In the aviation industry, it is said that “for every pound of weight lost, an aeroplane will fly one foot higher.” It can be seen that weight reduction is critical for improving aircraft performance.
How to reduce the weight of the aircraft? This is inextricably linked to one material – titanium alloy.
Titanium is a metal that has good physical qualities as well as stable chemical properties. It is significantly more prevalent in the earth’s crust than common metals, such as copper, zinc, and tin, and mostly buried in rocks and sand. Titanium alloy is an alloy made up of various elements mixed together with titanium. It offers many advantages, including great strength, light weight, and good heat resistance. Its application in aircraft manufacture can not only extend the service life of the aircraft, but also reduce its own weight and significantly improve the aircraft’s flight performance.
Test results show that titanium alloy has 1.3 times the strength of aluminium alloy. The excellent thermal strength is suitable for aerospace manufacturing, and it can work for a long time at temperatures ranging from 450 ° C to 500 ° C. Furthermore, titanium alloy can survive both high and low temperatures and retain some plasticity at -253 ° C.
Titanium alloy is primarily utilized in the production of aircraft and engines, including forged titanium fans, compressor discs and blades, engine covers, exhaust devices, and other components, as well as structural frames . Titanium alloy’s strong strength, corrosion resistance, and low temperature resistance are used in the manufacturing of pressure vessels, fuel tanks, fasteners, instrument straps, frames, and rocket shells in spacecraft. Titanium alloy plate welding parts are used in artificial satellites, lunar modules, manned spacecraft, and space shuttles.
With the development of aerospace industry technology, it is predicted that titanium alloys’ future development prospects will be extensive, and scientists will improve their research and use of titanium alloys to create more advanced equipment.
