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Metallurgy of Titanium
General Properties of Titanium
1. It has density 4.51 gm / cm3 at 20oC.
2. Titanium is a bright silvery metal, when polished, resembles steel in
appearance.
3. Its atomic number is 22 and atomic weight is 47.8.
4. It is 0.63 wt % of the Earth’ s Crust.
5. It has melting point of 1660oC.
6. The boiling point is 3400oC.
7. Titanium is an allotropic element with respect to temperature. It exists in two
allotropic crystalline forms, one is α-Titanium and the other is β-Titanium.
The α-Titanium has hcp crystal lattice and is stable up to 883oC and
when temperature is raised above 883oC, α-Titanium is transformed in to
β-Titanium, which has bcc crystal lattice.
8. The mechanical properties of titanium depend to a great degree on its purity.
Dissolved gases (oxygen, nitrogen, or hydrogen) make it brittle, while pure
titanium metal is malleable.
9. Pure titanium metal has a hardness of 73 on the Brinell scale, while
commercial titanium shows a hardness of 180-280.
10. In air, titanium is very stable and up to 500oC does not change much its
mechanical properties. When heated above that point, it eagerly absorbs
oxygen to become embrittled.
11. Heated to 800oC, titanium readily absorbs nitrogen to form with it solid
solutions and a nitride, TiN, possessing high hardness.
12. The absorption of hydrogen by titanium is related to the formation of
hydrides TiH and TiH2.
13. The strength to weight ratio of titanium is very high, almost twice that of
steel.
14. Its corrosion resistance is better than even 18-8 stainless steel.
15. Titanium alloys retain their strength even at higher temperatures and show
less creep.
16. Many titanium alloys can be age-hardened to enhance their strength
properties.
17. The metal burns in air and is the only element that burns in nitrogen. It is
marvellous in fireworks.
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Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Fig. 1 shows the reaction between titanium metal and potassium perchlorate
(KClO4).
Fig. 2 shows the result from adding titanium powder to a burning mixture of
potassium chlorate and sucrose.
(Do not attempt this reaction unless are a professionally qualified chemist and
you have carried out a legally satisfactory hazard assessment.)

History
Ti metal was first isolated in an impure form by J.J. Berzelius in 1825 in
Stockholm (Sweden) and later by Nilson and Pettersson in 1887.
However, pure Ti was first prepared by metallothermic reduction in 1910 by
Hunter, by heating TiCl4 with Na in a steel bomb.
From 1930 and 1950, the only method alloying the metal to be processed into
useful shapes was the powder-metallurgy technique applied to Ti sponge.
Hence, it was not until 1947 with the development by Dr Wilhem Justin Kroll of
the metallothermic reduction of TiCl4 with Mg at the US Bureau of Mines that it
began to be available as a commercial material. In the 1950s, the first melting
techniques were resistance, induction and tungsten arc heating, but the
development of skull melting by the US Bureau of Mines allowed the production
of large quantities of Ti as ingots or complex shapes. Hence, the industry as we
know today is over 40 years old. This was initially stimulated by aircraft
applications.

Uses of Titanium
Jet engine components, Airframes, Missiles and spacecraft, Chemical process
industries,
In aerospace industry, Ti is mainly used in the form of the following alloying
composition:

1. Al 6%, V 4%; Ti balance.

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2. Al 4%, Mn 4%; Ti balance.

3. Mn 8%; Ti balance.
Pure Ti is used in the form of sheets, tubes, rods, bars and forgings. In chemical
industry, bulk of the consumption is in the unalloyed form, i.e., as sheets and
tubes. In general, Al-V-Ti alloys can be used over a very wide range of
temperature, i.e., from 250oC to about 600oC. It is used as deoxidizer. It is used
in fireworks.
TiO2, which is a finely divided white powder, is the most commonly used of all
titanium products. As a result of its extreme whiteness, brightness and high index
of refraction, titanium dioxide is widely used as a white pigment in paints and
enamels. The wide use of Ti metal is handicapped by its high cost, existing
methods of Ti metal production being difficult, slow and expensive.

Jet Engine
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Newer Boeing aircraft use titanium for several parts, like landing gear. Pictured, landing Gear

Blackbird SR-71 (80% body is made of titanium). Maximum speed of F16 2,175 km/h.
Maximum speed 3,529.6 km/h.

Maximum speed of Boeing 777 is 945 km/h Maximum speed of Airbus A380 1020 km/h
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Aircraft hinge Worm gear

Dental implant screw (http://www.makepartsfast.com)

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Titanium footwear (http://www.makepartsfast.com)

Hip socket (http://titanium.com)

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Ti-6Al-4V ELI, is the main alloy (http://blog.titaniumprocessingcenter.com)

Cranioplasty is a medical procedure where a part of a person’s skull is

reconstructed via surgery. It is done on people with defects or deformities in the
skull. Since titanium is biocompatible and non-toxic to the body, titanium mesh is
used to repair the defect in the skull. (http://www.norstl.com)
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Air craft engine mount parts of Titanium alloys. Turbine blade.

Sources of Titanium
Some of the important naturally occurring minerals of titanium are following:

Mineral Chemical Formula Ti % Colour

Ilmenite FeO.TiO2 31 Iron black

Rutile TiO2 60 Reddish brown, yellowish
brown, black or bluish violet