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Titanium and Its Alloys: Metallurgy, Heat Treatment and Alloy Characteristics

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DOI: 10.1002/9780470686652.eae198

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Titanium and Its Alloys: Metallurgy, Heat
Treatment and Alloy Characteristics
Rodney R. Boyer
Materials and Process Technology, The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA, USA

compatible with the graphite in polymeric composites than

1 Introduction 1 the other alloy systems (discussed more fully in the next sec-
2 Why Titanium? 1 tion). The increased use of composites in aircraft such as the
3 Titanium Metallurgy 3 Boeing 777 and 787 and the Airbus A380 have resulted in sig-
nificant increases in its use over previous aircraft. The focus
4 Conclusion 11
of this chapter will be on titanium for airframe structures
References 11 (Boyer, Welsch and Collings, 1994; Lütjering and Williams,
2003; Donachie Jr., 2000).
1 INTRODUCTION

Titanium is an attractive material for aerospace applications, 2 WHY TITANIUM?

but its use has been limited due to cost considerations. It has
a high strength:weight ratio, excellent corrosion resistance
and good cryogenic and elevated temperature capabilities.
However, its initial costs may be 5–10 times as great as those
of aluminum or high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel alloys
and the machining costs may be as much as 2 orders of mag-
nitude greater than that of Al alloys. Hence Ti applications
have been minimized on commercial aircraft structure – each
application has to be justified – cost versus increased perfor-
mance or reduced maintenance costs. The situation may be
different for military aircraft as higher costs per kilogram
of weight saved are often more easily justified due to their
higher emphasis on performance.
The amount of titanium used on recent titanium aircraft has
increased significantly with the increased used of composite
structure as shown in Figure 1 (Airbus has shown similar
numbers with greater composites usage). Titanium is more
Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering.
Edited by Richard Blockley and Wei Shyy


c 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ISBN: 978-0-470-68665-2
There are several rationale for justifying the use of titanium
for airframe structural components, all related to the three rea-
sons cited above, corrosion resistance, strength:weight ratio,
and temperature capabilities. These include:
r Reduced Weight – This is the first thought that comes to
mind for titanium usage. The high strength (commercial
titanium alloys are available with tensile strength levels
from ∼240–1240 MPa) and low density of titanium result
in weight savings in place of other aerospace structural
materials (Table 1). The most prominent example of this
is the landing gear on the Boeing 777 (Figure 2) and 787.
The use of titanium on the 777 landing gear resulted in
a weight savings of ∼580 kg (Boyer, 2003). It should be
noted that for weight savings in place of Al alloy structure,
the structure must not be gage limited, that is, the gage
cannot be reduced due to concerns of handling damage.
r Operating Temperature – Titanium alloys are used over
a wide range of operating temperatures; they are used at
cryogenic temperatures (−252 ◦ C) for rocket engines and
2 Structural Materials

Figure 1. Titanium usage on Boeing aircraft as a percentage of operating empty weight.

Table 1. Strength to density ratios for the various aerospace alloy service on gas turbine engines.) Plug and nozzle applica-
systems. tions, in the engine exhaust stream, may operate at even
higher temperatures for short duration under some oper-
Alloy UTS (MPa) ρ (g cm−3 ) UTS/ρ ating conditions. The primary reason conventional alloys
can not be used above 600 ◦ C is the reaction of oxy-
7075-T6 538 2.8 192.1
Ti-6Al-4V, Ann. 896 4.43 202.3 gen in the air with the Ti resulting in a layer of what is
Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr, STA 1241 4.65 266.9 termed α-case, a hard brittle layer which results in surface
4340M 1930 7.83 246.5 embrittlement.
r Space Limitations – There are confined spaces in some
at continuous operating temperatures as high as ∼600 ◦ C structures, which drive the use of titanium. Examples of
for gas turbine engine applications. (This does not include this are the landing gear beams on the Boeing 737NG,
intermetallics, the Ti aluminides, which are just entering 747, and 757. This component provides support for

Figure 2. Boeing 777 Main Landing Gear. All of the labeled parts are Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al (Boyer, 2003).
 Titanium and Its Alloys: Metallurgy, Heat Treatment and Alloy Characteristics 3
the landing gear trunnion on these aircraft. Aluminum
would be preferred for this structure due to its lower
cost, but the loading would not permit its use without
increasing the depth of the wing in this area, which is
not aerodynamically acceptable. Steel would be another
option, but it would be heavier.
r Corrosion Resistance – Titanium is virtually immune to
the materials to which it is exposed to in an aerospace
environment. This corrosion resistance is attributed to
the immediate formation of a thin, nascent, tenacious
oxide layer when a fresh Ti surface is exposed to air.
The only medium which has presented a corrosion prob-
lem has been exposure to hydraulic fluid at temperatures
>∼130 ◦ C. A phosphate ester has been added to the
fluid to increase its flash point. If hydraulic fluid can
accumulate on Ti above the cited temperature, form-
ing a coke, the phosphate ester breaks down forming an
organo-phosphoric acid which pumps hydrogen into the
Ti (embrittling it) and etches into the Ti. This is not a prob-
lem for military aircraft, as they don’t add the phosphate
ester to their hydraulic fluid. In the author’s opinion, it is
titanium’s excellent corrosion resistance, which accounts
for its superior service record relative to Al and steel
alloys. Corrosion pits do not form in Ti, whereas they do
in Al and steel alloys; even the stainless steels may eventu-
ally pit. These pits cause stress concentrations which can
then serve as initiation sites for corrosion, stress-corrosion
cracking (SCC) or fatigue crack initiation and growth.
These pits do not form in Ti and service failures are rare
for Ti alloys.
r Composite Compatibility – This is partly related to cor-
rosion resistance, but felt to justify a separate discussion.
Ti is compatible with the graphite fibers in the polymeric
composites being used extensively today, whereas Al and
high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels will set up a gal-
vanic cell in an aqueous medium resulting in corrosion of
the metal. There are means of isolating the metals from the
graphite, such as using a layer of fiberglass between them.
However, in areas of critical structure, which are difficult
to inspect and/or replace, Ti is often used as the lower risk
approach. Another factor is the low coefficient of thermal
expansion (CTE) of Ti. It is higher than the graphite, but
considerably lower than Al alloys or steels. This factor
would obviously be a more important consideration as
the size of the component increases.
r Low Modulus – The low shear modulus and high yield
strength of Ti alloys in conjunction with its low density
makes Ti an excellent spring material. The modulus is
about half that of steel, hence, for a coil spring, it requires
only half the coils of a steel spring. The low modulus
and high strength combined provide a large elastic range.
This in conjunction with the lower density could result
in weight savings on the order of 70% in replacement of
steel springs. The superior corrosion resistance of the Ti
provides a further advantage over steel springs.
3 TITANIUM METALLURGY
3.1 Alloy types
Titanium has two allotropic forms, a high temperature body-
centered cubic (BCC) β-phase and a low temperature α-phase
with a hexagonal-close-packed (HCP) structure. The tran-
sition from α + β to 100% β-phase occurs at ∼882 ◦ C for
unalloyed Ti. This transition temperature is referred to as the
beta transus temperature or βt and, in alloys, is a function of
the alloying additions. The addition of α-stabilizers, which
stabilizes the α-phase to higher temperatures, increases the
βt temperature; the addition of β-stabilizers stabilizes the β-
phase to lower temperatures. Alpha–stabilizers include most
of the interstitials, such as O2 , N2 , and C, and Al. Beta sta-
bilizers include isomorphous alloying additions such as Mo
and V, eutectic type alloying additions such as Fe and Cr,
and H2 . Generally β-stabilizers will have very low solubil-
ity in the α-phase while the α-stabilizers will have limited
solubility in the β, but greater than that of the β-stabilizers
in the α-phase. The amount of each addition in an alloy is
the basis for the three classes of titanium alloys: α and near-
α alloys, α/β-alloys and β-alloys. The pseudo binary phase
diagram in Figure 3 aids in defining the different alloy types
in conjunction with the text below.
3.1.1 α and near-α alloys
As one might anticipate, these alloys are primarily α , with
some minor amount of β-phase present up to a few percent.
In Figure 3 the extent of the α and near-α alloys is shown to
be to the point where 100% α can be retained at room tem-
perature. However, some β-phase is almost always present,
even in commercially pure (CP) Ti. The primary alloying ele-
ment of CP is O2 , but there is always some Fe added (0.2 to
0.4%) to provide additional strengthening and improve both
workability and hydrogen tolerance. (Composition percent-
ages always are given in weight %). High temperature alloys
such as Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo (Ti6242) are generally consid-
ered near-α alloys though some consider it an α/β-alloy as
seen in Figure 3.
3.1.2 α/β-alloys
This class of alloys is defined as the region between the
boundary of the α-alloys and the metastable β-alloys –
martensite is formed when quenching from temperatures
high in α + β phase field or higher. They contain from a
4 Structural Materials
Figure 3. Pseudo-binary β-isomorphous phase diagram. Ti-8Al-
1Mo-1V and the metastable β-alloys shown are no longer alloys
of importance. Alloys such as Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al and Ti-3Al-8V-
6Cr-4Mo-4Zr would be metastable β-alloys (Boyer, Welsch and
Collings, 1994).
few percent β to substantial amounts, but they do not have
sufficient β-stabilizer contents to retain 100% β at room
temperature.
3.1.3 β-alloys
These alloys, containing over 10–12% β-stabilizing alloy-
ing additions, can be solution treated above the βt, cooled to
room temperature and retain 100% β-phase. Some alloys such
as Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al require water quenching to accomplish
this, while more heavily β-stabilized alloys such as Ti-15V-
3Cr-3Al-3Sn and Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Zr-4Mo may do this with
air-cooling, especially for thinner gages. The commercial β-
alloys used in the airframe industry are all actually metastable
β-alloys, though they are often referred to as β-alloys. No
alloys used for airframe structure are stable β-alloys as indi-
cated in Figure 3. (True β-alloys would be low strength, high
density and are quite expensive.)
3.2 Titanium heat treatments
There are several heat treatments for titanium alloys
(and other alloy systems).
r Cold worked and stress relieved – Used for hydraulic
tubing. Hydraulic tubing is cold worked to the final
size and stress relieved; this lower temperature treatment
(than annealing) provides a slightly higher strength than
annealing.
r Stress relief – A low temperature thermal treatment
generally conducted in the temperature range of 370–
815 ◦ C depending on the alloy and purpose of the stress
relief. It is generally used after prior fabrication steps or
prior heat treat operations to remove residual stresses,
which could cause distortion during machining or after
a forming operation, for instance. It will not change the
microstructure.
r Anneal or mill anneal – This is the most common heat
treatment for α - and α/β-alloys, typically in the range
of 650–790 ◦ C. For wrought alloys it normally has an
elongated or equiaxed primary α structure as illustrated
in Figure 4a, 4b, and 4c. These microstructures result in
a good combination of properties exhibiting good pro-
cessability, moderate strength and good ductility, fatigue,
toughness, and crack growth properties. This heat treat-
ment should result in a totally residual stress free part. For
both the stress relief and anneal, the more creep resistant
materials should be heat treated toward the high end of
the heat treat range due to their creep resistance.
r Duplex anneal – This heat treatment provides a duplex
or bimodal microstructure with equiaxed α and trans-
formed β as illustrated in Figure 4d and is the normal heat
treatment for Ti6242. (The lamellar or plate-like structure
developed on cooling from high in the α/β-phase field
or from above the βt is referred to as transformed β).
The cooling from the high temperature portion of the
heat treatment could be at some controlled cooling rate to
develop the desired coarseness of the transformed lamel-
lar structure. This bimodal structure may have somewhat
lower ductility than the equiaxed structure, but it will
have superior creep resistance, fracture toughness, and
good fatigue properties. Enhanced creep properties drive
this heat treatment in Ti6242; the lamellar microstructure
provides the improvement in creep resistance. A β-anneal,
with all transformed structure, would have excellent creep
resistance, but with a hit in fatigue performance. The
microstructure of an annealed near-α or α/β die forging
could have the same appearance if the forging is finished
high in the α/β-phase field and air cooled.
r Recrystallization anneal (RA) – This was a heat treat-
ment developed by Rockwell International (now part of
The Boeing Company) for the B-1 bomber for Ti-6Al-4V
(Ti64) and is illustrated in Figure 4e (the classic RA heat
treatment would have equiaxed α grains). The slow cool
from the higher temperature results in coarse equiaxed α
grains with isolated β at triple points. Properly processed
 Titanium and Its Alloys: Metallurgy, Heat Treatment and Alloy Characteristics 5

this provides the best combination of tensile, endurance, forgings and in the author’s opinion maintaining a con-
and damage tolerance properties. However, achievement sistent microstructure, hence properties, is difficult.
of this properties-combination requires achieving at least
r Solution treat and age – α/β-alloys will generally be solu-
a minimum amount of deformation throughout the part, tion treated high in the α/β-phase field and β-alloys will
something on the order of 40–50% thickness reduction. generally be solution treated above the βt . The solution
This is not always achieved throughout the part in die treatment will generally be followed with rapid cool, for

Figure 4. (a) Com Pure Ti sheet; Grade 3 (Min. tensile strength = 450 MPa) The dark spots would be islands of beta due to the Fe addition.
Annealed at 790 ◦ C/8 min (Source: S. Nayakana, TIMET); (b) Ti-6Al-4V plate annealed 730 ◦ C/2 hr illustrating a microstructure with
insufficient work with elongated α grains. The white regions are alpha. 500X (Source: R. Boyer, The Boeing Company); (c) Ti-6Al-4V
plate with a more representative microstructure. 730 ◦ C/2 hr/Air Cool (Source: T. Morton, The Boeing Company); (d) Duplex Annealed
Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo die forging, βt -25 ◦ C/1 hr/Air Cool + 595 ◦ C/Air Cool (Source: H Seifried Böhler Schmiedetechnik).
6 Structural Materials

Figure 4. (e) Recrystallize annealed Ti-6Al-4V plate. 940 ◦ C/1 hr/slow cool + 730 ◦ C/2 hr/air cool (Source: R. Boyer, The Boeing Company);
(f) Ti-6Al-4V solution treated and aged. The whiter particles are primary alpha in a transformed beta matrix. The transformed beta will
have decomposed to martensite and then to α + β with the aging treatment. The transformed beta does not normally respond to etching
so it appears featureless. 955 ◦ C/30 min/WQ + 540 ◦ C/30 min (Source: L. Gammon, The Boeing Company); (g) Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al-3Sn strip
annealed at 815 ◦ C (above βt ) and air cooled – 100% β-phase microstructure (Source: J. Fanning, TIMET); (h) Same as (g) except it has been
aged at 540 ◦ C/8 hr. Aging results in a fine α-precipitate. It is often too fine to resolve but it results in darkening of the matrix when etched
(fine needles can be seen in this micrograph) (Source: J. Fanning, TIMET); (i) Beta annealed Ti-6Al-4V plate. The aligned α grains (white)
form colonies of like orientation. 1040◦ C/20 min/AC + 730 ◦ C/2hr/AC (Source: R. Boyer The Boeing Company); (j) Beta annealed Ti-6Al-
4V plate with a faster cooling rate than i) illustrating the α forming a basketweave microstructure. 1025 ◦ C/30 min/AC + 730 ◦ C/2 hr/AC
(Source: T. Morton, The Boeing Company).

α/β-alloys it is probably a water quench; β-alloys may
sometimes use an air cool depending on the gage and
alloy. Aging of these alloys will result in α precipitation.
In β-alloys the α-phase may not be resolvable with optical
microscopy, but darkening of the microstructure as can be
seen in 4-1h is evidence it has been aged. This heat treat-
ment is not normally used for alloys such as Ti64 (except
for fasteners) as the residual thermal stresses from the
water quench will probably result in the distortion of the
part during machining – the aging temperature is not high
enough to remove these residual stresses. (Figure 4f, 4g,
and 4h)
r Beta anneal – α- and α/β-alloys will always have the 100%
lamellar structure illustrated in Figure 4i as the β-anneal
is performed above the βt . The lamellar α begins to form
when the temperature drops below the βt – the coarseness
of the structure is dependant on the cooling rate from the
transus. The faster the cooling rate the thinner the plates –
they would be very thin martensite needles with a water
quench with thin gage. Generally as the cooling rate is
reduced, reduction of fatigue performance and increased
fracture toughness and long fatigue crack growth resis-
tance will be observed - as the plates or lamellae gets
coarser. (This will be illustrated later in this section for
Ti64.) The β-anneal is followed by a mill anneal to provide
a thermally stable, stress free structure. (This is basically
the structure that all castings will have as they will have the
fully transformed structured upon cooling in the mold.)
 Titanium and Its Alloys: Metallurgy, Heat Treatment and Alloy Characteristics 7
Using a faster cooling rate from the β-anneal will result
in a basketweave or Widmanstätten microstructure rather
than the colonies seen in Figure 4i). The Widmanstätten
microstructure (Figure 4j) will have somewhat higher
fatigue and tensile strength, but the damage tolerance
properties will be reduced. The only practical method of
changing the morphology to an equiaxed structure would
be the introduction of substantial deformation in the α/β-
phase field.)
r β-STOA – The primary user of this heat treatment is the
helicopter industry for some of their rotating components.
They water-quench this heavy structure to obtain a rela-
tively fine transformed structure with a good combination
of fatigue strength, toughness and crack growth resistance
properties; the toughness will not be as high as that of a
β-anneal.
r Triplex anneal – This heat treatment was developed
specifically for Ti-6Al-2Sn-2Zr-2Mo-2Cr (Ti62222) as a
means of maximizing the damage tolerance properties at
a moderate strength level (1035 MPa). It is first solution
treated above the βt followed by a controlled cool, then
solution treated high in the α/β-phase field, again with a
controlled cool and finally a mill anneal. It will have an
appearance similar to a β-anneal.
r Cold worked and aged – This process is used for Ti-
3Al-8V-6Cr-4Zr-4Mo (β-C) spring wire. Before the last
drawing operation the material is solution treated above
the βt . It is then given the final drawing pass with
something on the order of 30% cold work. After forming
the spring it is then aged; the residual cold work acceler-
ates the aging reaction to achieve the desired strength.
The properties of titanium are very processing/microstructure
sensitive. This illustrated graphically for Ti64 plate in
Figure 5. The starting material was Ti64 plate in a standard
mill annealed condition. The anneal times were 2 hours for
Figure 5. Properties of Ti-6Al-4V as a function of annealing tem-
perature. The properties are ratioed to the properties of a standard
mill anneal (730 ◦ C/2 hr). See text for further details (Source: Boyer
and Lütjering, 1993).
the sub-transus anneals and 20 minutes for the supra-transus
anneals followed by an air cool. For material annealed above
870 ◦ C they were followed by a 730 ◦ C/2 hour mill anneal.
The fatigue lives are log average lives for notched speci-
mens (Kt = 2.53) tested at a maximum stress of 345 MPa
@ R = 0.1. √ The crack growth rate data are at a K of
16.5 MPa m. As the temperature is increased above about
800 ◦ C some of the β at temperature transforms to a lamellar
α-phase, with the volume fraction of this phase increasing
as the anneal temperature increases until it is 100% trans-
formed structure once the anneal temperature exceeds the
βt . As the amount of the lamellar transformed β structure
increases, generally the ductility will decrease, the strength
will show a moderate decrease, and the fatigue performance
decreases significantly. On the other hand, the damage tol-
erance properties improve; the lamellar structure results in
crack bifurcation and increased crack path tortuosity, improv-
ing these properties. Generally, the coarser the structure the
higher the fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth resis-
tance. This points out a unique feature of titanium, generally,
the modifications one makes to improve the ductility will
decrease the toughness and vice-versa, which is not the case
for other alloy systems. It should be noted that the extent of
the variation won’t be the same for all cases for Ti64, but the
trends will be as indicated in the figure (Boyer and Lütjering,
1993) To further maximize damage tolerance properties, an
extra-low interstitial grade can be specified which reduces
the maximum oxygen content.
Another unique feature of titanium is that the modulus
can be modified by heat treatment and processing. The pro-
cessing is important for flat product such as sheet and plate
as a significant crystallographic texture can be developed.
(Zarkades and Larson, 1970) have calculated a modulus dif-
ference of about 45 GPa as a function of orientation in a single
crystal of pure Ti. Sheet or plate won’t achieve that extreme,
but a significant texture can be developed. This texture is more
prominent in materials with the HCP structure (such as the
α-phase in Ti) with its limited number of slip systems. A good
example would be coil product with extensive rolling in one
direction with no cross rolling. Material with the transverse
tensile strength exceeding that of the longitudinal orientation
by >345 MPa have been observed which is again, related to
the crystallographic texture and modulus.
Beta alloys can be cold rolled as strip (a continuous rolling
process) developing very high un-aged strengths due to the
cold work, which might have moduli on the order of 83 GPa.
The β-phase has a low modulus. However, if this material is
subsequently aged, which will precipitate the α-phase with
the higher modulus, the modulus will be on the order of
100 GPa. Increasing the strength of solution treated mate-
rial from about 1035 to 1240 MPa by decreasing the aging
8 Structural Materials

temperature will increase the modulus by about 7 GPa. This
is attributed to increasing the volume fraction of the higher
modulus α-phase with the aging.
The cooling rate from the final thermal treatment, assum-
ing it is above ∼480 ◦ C, is another consideration for near-α
and α/β-alloys. Depending on the Al, Sn, and O2 contents,
dwell time within the range of ∼480–650 ◦ C could result
in the precipitation of an ordered phase within the α-phase,
which would degrade the tensile ductility and SCC resistance.
This has not yet been an issue in aerospace applications, but
it should be kept in mind (Boyer and Spurr, 1978).
3.3 General alloy characteristics
Each of the alloy systems has general characteristics
attributable to the type of microstructures and microstructure
stabilities attributable to their compositions and processing
histories. Common alloys, their classifications and general
usage are contained in Table 2.
3.3.1 α and near-α alloys
These alloys are not considered heat-treatable, at least in
terms of increasing strength. Commercially pure titanium
is always used in the annealed condition and sheet is the
predominant product form; it is highly formable, with the
formability increasing as the strength decreases. It can be cold
rolled, which is a very significant advantage. The sheet can be
rolled from coil to coil, significantly reducing the production
cost of the hand milled production method used for more
highly alloyed α- and α/β-alloys. In addition cold rolling
improves the tolerance controls of sheet product compared
to hand milled sheet. This alloy class has excellent weldabil-
ity. The CP titanium has very high toughness and is virtually
immune to salt water SCC.
Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo was developed as a high tempera-
ture alloy and has strength comparable to or slightly higher
than Ti64. It also contains a maximum of 0.08 % Si to enhance
the creep properties. For structural applications it will be used
in place of Ti64 at operating temperatures above 315 ◦ C and
it is used up to 540 ◦ C. Another alloy developed in the UK
(referred to as TIMETAL 834 or IMI 834) is used up to almost
600 ◦ C. These alloys with their high volume fraction of α-
phase are somewhat more difficult to process than the α/β-
and β-alloys. Sheet production for these alloys, and most
α/β-alloys, is via a hand-rolled process which is labor inten-
sive. Here multiple pieces of sheet stock are sealed within a
mild steel can by welding, heated to the rolling temperature,

Table 2. Common titanium alloys used in airframes (from Boyer, Cotton and Chellman, 2004).

Alloy Type Conditions Genl. Usage

Com Pure α/near-α Ann. Non-structural applications requiring formability,

corrosion resistance – ducts, brackets, tubing.
Ti-3Al-2.5V α/near-α Ann., CWSR Hydraulic tubing, honeycomb core
Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo α/near-α DA High temperature applications such as engine
mounts, exhaust structure.
Ti-6Al-4V α/β Ann., β-Ann., β-STOA, RA, STA All product forms. Used for general applications,
durability and fracture critical structures. Most Ti
fasteners (STA)
Ti-6Al-6V-2Sn α/β Ann., STA Slightly higher strength than Ti-6Al-4V. Used
primarily for forgings and fittings.
Ti-6Al-2Sn-2Zr-2Mo-2Cr α/β TA Fittings made from forgings and plate, moderate
strength with good damage tolerance properties
Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al β STA High strength forgings, used throughout the aircraft,
big application is landing gear
Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr β STA, BASCA High strength and more damage tolerant forgings
(BASCA) – landing gear primary application
Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al-3Sn β STA Sheet applications requiring high strength and good
formability, clock springs, also high strength
castings (minor)
Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Mo-4Zr β CWA Coil springs
Ti-15Mo-3Al-2.7Nb-.25Si β STOA High temperature, resistant to oxidation and
hydraulic fluid

(Notes: Ann. – annealed; CWSR – cold worked and stress relieved; DA – duplex anneal, heated high in α/β-phase field, air cooled and annealed; β-Ann. – heated
above the βt , air cooled and annealed; β-STOA – heated above the βt , water quenched and annealed; RA – recrystallization annealed – heated high in α/β-phase
field, slow cooled, and annealed; STA – high temperature solution treatment normally followed by rapid quench and age; TA – triplex anneal – heated above βt ,
controlled cool to room temperature (RT), heated high in α/β-phase field, controlled cool to RT, anneal; BASCA – β-anneal, slow cool and direct age; CWA –
cold work and age.)
 Titanium and Its Alloys: Metallurgy, Heat Treatment and Alloy Characteristics 9
which is in the range of 900–950 ◦ C, and passed back and
forth through the rolls by hand, reducing the gage a little
further with each pass until the temperature drops enough
that the metal becomes too stiff to continue rolling. It is then
annealed, removed from the pack; chem milled and condi-
tioned to remove surface defects. These pieces are then put
back into packs and rolled again until the proper gage is
reached. They are again removed from the can and go through
extensive grinding and chem milling to get the appropriate
surface finish and tolerances.
Ti6242 is normally used in the DA condition to improve
its creep resistance. Its primary applications on airframes are
for engine mounts and engine exhaust structure. It is some-
times used in the β annealed condition to maximize creep
resistance. Sheet and forgings are the primary product forms.
It is superplastically formable (see Titanium and its Alloys:
Processing, Fabrication and Mechanical Performance).
3.3.2 α/β alloys
α/β alloys – these alloys are by far the most prominent in
aerospace and other industries. Ti-6Al-4V accounts for some-
thing like ∼90% of the titanium used in the aerospace market.
This alloy, which is used predominantly at a minimum tensile
strength of 896 MPa, is used in virtually all product forms –
sheet, plate, bar, die forgings, castings, and extrusions. The
α/β alloys are moderately heat treatable. Ti64, for instance,
can be heat treated up to minimum tensile strengths of up to
1100 MPa via an STA heat treatment, but only up to sections
of about 19 mm; the maximum tensile strength begins to drop
at greater thicknesses. These alloys have the best combination
of producibility, strength, ductility, durability, and damage
tolerance properties. They are reasonably formable, can be
superplastic formed, and are used in structural applications
up to ∼315 ◦ C; it can be used to higher temperatures if load-
ing is low. Ti-6Al-4V is weldable by almost any welding
method. Fusion welds will normally have a drop in ductility
and fatigue and damage tolerance properties. A lot of stud-
ies of solid-state welding, such as friction stir, linear friction,
and inertia type welds are ongoing. The engine companies
have been using the latter two weld methods for years but the
airframe manufacturers are just getting into them. There is
evidence that the solid-state welds have base metal properties.
These alloys, again, predominantly Ti64, are utilized
in almost every section of the aircraft – fuselage, wing,
empennage, nacelle, landing gear - usually in the annealed
condition. Some of the largest Ti forgings in the world are
fabricated from this alloy as can be seen in Figure 6.
β-annealed components are used for what are considered
fracture critical components; good examples are fittings that
attach the empennage to the fuselage for commercial aircraft,
and virtually the whole aft portion of more recent US Air
Figure 6. F-22 bulkhead forging. ∼3000 kg, 1.7 m high by 4m wide
(Source: J. Rossow, Wyman Gordon).
Force fighters such as the F-22 and F-35. Titanium is used
in this portion of the aircraft due to the elevated temperature
because of the engines. The bulkhead frames (made in three
pieces and welded together) in Figure 7 are β-annealed as
is most of the structure shown in the figure. This illustrates
an interesting point in the difference in design philosophy
between the US Air Force and Navy. The former designs
with the philosophy that cracks are present when the aircraft
rolls off the assembly line. The design is then premised on
having a flaw of a prescribed size present at the most critical
location on the part and the manufacturer must prove through
fatigue testing and analysis that the aircraft will survive 5
lifetimes without that part failing. This drives the use of a
β-anneal heat treat. The Navy, on the other hand does not
make this assumption. They assume that the structure is defect
free on rollout, and is designed premised on the airframe
not developing a crack through the lifetime of the aircraft.
Therefore they do not use the β-anneal because of the drop
in fatigue crack initiation properties. They primarily use the
mill anneal for both Ti64 and Ti-6Al-6V-2Sn (Ti662) with its
superior fatigue properties. (Ti662 is not really used much for
new design; it has a strength advantage of about 70 MPa over
Ti64 with somewhat lower toughness and SCC resistance.)
Ti-6Al-4V fasteners are used extensively. They are used
in the STA condition at a minimum strength of 1100 MPa.
The heat treatment must be very tightly controlled to meet the
tensile and shear strength, ductility, and fatigue requirements.
This strength can only be achieved on a statistically controlled
basis at thicknesses up to about 19 mm in diameter.
3.3.3 β alloys
β alloys – this alloy class provides the highest strength,
with some processing advantages. They are heat treated to
tensile strength minimums from 1100 to 1240 MPa. They
will have excellent smooth fatigue properties, but with high
notch factors (Kt ’s of 2.5 and higher) the fatigue performance
will be similar to that of the lower strength Ti64 alloy due
to the higher notch sensitivity at the higher strength level.
For the 1100 MPa condition, a minimum fracture toughness
10 Structural Materials
Figure 7. Schematic of F-22 aft fuselage assembly showing Ti components. The bulkhead frames and forward and aft boom assemblies
are weldments (Source: Boyer, 1997).
√
of 44 MPa m is feasible. At the
√ lower strength level the
minimum would be about 71 MPa m. Higher toughness val-
ues are achievable but the above values are reasonable taking
into account the property scatter observed. The fatigue crack
growth rate for these alloys is generally similar to that of
annealed Ti64. Two good sources for typical and allowables
property information would be (Boyer, Welsch and Collings,
1994) and (MMPDS, 2008).
Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al (Ti1023) and Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr
(Ti5553) are primarily forging alloys. Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al-3Sn
(Ti153) was developed for sheet applications, Ti-15Mo-3Al-
2.7Nb-.25Si (β-21S) was developed as a sheet alloy; some
bar or plate is also used. Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Mo-4Zr (β-C)
was developed as a forging alloy but its primary use in the
aerospace industry has been rod and wire for coil springs.
The highest volume β-alloys are the high strength forging
alloys, Ti1023 and Ti5553 and they are used on the landing
gear for the Boeing 777 and 787; high strength Ti1023
forgings are on the Airbus A380 landing gear and a variant
of the Ti5553 alloy is being considered for the Airbus A350
landing gear. The 777 used over 18 000 kg of Ti on each
aircraft, and over 6 000 kg were used for the landing gear of
the 777 (Boyer, 2003).
Care must be taken in melting some of the β-alloys; the
Fe in Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al tends to segregate during ingot solidi-
fication so the alloy must be melted slower than alloys such
as Ti64. If segregation does occur, Fe-rich areas in Ti1023,
referred to as β-flecks can occur, which has an embrit-
tling effect (Chen and Boyer, 1979). (These are sometimes
observed in alloys such as Ti64 (V segregation) but it is
not felt that the effect is as damaging as it is in Ti1023.)
Segregation does not seem to be an issue with Ti5553.
Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr has a further advantage in that it not
only has a higher tensile strength (1240 vs 1190 for Ti1023),
but it can be heat treated in sections up to ∼150 mm thick fol-
lowed by an air cool whereas Ti1023 can only be heat treated
in sections up to 75 mm thick and must be water quenched
from the solution treatment temperature. These advantages
do simplify the processing for the forger.
Beta alloy sheet, such as β-21S (used for high temperature
applications) and Ti153 have significant processing advan-
tages in that they can be cold rolled and strip produced as
described in 3.3.1. In addition they can be brake formed to
tighter bend radii than alloys other than the commercially
pure grades. However, more complex forming operations
where one gets into triaxial stress states can be an issue. As the
β-alloys do not work harden during forming, once they begin
necking they just continue to thin resulting in forming fail-
ures. Beta alloys, like all titanium alloys, require hot sizing in
some kind of fixture after forming to assure the proper config-
uration and remove residual stresses. For β-alloys, which are
solution treated prior to forming, which is the way the mate-
rial is normally procured, the aging cycle can be used for the
hot sizing. Alpha- and α/β-alloys will normally be hot sized at
the annealing temperature. (Titanium, with its high strength
and low modulus, will normally have more spring-back than
the other alloy systems.)
3.4 Emerging alloys
There are several alloys, which appear to be close to imple-
mentation for airframe applications.
 Titanium and Its Alloys: Metallurgy, Heat Treatment and Alloy Characteristics 11
3.4.1 Ti-54M
This alloy, Ti-5Al-4V-0.6Mo-0.4Fe, was developed by
TIMET for the automotive industry with the thought in mind
that enhanced machining capabilities could reduce the cost
making it more attractive for them. Their initial studies indi-
cated a significantly improved drilling capability compared
to Ti-64 with a drill life capable of drilling more than 5×the
number of holes as with Ti64 (Kosaka, Fanning and Fox,
2004). Studies by others have indicated the capability of
machining ∼30 % faster than Ti64 with the same or better
tool life for machining operations such as milling. Ti-54M
has properties similar to that of Ti64.
3.4.2 ATITM 425
The 425 alloy (Ti-4Al-2.5V-1.5Fe) was developed by ATI
at Wah Chang in the late 90’s as a lower cost alternate to
Ti64, with properties similar to Ti64 but slightly lower. It
has several processing advantages. It has improved formabil-
ity, is super plastically formable with improved processing
characteristics so it can be produced as a strip alloy. It is
also weldable and castable. As mentioned previously strip
producibility can result in significantly lower manufactur-
ing cost for sheet type products with improved thickness
tolerances.
3.4.3 SP-700
SP-700 (Ti-4.5Al-3V-2Mo-2Fe) was developed in the early
90’s specifically as an SPF alloy by NKK in Japan (now
JFE). It can be super plastically formed (SPF) at 775 ◦ C as
opposed to the 900 ◦ C temperature normally used for Ti64.
This lower temperature has many advantages such as less
surface contamination, longer die life, and reduced energy
requirements. It has actually been utilized in SPF production
but legal problems have temporarily halted that in the US. The
alloy has an excellent set of properties with improved smooth
fatigue properties over Ti64 and improved heat treatability.
(Ogawa et al., 1996) It is now being studied as a forging
alloy; because of its lower flow stress than Ti64 forgings with
reduced buy:fly ratios should be attainable.
4 CONCLUSION
The properties of titanium and titanium alloys (strength:
weight ratio, low and elevated temperature capabilities, cor-
rosion resistance, and composite compatibility) make it
attractive for aerospace applications. Application of titanium
alloys has significantly increased in the last decade, but the
applications are still limited due to cost. There are many
approaches being taken to reduce these costs in further use of
extrusions, reducing alloy cost, improving titanium machin-
ability, and further utilization of welding. Another approach
is the incorporation of powder metallurgy; this could become
a reality with the utilization of lower cost powders and using
them where appropriate, or for the manufacture of near-net
complex shapes with wrought properties. Powder metallurgy
processes also provide the opportunity for development of
higher strength alloys, making alloying additions, which can-
not be incorporated with ingot metallurgy. There is a very
large effort throughout the aerospace industry for alloys and
processes to improve the buy:fly ratio, processability, and
performance of titanium alloys.
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