The Application and Prospect of Titanium Materials in Marine Engineering

Equipments

Zhu Jianwen, Qu Henglei, Yang Jianchao, Zhang Zhi, Chen Tingting, Li Changliang, Qi Li-
ang, Shu Ying, Ou Yang Wenbo, Yang Jian, Sun Dan
Western Titanium Technologies Co. ,Ltd. , Xi' an 710201 ,China

Titanium is a preferred natural structure material for the marine equipments. The application of titanium materials in marine engineering well
demonstrates its excellent combination performance, and provides an important materials technology platform for the R&D of marine engineering
machinery and equipment with better reliability and longer service life. The article reviews characteristics and applications of titanium materials
and then gives an expectation in the future marine engineering application.

Keywords: Titanium ,applicati<m, mari11e engineering equipment

formance when they are applied in the marine engineer-

I. Preface
Since twenty-first Century, with the rising demand
of energy, now as a development of the exploration and
exploitation of oil resource has been more and more pay
attention by people of many countries in the world,and
then people have shifted their attention from land to
sea. However, because of the existence of corrosive
media like chloride and sulfide in seawater and marine
atmosphere, it will cause considerable damage to con-
ventional equipment. So the marine engineering equip-
ment and facilities must have the corrosion resistance
and the reliability of structure. Especially in the deep
development of application component material should
have high specific strength, toughness, and resistance
to seawater corrosion properties.
It is well known that titanium alloys are a kind of
maintenance-free material adopted in offshore operation
with its non-magnetic and non-toxic nature, because of
its high specific strength, excellent corrosion resist-
ance, moderate elastic modulus and sound fatigue prop-
erties. In addition to, titanium alloys are easy to go
through cold forming and welding, having the ability of
constituting various kinds of alloys with different
strengths. All of the properties above mentioned quali-
fy titanium to enjoy the reputation of being the first-
choice structural materials when it comes to the con-
struction of marine equipment. In a word, titanium pro-
vides an important platform of material technology for
marine engineering equipment, possessing R&D relia-
bility and longer service life.
2. Properties and Application of Titanium
In general, marine equipment in accordance with
the mission it performs can be classified into six
groups: civilian ships, military ships, marine engineer-
ing machinery and equipment, engineering ships, fishing
boats and high-performance boats; but basically it falls
into two major categories: "vessel" and marine engi-
neering machinery and equipment. Titanium and titani-
um alloys just fully demonstrate their excellent per-
ing machinery and equipment (simplified as: marine en-
gineering equipment). With the application domain of
titanium and titanium alloys expanding, steadily comes
an urgent need in the market.
Marine engineering equipment mainly include off-
shore drilling platforms, oil and gas drilling equipment,
marine engineering, power and transmission equip-
ment, ancillary equipment, and deep-sea diving device,
etc.
2. 1 Categories of Titanium and Titanium Alloys Em-
ployed in the Marine Engineering Equipment
Application of titanium and titanium alloys in marine
equipment origined in the 60s of last century, which was a
decade later than its application in the aviation industry.
Russia, the United States,Japan and China are among the
first group of countries which initiated applied research of
titanium in the construction of ships. Titanium has been
used in marine engineering equipment for 40 years, but
major progress was not made until in the last two decades,
thanks to increasing advance made in deep-sea exploration
and exploitation of offshore oil and gas in recent years.
With the development of science and technology over the
years, many countries have formed their own marine e-
quipment technology system with regard to the use of tita-
nium alloys (see Table D.
The independent research and development of tita-
nium alloys in Chinese marine equipment has begun
since half a century ago, and has been greatly enhanced
by forming a relatively complete utility system of tita-
nium and titanium alloys (see Table 2).
2. 2 The Properties of Titanium Embodied in Marine En-
gineering Equipment
Weight loss and intensity are very important in the
construction of offshore platforms. Having equal inten-
sity of steel, titanium's weight is 45% less than steel.
Attributed to low modulus of elasticity, titanium alloy
within the range of elastic deformation is able to absorb
 ~~---------------------------~
12. Marine Applications • 2269 •

Table I. Titanium alloys and their yield strength scale for marine applications in China, Russia and U. S
China Russia U.S. A.
Alloy Strength scale/Mpa Alloy Strength scale/Mpa Alloy Strength scale/Mpa
TA2 320 MT-JM 390 Grade I 170
TA22 490 !1T-7M 490 Grade 2 240
TA5 590 ITT-3M 590 Grade 3 380
ZTi60 590 11T-3B 590 Grade 12 340
TA23 600 BT9 930 Grade 9 480
TA24 630 BT8 900 Grade 5 820
STi80 785 BT3-I 900 Ti38644 I 100
TC4(ELD 795 Ti6211 655
TCll 930
TiB19 1150

Table 2. Titanium alloys and their mechanical properties developed for marine engineering equipment in China

Tensile strength Yield strength Area reduction Fracture toughness

Alloy Compositions Elongation ( % )
(MPa) (MPa) rate<%> KICMPa • ml/2
TA5 Ti-4Al-0. 0058 684 588 15 25
TA22 Ti-3Al-1 Mo-I Zr-0. 8Ni 637 490 18 35
TA24 Ti-3Al-2Mo-2Zr 730 637 13 25 93
STi80 Ti-6Al-3Nb-2Zr-I Mo 900 818 13 36
TA16 Ti-2Al-2. 5Zr ;;::,470 ;;::,375 ;;::,20
TAl9 Ti-4Al-2V 560-800 ;;::,520 ;;::,16 ;;::,30
Ti-91 Ti-3Al-1 V-IZr-IFe 700 660 20 ;;::,35
Ti-Bl9 Ti-3Al-5Mo-5V-4Cr-2Zr 1250 1150 6 18-26 ;;::,70

the load from the structural accident. Therefore, titani-
um alloy is characterized by flexibility and resistance to
structural deformation which are the very qualities nee-
ded in the offshore platform and tapered procured ver-
tical pipe stress connector because their positions must
be adjusted in the sea to the movement of the sea at
any timeI>.
Titanium is plated with a dense surface layer of
oxide film, which exempt titanium substrate from sea
erosion when the temperature is below 130 °C, and re-
sist crevice corrosion from sea water when the temper-
ature is below 80°C. In addition to that, titanium is also
free from corrosion from hydrocarbons and crude oil.
Experimental results show that the service life of tita-
nium in sea water is up to 50 years. Thus as for the off-
shore project lasting 20 to 30 years, the use of titanium
in marine engineering equipment will free all the time-
consuming, costly maintenance and repair job in work
period.
In the 80s of last century the fire protection sys-
tem installed in sea platforms were generally made
from carbon steel and copper nickel alloy materials.
The use of sea water in the fire protection system had
led to corrosion of these materials. Oil supply company
Statoil is the first company to make experimental use
of titanium in fire-fighting equipment. The experimen-
tal results showed that the titanium tube with sea wa-
ter could tolerate 1000 °C baking over the fire for 2 h
without any corrosion, which proved titanium to be a
fine cushion of wave flow resistance. Statoil in the mid-
nineties took 3 years to replace 40 fire-fighting systems
in three offshore platforms ( StatOord A, B, C) con-
structed in the early eighties with titanium tube, which
cost a total value of 40 million NOK ( $ 530 million).
It is believed that all the trouble would have been saved
if titanium tubes had been applied at the beginning of
the constructionI>.
When the US Alvin bathyscaph for scientific re-
search was going through a general rebuild in 1973, the
material of its pressure hull was changed from HYlOO
high-strength steel adopted in 1964 (thickness 33. 8
mm) to titanium alloy (thickness 49 mm) which ena-
bled its dive depth to increase from 2000 m to 3600 m,
while its auxiliary boxes and high-pressure air vessel
also adopted Ti 6Al-4 V ELI titanium alloy in construc-
tion. Bathyscaph Sea Cliff constructed between 1981
and 1982 was equipped with a titanium observation
tank as well as a manipulation compartment, whose
dive depth was up to 6100 m. As can be seen there is a
tendency that titanium alloys is gradually used as shell
material for deep diving bathyscaph. This year China's
dragon manned submersible successfully launched sea
test in 3000m level (3759m) s,whose components such
as pressure tank and buoyancy balls employ TC4 titani-
um alloy as sheet material.
High-pressure oil pipe used in submarine oil min-
ing refers to seamless pipe of cp38 mm Ti-6Al-4 V ELI
alloy designed to avoid damage and reduce weight as
 • 2270 • Proceedings of the 12'h World Conference on Titanium
well as costs. Mobil's Stariord A project install town
water system by replacing carbon steel pipe with indus-
trial pure titanium welded pipe of 457 mm diameter.
In the past, stainless steel 1Crl3 plated with
chrome was employed in the plunger, valve, valve seat,
and it is not long before these devices were seriously
corroded, damaged and then needed frequent replace-
ment. This trouble can be resolved when titanium
pump or titanium valves containing titanium alloy is
widely used in various fields of marine engineering,
such as reciprocating salt water pumps of water mak-
ing systems with highly concentrated brine as media.
Titanium heat exchanger is the most widely used
titanium-alloy machinery in Marine Engineering. Since
1962 Russia has made use of titanium to run more than
6000 heat exchangers of various types, and has reached
a fully commercial level. China also succeeds in making
quite a number of heat exchangers and operating them
successfully on board as wel1 2>.
Fastener is an important component of mechanical
basic pieces, commonly known as "the rice of indus-
try", and is widely employed in various walks of indus-
try. Fasteners include screws, bolts, nuts, washers,
pins, keys, retaining rings, etc. Because titanium-alloy
equipment like piping, flanges, various types of pumps,
valves and other components has a wider and wider
range of usage in marine engineering, the application of
titanium fasteners is also greatly promoted in accord-
ance. China in recent years introduces a number of
ships of various types, all of which are equipped with
titanium alloy fasteners. On-board investigations prove
that titanium fasteners after decades of immersion in
seawater still resist suffering from corrosion. There-
fore, such problems as seawater corrosion and electro-
chemical corrosion between dissimilar materials may be
solved by titanium fasteners which can not only greatly
improve the service life of bolts but also reduce weight
of equipmenr>.
In order to shift from shallow sea operation in in-
land sea to blue water work,Japan makes a special ef-
fort to establish a large research group in charge of
floating technique and carries out theoretical research
as well as field trials on super-large floating marine
structures, whose area is up to several square kilome-
ters and service life to 100 years. Titanium alloy is
highly preferred in the construction of such super-large
floating marine structure for its excellent corrosion re-
sistance, very few dissolved ions in seawater environ-
ment as well as its non-toxic and pollution-free nature.
The Heidrun TLP project of U. S. Continental Oil
Company specifies the use of titanium drilling riser,
whose diameter is about 508 mm, the total length
12192 mm using Ti-6Al-4 V ELI titanium alloy as ma-
terial. It consists of three parts with the center part be-
ing an ordinary pipe and both ends having gone through
forging and machining3>.
Norway company is titanium for marine oil gas ex-
ploitation device main operator. For instance, the deep-
sea oil fields located in Europe's North Sea has a 70 m
drilling depth with a fixed rig (northern region) and a
1000 m drilling depth with a floating rig (southern re-
gion) respectively. In the construction of the fixed off-
shore platform 30- 500t titanium was consumed)). In
1999, when in charge of the construction of an Austral-
ian projects Laminaria, Alba adopted the largest titani-
um valves, the casting of which is made of pure titani-
um (Gr2), weighs 2750 kg with 2210 mm length and
1499 mm heightn.
Up till now, Tens of thousands of tons of titanium
and titanium alloy products used in ocean engineering
equipment, and characteristics of titanium have been
brought into full play. In 2009, titanium applied in ma-
rine engineering equipment accounted for 5 % of the to-
tal consumption of titanium in the world. According to
the statistics from the Titanium Zirconium Hafnium
Branch of China Nonferrous Metal Industry Associa-
tion, the consumption of titanium in marine engineering
equipment was 20t in 2000 and 622t in 2009, taking up
0. 6 % and 2. 5 % of the total annual consumption in
these two years respectively.
To sum up, having a wide range of yield strength
from 320 MPa to 1100 MPa system, titanium and titanium
alloys can meet the requirements of a variety of marine en-
gineering equipment and adapt to different parts. In the re-
cent five decades of practice, titanium is widely applied in
the marine engineering equipment for its good performance
in marine environment. (See Table 3)
3. Problems Spotted
Compared with carbon steel, titanium is more ex-
pensive, so the application of titanium has been limited
in offshore above-water equipment when the engineer-
ing work cycle is within 20 years.
In China, the average amount of titanium used in
marine engineering equipment is below the world's av-
erage level mainly due to the fact that the technology
and equipment on deep-sea oil and gas exploration in
China lags behind the developed countries. Further-
more, 97 % of the platform structure, key components
and equipment mainly rely on foreign imports for do-
mestic construction1 >.
4. Future Prospects
According to the agency forecast: more than 300
billion dollars will be pooled in the global ocean engi-
neering market in the next 10 years. In the 2015, the
global offshore oil-gas industry will invest 1890 billion
dollars aimed to set up 15000 oil-gas exploration and
exploitation wells throughout the global oceans. China
water depth in 300m above sea are 1530000 m2 , at
present,only the 160000 m2 have been explored, 90%
 ~~--------------------- ...........-
12. Marine Applications • 2271 •

Table 3. Titanium and titanium alloys applied in the marine engineering equipment
Compositions Minimum yield strength ( MPa) Applications

Industrial pure titanium 127 Plate heat exchanger

Industrial pure titanium 276 Tube heat exchanger, tube fittings, water inlet / outlet fittings, fire
fighting systems, ballast flow system, pipe fittings, support system
piping, pumps, valves, chlorination systems, etc.
Ti-0. 3Mo-O. 8Ni 345 Tube heat exchanger, temporary pipes and cables, beams, risers, pipe-
lines
Ti-3Al-2. 5V 483 Beams, temporary pipes and cables, risers, pipelines, pressurized pip-
ing installations
Ti-3Al-2. 5V-0. 05Pd 483 Beams, risers, pipelines, tubes
Ti-6Al-4V 825 Pillars of oil and gas platforms. ropes frame, pumps of pressurized wa-
ter circulation system, risers and couplings.etc.

Ti-6Al-4 V ELI 759 Drilling risers, production and output risers, cone stress fittings, fas-
teners, submarine pipeline
Ti-6Al-4 V-0. 05Pd 827 Cone stress fittings, production and output risers
Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Zr-4Mo(fl·C> Fasteners.production plant with pipes.tools

sea have not been explored. Therefore, marine engi-
neering equipment manufacturing enterprises, titanium
production enterprises will have numerous opportuni-
ties in the next 5 to 10 years.
In the "12th Five-Year Plan" in China, high-end
equipment manufacturing and new materials industry
has been listed as national key cultivation and the de-
velopment of emerging industries. Because marine engi-
neering equipment manufacturing industry is prelimina-
rily identified as high-end equipment manufacturing in-
dustry in the five industries, so new types of jack-up
drilling rigs and its ancillary equipment, marine engi-
loys as the key equipment and supporting device of ma-
rine engineering preferred material will support the
emerging industry of marine engineering equipment by
developing more reliable machinery for the offshore oil
industry and the marine energy industry as well. At the
same time, titanium will be more broad market pros-
pects and development space.
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3) Huang Jinchang. Titanium Industry Progress, 1996; ( 6): 34-

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4) The Present Status and Prospect of Oceanic Steel Structure in
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http://www. jxcad com. cn/read-htm-tid-628916. html
In the next 5 to 10 years, titanium and titanium al-