Tag: aluminum

A Summary of the Titanium Alloy Properties

SAM®Titanium is a new type of metal. Its properties are related to the content of other impurities, such as carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen. The purest titanium iodide has an impurity content of less than 0.1%, but it has low strength and high plasticity.

The general properties of 99.5% industrial pure titanium are as follow：

Stanford Advanced Materials
density ρ 4.5g/cm3
melting point 1725°C
thermal conductivity λ 15.24W/(mK)
tensile strength σb 539MPa
elongation δ 25%
section shrinkage ratio ψ 25%
elastic modulus E 1.078×105 MPa
hardness HB 195

(1) High specific strength

The density of titanium alloy is generally about 4.5g/cm3 (only 60% of steel), but the strength of pure titanium is close to that of normal steel. And some high-strength titanium alloys have higher strength than many alloy structural steels. Therefore, the specific strength (strength/density) of titanium alloy is much larger than that of other metal structural materials. It can be used to produce parts and components with high unit strength, good rigidity and lightweight. At present, titanium alloys are used for aircraft engine components, skeletons, skins, fasteners and landing gear.

Titanium Aeroplane Engine
Titanium Aeroplane Engine

(2) High-temperature strength

Titanium alloys can be used in higher temperature environments than aluminum alloys. Titanium alloys can retain the required strength and maintain long-term operation at the temperatures between 450 and 500 °C. While the specific strength of the aluminum alloy is significantly reduced when the temperature reaches 150 ° C.

(3) Good corrosion resistance

Titanium alloy can work in the moist atmosphere and seawater medium with good corrosion resistance, which is much better than stainless steel. It is especially resistant to pitting, acid etching and stress corrosion. In addition, titanium also has excellent corrosion resistance to alkali, chloride, chlorine organic substances, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and the like. The fly in the ointment is that titanium has poor corrosion resistance to reducing oxygen and chromium salt media. For more information about the corrosion resistance of titanium, please read this passage Does titanium never corrode?

Titanium Ship
Titanium Ship

(4) Good low-temperature performance

Titanium alloys retain their mechanical properties at low and ultra-low temperatures. Titanium alloys with good low-temperature properties and extremely low interstitial elements. For instance, TA7 can retain a certain degree of plasticity at -253 °C. Therefore, the titanium alloy is also an important low-temperature structural material.

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How was aluminum discovered?| History of Aluminum

AluminumDiscovery

Humphry Davy
Humphry Davy

Compared with other metal elements we discussed about before, Aluminum is discovered much later. In 1808, the British chemist Sir Humphry Davy confirmed the existence of alum and named the substance to Alumium (later changed to Aluminum).

In 1825, Danish chemist and physicist Hans Christian Ørsted began experimenting about aluminum extraction. However, it was not until 1827 that Friedrich Wöhler reduced the molten anhydrous aluminum chloride with potassium metal to obtain a purer metallic aluminum element.

As precious as gold

However, as Wöhler’s method could not yield great quantities of aluminium, the metal remained rare; its cost exceeded that of gold. It is for this reason that aluminum was in a high position at that time. It is said that at a banquet, the French emperor Napoleon used aluminum knives and forks alone, while others used silver tableware. Also, the king of Thailand once used an aluminum bracelet.

Mass production

Charles Martin Hall
Charles Martin Hall

In 1886, French engineer Paul Héroult and American engineer Charles Martin Hall, respectively, independently electrolyzed a mixture of molten bauxite and cryolite to produce metal aluminum, which laid the foundation for large-scale production of aluminum in the future. Since then, the status of aluminum has changed completely, mainly in two aspects: first, it is mass-produced and is no longer regarded as a precious metal; the mass production of aluminum in industrial and domestic applications has gradually replaced the use of other metals such as steel and copper in many fields.

Application Prospect

At present, the aluminum industry has problems such as overcapacity and insufficient utilization, so the development prospects of the aluminum industry in the short term are not optimistic.

However, due to the abundant reserves of aluminum in the earth’s crust and the advantages over other metal elements, aluminum will have extremely broad application prospects in the future. For example, automakers are currently exploring the use of large-area aluminum alloy instead of steel to make the car lighter.

With the advancement of technology, aluminum alloy products will not only grow rapidly in traditional applications such as aerospace, transportation, electronic power, and construction, but will also grow rapidly in other new fields.

 

This is a history column of SAM Sputter Target, aiming at introducing the history of different metals. If you are a metal lover or history lover, you can follow our website. For previous posts of this column please search the keyword “history”.

 

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