Titanium

Titanium is a light transition metal with a shiny white metallic appearance. It is solid, offers good elongation properties and exhibits high Corrosion and temperature Resistance.

Titanium is extremely resistant to oxidising acids and chloride solutions. It is not susceptible to Pitting corrosion or stress-corrosion cracking, because it forms a firmly adhering oxide layer. In conjunction with graphite or molybdenum sulphide, this layer can serve as a lubricant.

The incorporation of oxygen in interstitial solid solutions gives unalloyed titanium a higher tensile Strength and yield point than unalloyed Steel. However, this process also reduces the elongation at rupture, which means large Bending radii are required for cold Forming. Titanium also benefits from excellent rigidity and high-temperature stability.

This makes it ideal for applications requiring good corrosion resistance, high strength and low weight - in the aerospace sector, for instance.

Examples of alloying elements are as follows:

• Lithium, which enables cold forming of titanium
• Aluminium (titanium aluminide), which ensures Creep and oxidation resistance at a low density. The aluminides are also used for components of jet and piston engines that are exposed to high temperatures.

Titanium is comparatively expensive because of the complex mining process.