansion, high durability and non-magnetic properties, and is an excellent bone support material. As an implant, the hip joint weighs about half as much as stainless steel, and the bone tissue can be directly adhered to the titanium implant as it grows. Titanium alloys are also used in knee joint and denture reconstruction. According to statistics, the annual amount of titanium used for medical implants in the world is between 600-1000 tons. In addition to Ti-6Al-4VELI (ultra-low interstitial oxygen), titanium alloys such as Timetal 21SRx (Ti-2.75Nb-15.2Mo-0.34Fe-0.18Si-0.250), Timetal 21S (Ti-2.9Nb-14-9Mo-0.09Fe-2.9Al-0.22Si-0.140) and Ti-6Al-7Nb were developed.

With the development of low-cost titanium production and titanium powder processing technology, it is possible to extend the application of titanium to the automotive industry. Springs made of titanium have been used in Formula One racing cars, racing motorcycles and the most advanced Ferrari cars. It is estimated that it will soon be used in engine valves, connecting rods, suspension springs, exhaust systems and fasteners of light vehicles. It is estimated that titanium will enter the automotive market from Japan and the United States. The United States can produce 16 million cars and light trucks annually. Honda Corporation of Japan has advanced the use of titanium valves in Altezza family cars in the second half of 1998.

  1. Application of titanium dioxide

Titanium dioxide is mainly used in coatings, plastics, papermaking, synthetic fibers, printing ink, rubber, enamel, etc., which is inferior to other white coatings. Titanium sol composed of ultrafine titanium dioxide, water and organic solvents has become an independent new variety, which is applied to cosmetics, lens surface finishing agents, ink and paint additives, and its application field is still expanding. The United States is the largest producer and consumer of titanium dioxide in the world. Its output in 1998 was 1.36 million tons, its apparent consumption was 1.13 million tons, and its output value was as high as $3 billion. China’s output and consumption are much smaller. The consumption of titanium dioxide in the United States is 50% for pigments, paints and varnishes, 23% for paper making, 23% for plastics and 9% for other purposes.

  1. Other applications

TiFe made from ilmenite concentrate is used as deoxidizer and stabilizer in the manufacture of stainless steel. The performance of TiFe hydrogen storage anode is different from that of rare earth hydrogen storage material in the manufacture of hydrogen storage battery, but the cost is relatively low. TiFe hydrogen storage anode will compete with rare earth in hydrogen storage, transportation, catalysis and fuel cell. Ti-Ni shape memory alloy is an indispensable high-tech material for medical and military applications. As for the functional materials of electronic ceramics, such as barium titanate, strontium titanate, titanium compound catalyst, organic titanium heat-resistant paint and titanium epoxy paint, there are numerous applications.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Titanium Bicycles and Their Different Feelings

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Our common bicycle structure is composed of iron, aluminum, carbon fiber and titanium, each with its advantages and disadvantages. Iron: Solid, economical and plasticity, but the disadvantage is rust. Aluminum has the advantages of light weight, but its disadvantages are hardness and pressure difference. Carbon fibers have the advantage of astonishing elasticity and crashworthiness over any metal, but the disadvantage is that they are very expensive. Titanium has only 43% density of iron, higher strength than iron, abnormal fatigue and corrosion resistance, and good plasticity. Among these metals, bicycle fans have always had a strong interest in titanium bicycles.

In the application of titanium bicycles, one of the most common features is the application of different types of races. When an experienced Racer tried to ride a titanium bicycle, he was so shocked that he could hardly express his feelings in words. Titanium bicycle’s charm comes from its touch, tension and elasticity. A bicycle with pedal resistance is usually uncomfortable to ride. Titanium bicycles are anti-high pedals designed to reduce road impact more than other metals. Titanium has a lower density than iron and excellent seismic resistance. Titanium bicycles provide riders with three decisive factors: light, hard and smooth riding, which one woman describes as “the seat of God”.

What Beneficial Physiological Effects of Titanium on Human Body

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Titanium is a stable metal with high hardness, light weight, no rust and deterioration, and no sensitivity to human body. Titanium is beneficial to the human body and quite safe. It is very suitable for the body. It can effectively improve the scientific and technological energy products of the contemporary human-civilization disease. It is ultra-light, ultra-strong and guarantees no allergy. Titanium can produce special electric current, which has beneficial physiological effect on human body and its chemical stability. It will not change or deteriorate regularly. Titanium products can produce stable body current and relieve muscle tension, so the spirit will be relaxed, muscle will gradually relax, and improve motor function. Medical evidence shows that the human body itself contains trace titanium. Titanium is a good antioxidant, which can strengthen human immune system and improve headache, foot, lumbar and joint pain. The main function of titanium is to continuously release negative ions to eliminate the excessive positive ions produced by the electrical products which can be seen everywhere because of the advanced science and technology, and then make our body produce excessive positive ions which cause muscle soreness, tension and anxiety, long-term insomnia, etc. Titanium is widely distributed in human body. The content of titanium in normal human body is no more than 15 mg per 70 kg body weight. Its role is not clear. But it has been proved that titanium can stimulate phagocytes and enhance immunity.