Analysis of performance and scope of application of titanium alloy
Titanium, which looks like steel and has a silver-gray sheen, is a transition metal that has been considered a rare metal for some time. Titanium is not a rare metal. Titanium accounts for 0.42% of the total weight in the earth's crust, which is 16 times the total of copper, nickel, lead, and zinc. Ranked seventh in the metal world, there are more than 70 minerals containing titanium. Titanium has the characteristics of high strength, low density, high hardness, high melting point, and strong corrosion resistance; high-purity titanium has good plasticity, but it will become brittle and hard when impurities exist.
Titanium has strong acid and alkali corrosion resistance, and it will not rust after being soaked in seawater for 5 years. Steel will corrode and deteriorate in seawater. The hull shell is made of titanium alloy, which will not be corroded by seawater. The "titanium submarine" made of titanium alloy can dive to a depth of 4,500 meters. Generally, steel submarines are easily crushed by water pressure if they exceed 300 meters.
2. The "titanium aircraft" is strong and light. A large titanium alloy passenger plane can carry more than 100 people than an ordinary plane of the same weight. The speed of the aircraft can exceed 300 kilometers per hour, and the maximum speed of the aluminum alloy aircraft is 240 kilometers per hour.
3. Utilizing the strong adsorption of titanium and zirconium on air, air can be excluded to form a vacuum. A vacuum pump made of titanium-zirconium alloy can only pump out one billionth of the air.
In the aerospace industry, titanium can be made into the "coat" of spacecraft to prevent the invasion of high temperature.
4. The alloy composed of titanium and nickel is called "memory alloy". This alloy is made into a predetermined shape. After forming, if it is deformed by external force, it can be restored to its original shape with a little heating. This alloy has been applied in many fields. For example, the antenna used on the Apollo spacecraft in the United States is this kind of memory alloy; the Ninth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai First Medical College has used this kind of memory alloy for female sterilization; it can also be used in instrumentation, electronic equipment and other fields.
5. Titanium carbide (TiC) is very similar to iron carbide and has a metallic luster. But it has a higher melting point and higher hardness than iron carbide. Therefore, it has practical application value.
6. Preserve food with titanium utensils. The utensils will not be corroded to produce ions, and the food can maintain the original flavor. Titanium cookware is light and strong, will not rust, and is the most scientific and hygienic.
7. The high-pressure container made of titanium alloy can withstand the high pressure of 2500 atmospheres.
8. The application of titanium in surgery. If stainless steel is used, it can be very painful to remove the stainless steel piece after the bone has healed. Otherwise, the stainless steel will cause harm to the human body due to rust. Switching to titanium "artificial bones" would revolutionize orthopedic technology. Titanium plates and titanium screws are used on damaged parts of the head. After a few months, the bone will regrow in the holes and screws in the titanium plates. New muscle fibers will be wrapped in titanium plates. Titanium bones look just like the real thing. The bones of the human body are connected with flesh and blood to support and reinforce them. Therefore, titanium is known as "biophilic metal". It has begun to be applied to knee joints, shoulder joints, rib joints, skulls, active heart valves, bone fixation clips, etc.
9. Barium titanate crystals are widely used in ultrasonic instruments and underwater detectors. This is because the cutting board generates an electric current as it deforms under pressure; once energized, it changes shape again. Putting barium titanate in ultrasonic waves will generate current when it is pressed, and the strength of ultrasonic waves can be measured by the magnitude of the generated current; on the contrary, ultrasonic waves can be generated by high-frequency current.
10. In gold jewelry crafts and daily necessities, due to its low hardness, it is easy to puncture and wear, and is not durable. When the surface of these substances is coated with a layer of titanium nitride, the appearance is almost exactly the same as that of gold plating, and it is more wear-resistant than gold and cemented carbide. This coating is called "Never Wear".
11. Organic titanium polymers, which can be used as surfactants, dispersants, waterproofing agents or antirust agents.
