CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic

number ! It has a low density and is a stron"# corrosion$
resistant transition metal! The element is e%tracted &rom rutile and
ilmenite ores by chlorinatin" them and reducin" the titanium
tetrachloride to titanium by ma"nesium '(roll )rocess* or sodium
'Hunter )rocess*! The reduction )roduct is a )orous# s)on"y material
+nown as titanium s)on"e! Titanium s)on"e is con,erted to titanium
metal or titanium alloy by a se-uence o& o)erations &ollowed by
a))ro)riate castin" or de&ormation )rocesses into cast or mill )roducts!
.1/
Titanium in its element &orm is the 0
th
most abundant element in the
earth1s crust and 2
th
most abundant structural metal! In addition to its
attracti,e hi"h stren"th$to$density characteristics &or aeros)ace use#
titanium1s e%ce)tional corrosion resistance deri,ed &rom its )rotecti,e
o%ide &ilm has moti,ated e%tensi,e a))lication in sea water# marine# brine
and a""ressi,e industrial chemical ser,ice o,er )ast 34 years! Today#
titanium and its alloys are e%tensi,ely used &or aeros)ace# industrial and
consumer a))lications! In addition to aircra&t en"ines and air&rames#
titanium is also used in the &ollowin" a))lications5 missiles# s)acecra&t#
chemical and )etrochemical )roduction# hydrocarbon )roduction and
)rocessin"# )ower "eneration# desalination# nuclear waste stora"e#
)ollution control# ore leachin" and metal reco,ery# o&&shore# marine dee)
sea a))lications# and na,y shi) com)onents# armor )late a))lications#
anodes# automoti,e com)onents# &ood and )harmaceutical )rocessin"#
recreation and s)orts e-ui)ment# medical im)lants and sur"ical de,ices#
as well as many other areas!
6hen it is combined with niobium# a su)erconducti,e intermetallic
com)ound is &ormed# when it is combined with nic+el the resultin" alloy
dis)lays the sha)e memory e&&ect and when it is combined with
aluminum a new class o& intermetallic alloy is )roduced!
Titanium has number o& &eatures that distin"uish it &rom other li"ht metal
and which ma+e its )hysical metallur"y both com)le% and interestin"5
At 778C# titanium under"oes an allotro)ic trans&ormation &rom a
low tem)erature# he%a"onal close )ac+ed structure '9* to a body
centered cubic ':* )hase that remains stable u) to the meltin"
)oint !This trans&ormation o&&ers the )ros)ect o& ha,in" alloys with
9# :# mi%ed 9;: microstructures and# by analo"y with steels# the
)ossibility o& usin" heat treatment to e%tend &urther the ran"e o&
)hases that may be &ormed!
Titanium is a transition metal with an incom)leted shell in its
electronic structure which enables it to &orm solid solutions with
most substitutional elements ha,in" a si<e &actor within =4>!
Titanium and its alloys react with se,eral interstitial elements
includin" the "ases ,i<!# o%y"en# nitro"en# hydro"en and such
reactions may occur at tem)eratures well below the res)ecti,e
meltin" )oints!
In its reaction with other elements# titanium may &orm solid solutions
and com)ounds with metallic# ionic or co,alent bondin"!
Alloyin" o& titanium is dominated by the ability o& elements to stabili<e
either o& the 9$ or the :$)hases! This beha,iour# in turn# is related to the
number o& bondin" electrons# i!e! the "rou) number o& the elements
concerned alloyin" elements with electron;atom ratio o& less than 2 stabili<e
the 9$)hase# elements with a ratio o& 2 are neutral# and elements with ratios
"reater than 2 are :$stabili<in"! ./
1.1 Crystallographic form
Crystallo"ra)hy is the science o& the arran"ement o& atoms in solids!
Titanium is an allotro)ic element that is# it e%ists in more than one
crystallo"ra)hic &orm! At room tem)erature# titanium has he%a"onal close$
)ac+ed 'HCP* crystal structure# which is re&erred as ?al)ha@ '9* )hase! On
heatin" this structure trans&orms to a body$centered cubic 'ACC* crystal
structure# called ?beta@ ':* )hase at 77!3BC and it can e%ist u) to meltin"
)oint i!e!# 1CC7 C! The addition o& alloyin" elements will alter this
tem)erature! The tem)erature o& allotro)ic trans&ormation o& titanium to
titanium is called Aeta transus tem)erature! : transus tem)erature is the
lowest e-uilibrium tem)erature at which the alloy consists o& 144> :
)hase! Atoms in the bcc structure are not as closely )ac+ed as in the HCP
structure!
Alloyin" elements can act to stabili<e either 9 or : )hase! Throu"h the
use o& alloyin" additions# : )hase can be su&&iciently stabili<ed to coe%ist
with 9 )hase at room tem)erature! This &act &orms the basis &or the
creation o& titanium alloys that can be stren"thened by heat treatment!
Fig. 1.1: Crystal structure o& titanium
1.2Effect of alloying elements
Titanium is a member o& transition "rou) elements which ha,e se,eral
im)ortant characteristics! These elements ha,e hi"h cohesi,e stren"th
which results in hi"h tensile stren"th# low thermal e%)ansion and
relati,ely hi"h meltin" )oint! It can e%ist in more than one crystalline
&orm! It is an e%tremely im)ortant asset &or Ti and its alloys since it
)ro,ides stren"thenin" throu"h heat treatment!
The addition o& alloyin" elements results in alteration o& allotro)ic
trans&ormation tem)erature o& titanium! The elements that )romote
hi"her trans&ormation tem)erature are called al)ha '9* stabili<ers# and
those lower it# are beta ':* stabili<ers! There are also such elements
which ha,e no si"ni&icant e&&ect on trans&ormation tem)erature# are
called neutral and added &or stren"thenin" either the 9 or : or both
)hases!
1!!1 Al)ha '9* stabili<ers5
These elements as shown in table 1!1 when added to titanium# increase
the tem)erature at which the al)ha )hase can e%ist! These elements
)re&erentially "et dissol,ed in the al)ha )hase! Al)ha stabili<ers include
C# O and N whose stren"thenin" e&&ect disa))ears in the ran"e o& C4DC
to 23DC! Etren"thenin" e&&ect o& Al )ersists to about 3F7DC!U)to 7> Al#
there is e%cellent combination o& increased stren"th and retained ductility!
Aeyond 7> Al# there is a shar) ductility dro) indicatin" that the alloy
&ormed thou"h has hi"her stren"th but lac+s ductility this is due to
embrittlin" e&&ect o& e%cessi,e &ormation o& 9! The 9 stabili<in"
interstitial elements C# O and N increase the stren"th but decrease the
ductility o& titanium!
Table 1.1: Classi&ication o& maGor alloyin" elements in titanium
ALPHA(!
"TA#$L$%E&
'E(T&AL
"TA#$L$%E&
#ETA()! "TA#$L$%E&
)
isomorpho*s
) e*tectoi+
Aluminum Hirconium Ianadium Co))er Jan"anese
Kallium Ha&nium Columbium Eil,er Iron
Kermanium Tin Tantalum Kold Cobalt
Lanthanum Jolybdenum Indium Hydro"en
Cerium Rhenium Lead Eilicon
O%y"en Aismuth Nic+el
Nitro"en Chromium Uranium
Carbon Tun"sten
1.2.2 Aeta ':* stabili<ers
Aeta stabili<ers de)ress the trans&ormation tem)erature# thus stabili<in" the
beta )hase at lower tem)eratures! The beta stabili<ed systems may be
classi&ied into two "rou)s i!e!# the beta isomor)hous and beta eutectoids as
shown in Table 1!1
i! Aeta isomor)hous elements5
In this system# the alloyin" elements are com)letely miscible in beta
)hase! Decom)osition o& beta to al)ha and eutectoid )roducts does
not occur e,en under e-uilibrium conditions! Increasin" the alloy
content decreases the al)ha to beta trans&ormation tem)erature!
Elements constitutin" beta isomor)hous stabili<ation systems are
,anadium# molybdenum# tantalum and columbium!
ii! Aeta eutectoid elements5
In this# alloyin" elements stabili<e the beta )hase under e-uilibrium
conditions# the beta )hase decom)oses to &orm 9 an intermetallic
com)ound! The beta eutectoid elements could either be acti,e
eutectoid &ormers or slu""ish eutectoid &ormers! Acti,e eutectoid
&ormers# such as Cu# Ni# Co and Ei result in ra)id decom)osition o&
beta! Lar"e additions o& : stabili<in" elements o& this ty)e are not
used in commercial alloys! The slu""ish eutectoid &ormers are
chromium# iron and man"anese and are not "enerally used in
su&&icient -uantities to &orm com)ounds in most commercial alloys!
1!!F Neutral stabili<ers
The last "rou) o& alloyin" elements is +nown as neutral additions! These
are mostly 9M : stren"theners! In this# alloyin" elements are Hirconium#
Ha&nium# and Tin as shown in table 1!1! Tin and Hirconium are ,ery
e&&ecti,e alloyin" elements since they ha,e e%tensi,e solid solubility in
both 9 and : )hases! Aoth these elements do not stron"ly )romote )hase
stability# but do slow down the reaction +inetics!