Titanium metal. Titanium (Titanium) is the element titanium in the periodic table

Physical and chemical properties of titanium, titanium production

The use of titanium in its pure form and in the form of alloys, the use of titanium in the form of compounds, the physiological effect of titanium

Section 1. History and finding in nature of titanium.

Titanium -it an element of a side subgroup of the fourth group, the fourth period of the periodic system of chemical elements of D. I. Mendeleev, with atomic number 22. The simple substance titanium (CAS number: 7440-32-6) is a light silver-white metal. It exists in two crystalline modifications: α-Ti with a hexagonal close-packed lattice, β-Ti with a cubic body-centered packing, the polymorphic transformation temperature α↔β is 883 ° C. Melting point 1660 ± 20 ° C.

History and nature of titanium

Titan was named after the ancient Greek characters of the Titans. It was named so by the German chemist Martin Klaproth for his own reasons, in contrast to the French who tried to give names in accordance with the chemical characteristics of the element, but since then the properties of the element were unknown, such a name was chosen.

Titanium is 10 elements according to the number of it on our planet. The amount of titanium in the earth's crust is equal to 0.57% by mass and 0.001 milligrams per 1 liter of seawater. Titanium deposits are located in the territory of the Republic of South Africa, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Japan, Australia, India, Ceylon, Brazil and South Korea.

According to its physical properties, titanium is a light silvery metal, in addition, it is characterized by high viscosity during machining and is prone to sticking to the cutting tool, therefore, special lubricants or spraying are used to eliminate this effect. At room temperature, it is covered with a lassivating film of TiO2 oxide, due to which it is resistant to corrosion in most aggressive environments, except for alkalis. Titanium dust tends to explode, with a flash point of 400 ° C. Titanium shavings are fire hazardous.

To produce titanium in its pure form or its alloys, in most cases titanium dioxide is used with a small number of compounds included in it. For example, rutile concentrate obtained during the beneficiation of titanium ores. But the reserves of rutile are extremely small and in this regard, they use the so-called synthetic rutile or titanium slag obtained during the processing of ilmenite concentrates.

The 28-year-old English monk William Gregor is considered the discoverer of titanium. In 1790, while conducting mineralogical surveys in his parish, he drew attention to the prevalence and unusual properties of black sand in the Menacan Valley in the southwest of England and began to explore it. In the sand, the priest discovered grains of a black shiny mineral, which is attracted by an ordinary magnet. Obtained in 1925 by Van Arkel and de Boer by the iodide method, the purest titanium turned out to be a ductile and processable metal with many valuable properties, which attracted the attention of a wide range of designers and engineers. In 1940, Kroll proposed a magnesium-thermal method for extracting titanium from ores, which is still the main one today. In 1947, the first 45 kg of commercially pure titanium were produced.

Titanium has serial number 22 in the periodic table of elements of Mendeleev. The atomic mass of natural titanium, calculated from the results of studies of its isotopes, is 47.926. So, the nucleus of a neutral titanium atom contains 22 protons. The number of neutrons, that is, neutral uncharged particles, is different: more often 26, but it can vary from 24 to 28. Therefore, the number of titanium isotopes is different. In total, 13 isotopes of element No. 22 are now known. Natural titanium consists of a mixture of five stable isotopes, the most widely represented is titanium-48, its share in natural ores is 73.99%. Titanium and other elements of subgroup IVB are very close in properties to elements of subgroup IIIB (scandium group), although they differ from the latter in their ability to exhibit high valence. The similarity of titanium with scandium, yttrium, as well as with elements of the VB subgroup - vanadium and niobium, is also expressed in the fact that titanium is often found in natural minerals together with these elements. With monovalent halogens (fluorine, bromine, chlorine and iodine), it can form di-tri- and tetra compounds, with sulfur and elements of its group (selenium, tellurium) - mono- and disulfides, with oxygen - oxides, dioxides and trioxides.

Titanium also forms compounds with hydrogen (hydrides), nitrogen (nitrides), carbon (carbides), phosphorus (phosphides), arsenic (arsides), as well as compounds with many metals - intermetallic compounds. Titanium forms not only simple, but also numerous complex compounds; many of its compounds with organic substances are known. As can be seen from the list of compounds in which titanium can participate, it is chemically very active. And at the same time, titanium is one of the few metals with exceptionally high corrosion resistance: it is practically eternal in the atmosphere of air, in cold and boiling water, it is very stable in sea water, in solutions of many salts, inorganic and organic acids. In terms of its corrosion resistance in seawater, it surpasses all metals, with the exception of noble metals - gold, platinum, etc., most types of stainless steel, nickel, copper and other alloys. Pure titanium does not corrode in water, in many corrosive environments. Resists titanium and erosion corrosion resulting from a combination of chemical and mechanical stress on the metal. In this respect, it is not inferior to the best grades of stainless steels, copper-based alloys and other structural materials. It resists well titanium and fatigue corrosion, which often manifests itself in the form of violations of the integrity and strength of the metal (cracking, local foci of corrosion, etc.). The behavior of titanium in many aggressive environments, such as nitric, hydrochloric, sulfuric, aqua regia and other acids and alkalis, causes surprise and admiration for this metal.

Titanium is a highly refractory metal. For a long time it was believed that it melts at 1800 ° C, but in the mid-50s. British scientists Diardorf and Hayes established the melting point for pure elemental titanium. It was 1668 ± 3 ° С.In terms of its refractoriness, titanium is second only to such metals as tungsten, tantalum, niobium, rhenium, molybdenum, platinoids, zirconium, and among the main structural metals it is in first place. The most important feature of titanium as a metal is its unique physical and chemical properties: low density, high strength, hardness, etc. The main thing is that these properties do not change significantly at high temperatures.

Titanium is a light metal, its density at 0 ° C is only 4.517 g / cm8, and at 100 ° C - 4.506 g / cm3. Titanium belongs to the group of metals with a specific gravity of less than 5 g / cm3. This includes all alkali metals (sodium, cadium, lithium, rubidium, cesium) with a specific gravity of 0.9–1.5 g / cm3, magnesium (1.7 g / cm3), aluminum (2.7 g / cm3) and etc. Titanium is more than 1.5 times heavier than aluminum, and in this it, of course, loses to it, but it is 1.5 times lighter than iron (7.8 g / cm3). However, occupying an intermediate position between aluminum and iron in specific gravity, titanium in its mechanical properties is many times superior to them.). Titanium has significant hardness: it is 12 times harder than aluminum, 4 times harder than iron and copper. Another important characteristic of a metal is its yield point. The higher it is, the better the parts made of this metal resist operational loads. Titanium's yield point is almost 18 times higher than that of aluminum. The specific strength of titanium alloys can be increased by 1.5–2 times. Its high mechanical properties are well maintained at temperatures up to several hundred degrees. Pure titanium is suitable for any kind of processing in the hot and cold state: it can be forged like iron, drawn and even made into wire, rolled into sheets, strips, into foil up to 0.01 mm thick.

Unlike most metals, titanium has significant electrical resistance: if the electrical conductivity of silver is taken as 100, then the electrical conductivity of copper is 94, aluminum - 60, iron and platinum –15, and titanium - only 3.8. Titanium is a paramagnetic metal, it is not magnetized like iron in a magnetic field, but it is not pushed out of it, like copper. Its magnetic susceptibility is very weak, this property can be used in construction. Titanium has a relatively low thermal conductivity, only 22.07 W / (mK), which is approximately 3 times lower than the thermal conductivity of iron, 7 times lower than magnesium, 17–20 times lower than aluminum and copper. Accordingly, the coefficient of linear thermal expansion of titanium is lower than that of other structural materials: at 20 C it is 1.5 times lower than that of iron, 2 times lower for copper, and almost 3 times lower for aluminum. Thus, titanium is a poor conductor of electricity and heat.

Today titanium alloys are widely used in aviation technology. Titanium alloys were first used on an industrial scale in the design of aircraft jet engines. The use of titanium in the design of jet engines makes it possible to reduce their weight by 10 ... 25%. In particular, titanium alloys are used to make compressor disks and blades, parts of the air intake, guide vanes and fasteners. Titanium alloys are indispensable for supersonic aircraft. The increase in flight speeds of aircraft led to an increase in the skin temperature, as a result of which aluminum alloys ceased to meet the requirements imposed by aviation technology at supersonic speeds. In this case, the sheathing temperature reaches 246 ... 316 ° С. Under these conditions, titanium alloys turned out to be the most acceptable material. In the 70s, the use of titanium alloys for the airframe of civil aircraft increased significantly. In the TU-204 medium-range aircraft, the total weight of titanium alloy parts is 2570 kg. The use of titanium in helicopters is gradually expanding, mainly for parts of the main rotor system, drive, and control system. Titanium alloys play an important role in rocketry.

Due to their high corrosion resistance in seawater, titanium and its alloys are used in shipbuilding for the manufacture of propellers, cladding of ships, submarines, torpedoes, etc. Shells do not adhere to titanium and its alloys, which sharply increase the resistance of the vessel during its movement. Gradually, the areas of application of titanium are expanding. Titanium and its alloys are used in the chemical, petrochemical, pulp and paper and food industries, nonferrous metallurgy, power engineering, electronics, nuclear technology, electroplating, in the manufacture of weapons, for the manufacture of armor plates, surgical instruments, surgical implants, desalination plants, parts of racing cars , sports equipment (golf clubs, mountaineering equipment), parts for wrist watches and even jewelry. Titanium nitriding leads to the formation of a golden film on its surface, which is not inferior in beauty to real gold.

The discovery of TiO2 was made almost simultaneously and independently of each other by the Englishman W. Gregor and the German chemist M.G. Klaproth. W. Gregor, investigating the composition of magnetic ferrous sand (Creed, Cornwall, England, 1791), identified a new "earth" (oxide) of an unknown metal, which he named Menakenova. In 1795, the German chemist Klaproth discovered a new element in the rutile mineral and named it titanium. Two years later, Klaproth established that rutile and Menakenian earth are oxides of the same element, behind which the name "titanium", proposed by Klaproth, remained. Ten years later, titanium was discovered for the third time. The French scientist L. Vauquelin discovered titanium in anatase and proved that rutile and anatase are identical titanium oxides.

The first sample of metallic titanium was obtained in 1825 by J. J. Berzelius. Due to the high chemical activity of titanium and the complexity of its purification, a pure Ti sample was obtained by the Dutchmen A. van Arkel and I. de Boer in 1925 by thermal decomposition of titanium iodide TiI4 vapor.

Titanium is the 10th most abundant in nature. Content in the earth's crust is 0.57% by weight, in seawater 0.001 mg / l. In ultrabasic rocks 300 g / t, in basic rocks - 9 kg / t, in acidic rocks 2.3 kg / t, in clays and shales 4.5 kg / t. In the earth's crust, titanium is almost always tetravalent and is present only in oxygen compounds. Not found in free form. Titanium under conditions of weathering and sedimentation has a geochemical affinity for Al2O3. It is concentrated in the bauxite of the weathering crust and in marine clay sediments. Titanium is transferred in the form of mechanical fragments of minerals and in the form of colloids. Up to 30% TiO2 by weight accumulates in some clays. Titanium minerals are resistant to weathering and form large concentrations in placers. More than 100 titanium-containing minerals are known. The most important of them: rutile TiO2, ilmenite FeTiO3, titanomagnetite FeTiO3 + Fe3O4, perovskite CaTiO3, titanite CaTiSiO5. There are primary titanium ores - ilmenite-titanomagnetite and placer ores - rutile-ilmenite-zircon.

The main ores are ilmenite (FeTiO3), rutile (TiO2), titanite (CaTiSiO5).

For 2002, 90% of the titanium mined was used for the production of titanium dioxide TiO2. World production of titanium dioxide was 4.5 million tons per year. The proven reserves of titanium dioxide (excluding Russia) amount to about 800 million tons. For 2006, according to the US Geological Survey, in terms of titanium dioxide and excluding Russia, the reserves of ilmenite ores are 603-673 million tons, and of rutile ores - 49.7- 52.7 million tons. Thus, at the current rate of extraction of the world's proven reserves of titanium (excluding Russia) will be enough for more than 150 years.

Russia possesses the second largest reserves of titanium in the world after China. The mineral resource base of titanium in Russia is made up of 20 deposits (of which 11 are primary and 9 are placer deposits), which are fairly evenly dispersed throughout the country. The largest of the explored deposits (Yaregskoye) is located 25 km from the city of Ukhta (Komi Republic). The reserves of the deposit are estimated at 2 billion tons of ore with an average titanium dioxide content of about 10%.

The world's largest titanium producer is the Russian company VSMPO-AVISMA.

In pure form and in the form of alloys

Titanium monument to Gagarin on Leninsky Prospekt in Moscow

The metal is used in: the chemical industry (reactors, pipelines, pumps, pipeline fittings), the military industry (body armor, armor and firewalls in aviation, submarine hulls), industrial processes (desalination plants, pulp and paper processes), the automotive industry, agricultural industry, food industry, piercing jewelry, medical industry (prostheses, osteoprostheses), dental and endodontic instruments, dental implants, sporting goods, jewelry (Alexander Khomov), mobile phones, light alloys, etc. Is the most important structural material in aircraft, rocket, shipbuilding.

Titanium casting is performed in vacuum furnaces into graphite molds. Vacuum investment casting is also used. Due to technological difficulties, it is used to a limited extent in artistic casting. The first monumental cast sculpture made of titanium in the world is the monument to Yuri Gagarin on the square named after him in Moscow.

Titanium is an alloying addition in many alloy steels and most special alloys.

Nitinol (nickel-titanium) is a shape memory alloy used in medicine and technology.

Titanium aluminides are highly resistant to oxidation and heat-resistant, which in turn has determined their use in aviation and the automotive industry as structural materials.

Titanium is one of the most common getter materials used in high vacuum pumps.

White titanium dioxide (TiO2) is used in paints (such as titanium white) as well as in paper and plastics. Food additive E171.

Organotitanium compounds (eg tetrabutoxytitanium) are used as a catalyst and hardener in the chemical and paint industries.

Inorganic titanium compounds are used in the chemical electronic and glass fiber industries as additives or coatings.

Titanium carbide, titanium diboride, titanium carbonitride are important components of superhard materials for metal processing.

Titanium nitride is used to coat tools, church domes and in the production of jewelry, because has a color similar to gold.

Barium titanate BaTiO3, lead titanate PbTiO3 and a number of other titanates - ferroelectrics.

There are many titanium alloys with a variety of metals. Alloying elements are divided into three groups, depending on their effect on the temperature of polymorphic transformation: on beta-stabilizers, alpha-stabilizers and neutral hardeners. The former lower the transformation temperature, the latter increase, the third do not affect it, but lead to the solution hardening of the matrix. Examples of alpha stabilizers: aluminum, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen. Beta stabilizers: molybdenum, vanadium, iron, chromium, nickel. Neutral hardeners: zirconium, tin, silicon. Beta-stabilizers, in turn, are divided into beta-isomorphic and beta-eutectoid-forming. The most common titanium alloy is Ti-6Al-4V (in the Russian classification - VT6).

60% paint;

20% - plastic;

13% - paper;

7% - mechanical engineering.

$ 15-25 per kilogram, depending on purity.

The purity and grade of rough titanium (titanium sponge) is usually determined by its hardness, which depends on the impurity content. The most common brands are TG100 and TG110.

The price of ferrotitanium (at least 70% titanium) as of 12/22/2010 is $ 6.82 per kilogram. On 01.01.2010 the price was at the level of $ 5.00 per kilogram.

In Russia, prices for titanium at the beginning of 2012 were 1200-1500 rubles / kg.

Advantages:

low density (4500 kg / m3) helps to reduce the mass of the material used;

high mechanical strength. It should be noted that at elevated temperatures (250-500 ° C) titanium alloys are superior in strength to high-strength aluminum and magnesium alloys;

unusually high corrosion resistance due to the ability of titanium to form thin (5-15 μm) continuous films of TiO2 oxide on the surface, firmly connected to the mass of the metal;

the specific strength (strength-to-density ratio) of the best titanium alloys reaches 30-35 and more, which is almost twice the specific strength of alloy steels.

Flaws:

high production cost, titanium is much more expensive than iron, aluminum, copper, magnesium;

active interaction at high temperatures, especially in the liquid state, with all gases that make up the atmosphere, as a result of which titanium and its alloys can be melted only in a vacuum or in an inert gas environment;

difficulties involved in the production of titanium waste;

poor antifriction properties due to the adhesion of titanium to many materials; titanium paired with titanium cannot work for friction;

high tendency of titanium and many of its alloys to hydrogen brittleness and salt corrosion;

poor machinability, similar to that of austenitic stainless steels;

high chemical activity, tendency to grain growth at high temperatures and phase transformations during the welding cycle cause difficulties when welding titanium.

The main part of titanium is spent on the needs of aviation and rocket technology and marine shipbuilding. Titanium (ferrotitanium) is used as a ligating additive to high-quality steels and as a deoxidizing agent. Technical titanium is used for the manufacture of tanks, chemical reactors, pipelines, fittings, pumps, valves and other products operating in corrosive environments. Compacted titanium is used to make meshes and other parts of electric vacuum devices operating at high temperatures.

Titanium is in 4th place in terms of use as a structural material, behind only Al, Fe and Mg. Titanium aluminides are highly resistant to oxidation and heat-resistant, which in turn has determined their use in aviation and the automotive industry as structural materials. Biological safety of titanium makes it an excellent material for the food industry and reconstructive surgery.

Titanium and its alloys have found wide application in technology due to their high mechanical strength, which remains at high temperatures, corrosion resistance, heat resistance, specific strength, low density, and other useful properties. The high cost of titanium and its alloys in many cases is compensated by their greater efficiency, and in some cases they are the only material from which it is possible to manufacture equipment or structures that can operate in these specific conditions.

Titanium alloys play an important role in aeronautical engineering, where they strive to obtain the lightest design combined with the required strength. Titanium is lightweight compared to other metals, but at the same time can work at high temperatures. Titanium alloys are used for the manufacture of cladding, fastening parts, power set, chassis parts, and various units. Also, these materials are used in the design of aircraft jet engines. This allows you to reduce their weight by 10-25%. Titanium alloys are used to produce compressor disks and blades, parts of the air intake and guide vanes, and fasteners.

Also titanium and its alloys are used in rocketry. Due to the short-term operation of the engines and the rapid passage of dense layers of the atmosphere in rocketry, the problems of fatigue strength, static endurance, and partly creep are largely eliminated.

Due to its insufficiently high thermal strength, technical titanium is not suitable for use in aviation, but due to its extremely high resistance to corrosion, in some cases it is indispensable in the chemical industry and shipbuilding. So it is used in the manufacture of compressors and pumps for pumping aggressive media such as sulfuric and hydrochloric acid and their salts, pipelines, valves, autoclaves, various types of containers, filters, etc. Only titanium is corrosion resistant in media such as wet chlorine, aqueous and acidic chlorine solutions, therefore, equipment for the chlorine industry is made from this metal. Heat exchangers are made of titanium, operating in corrosive environments, for example, in nitric acid (not fuming). In shipbuilding titanium is used for the manufacture of propellers, plating of sea vessels, submarines, torpedoes, etc. Shells do not adhere to titanium and its alloys, which sharply increase the resistance of the vessel during its movement.

Titanium alloys are promising for use in many other applications, but their spread in technology is constrained by the high cost and scarcity of titanium.

Titanium compounds are also widely used in various industries. Titanium carbide has a high hardness and is used in the manufacture of cutting tools and abrasive materials. White titanium dioxide (TiO2) is used in paints (such as titanium white) as well as in paper and plastics. Organotitanium compounds (eg tetrabutoxytitanium) are used as a catalyst and hardener in the chemical and paint industries. Inorganic titanium compounds are used in the chemical electronic and glass fiber industries as an additive. Titanium diboride is an important component of superhard materials for metal working. Titanium nitride is used for coating tools.

With the existing high prices for titanium, it is used mainly for the production of military equipment, where the main role belongs not to cost, but to technical characteristics. Nevertheless, there are cases of using the unique properties of titanium for civilian needs. As the price of titanium decreases and its production rises, the use of this metal for military and civilian purposes will continue to expand.

Aviation. Low specific gravity and high strength (especially at elevated temperatures) of titanium and its alloys make them very valuable aviation materials. Titanium is increasingly replacing aluminum and stainless steel in aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturing. As the temperature rises, aluminum quickly loses its strength. On the other hand, titanium has a clear strength advantage up to 430 ° C, and elevated temperatures of this order occur at high speeds due to aerodynamic heating. The advantage of replacing steel with titanium in aviation is that it reduces weight without sacrificing strength. The overall weight reduction with increased performance at elevated temperatures allows for increased payload, range and aircraft maneuverability. This explains the efforts to expand the use of titanium in aircraft construction in engine manufacturing, fuselage construction, skin and even fasteners.

In the construction of jet engines, titanium is used primarily for the manufacture of compressor blades, turbine disks, and many other stamped parts. Here titanium displaces stainless and heat-treatable alloy steels. The one kilogram saving in engine weight allows saving up to 10 kg in the total weight of the aircraft due to the lightening of the fuselage. In the future, it is planned to use sheet titanium for the manufacture of casings for engine combustion chambers.

Titanium is widely used in aircraft construction for fuselage parts operating at elevated temperatures. Titanium sheet is used for the manufacture of all kinds of casings, protective sheaths for cables and guides for projectiles. Various stiffeners, fuselage frames, ribs, etc. are made from alloyed titanium sheets.

Covers, flaps, cable protectors and projectile guides are made of unalloyed titanium. Alloyed titanium is used for the manufacture of the fuselage frame, frames, pipelines and firewalls.

Titanium is increasingly being used in the construction of the F-86 and F-100 aircraft. In the future, titanium will be used to make landing gear doors, hydraulic pipelines, exhaust pipes and nozzles, spars, flaps, folding struts, etc.

Titanium can be used to make armor plates, propeller blades, and shell boxes.

Currently, titanium is used in the construction of Douglas X-3 military aircraft for skin, Republican F-84F, Curtiss-Wright J-65 and Boeing B-52.

Titanium is also used in the construction of civil aircraft DC-7. The Douglas company has already achieved a weight saving of about 90 kg by replacing aluminum alloys and stainless steel with titanium in the manufacture of the engine nacelle and firewalls. Currently, the weight of titanium parts in this aircraft is 2%, and this figure is expected to be increased to 20% of the total weight of the aircraft.

The use of titanium allows to reduce the weight of helicopters. Titanium sheet is used for floors and doors. A significant reduction in the weight of the helicopter (about 30 kg) was achieved as a result of replacing alloy steel with titanium for sheathing the blades of its main rotor.

Navy. The corrosion resistance of titanium and its alloys makes them highly valuable at sea. The US Department of the Navy is extensively researching titanium's corrosion resistance against flue gas, steam, oil, and seawater. The high specific strength of titanium is of almost the same importance in naval affairs.

The low specific gravity of the metal, combined with corrosion resistance, increases the maneuverability and range of ships, and also reduces the cost of maintaining the material part and its repair.

The naval applications of titanium include exhaust mufflers for submarine diesel engines, gauge discs, thin-walled tubes for condensers and heat exchangers. According to experts, titanium, like no other metal, is able to increase the service life of exhaust mufflers on submarines. For gauge discs exposed to salt water, gasoline or oil, titanium will provide better resistance. The possibility of using titanium for the manufacture of pipes for heat exchangers, which must be corrosion-resistant in seawater washing the pipes from the outside, and at the same time resist the effect of exhaust condensate flowing inside them, is being investigated. The possibility of manufacturing antennas and assemblies of radar installations from titanium, which is required to be resistant to the effects of flue gases and sea water, is being considered. Titanium can also be used for the production of parts such as valves, propellers, turbine parts, etc.

Artillery. Apparently, the largest potential consumer of titanium can be artillery, where intensive research of various prototypes is currently underway. However, in this area, the production of only individual parts and parts from titanium is standardized. The very limited use of titanium in artillery with a large scope of research is explained by its high cost.

Various items of artillery equipment were investigated from the point of view of the possibility of replacing conventional materials with titanium, provided that titanium prices were reduced. The focus has been on parts for which there is a significant reduction in weight (hand-carried and air-carried parts).

Mortar base plate made of titanium instead of steel. By such a replacement and after some alteration instead of a steel plate, it was possible to create one piece weighing 11 kg from two halves with a total weight of 22 kg. Thanks to this replacement, it is possible to reduce the number of maintenance personnel from three to two. The possibility of using titanium for the manufacture of gun flame arresters is being considered.

Titanium-made gun mounts, gun carriages and recoil cylinders are being tested. Titanium can be widely used in the production of guided missiles and missiles.

The first studies of titanium and its alloys have shown the possibility of making armor plates from them. Replacing steel armor (12.7 mm thick) with titanium armor of the same projectile resistance (16 mm thick) makes it possible, according to these studies, to save up to 25% in weight.

Higher quality titanium alloys allow us to hope for the possibility of replacing steel plates with titanium of equal thickness, which gives weight savings of up to 44%. The industrial use of titanium will provide greater maneuverability, increase the range of transportation and the durability of the gun. The modern level of development of air transport makes obvious the advantages of light armored cars and other vehicles made of titanium. The artillery department intends to equip the infantry in the future with helmets, bayonets, grenade launchers and hand-held flamethrowers made of titanium. The titanium alloy was first used in artillery for the manufacture of the piston of some automatic weapons.

Transport. Many of the benefits that the use of titanium in the manufacture of armored materiel also holds true for vehicles.

Replacement of structural materials currently consumed by transport engineering enterprises with titanium should lead to a decrease in fuel consumption, an increase in payload, an increase in the fatigue limit of crank mechanism parts, etc. On railways, it is extremely important to reduce dead weight. A significant reduction in the total weight of the rolling stock due to the use of titanium will save in traction, reduce the dimensions of the journals and axle boxes.

Weight is also important for trailed vehicles. Here, replacing steel with titanium in the production of axles and wheels would also increase the payload.

All these possibilities could be realized by reducing the price of titanium from 15 to 2-3 dollars per pound of titanium semi-finished products.

Chemical industry. In the manufacture of equipment for the chemical industry, the most important is the corrosion resistance of the metal. It is also significant to reduce the weight and increase the strength of the equipment. It is logical to assume that titanium could provide a number of benefits in the production of equipment for the transport of acids, alkalis and inorganic salts from it. Additional possibilities of using titanium open up in the production of equipment such as tanks, columns, filters and all kinds of high-pressure cylinders.

The use of titanium piping can increase the efficiency of heating coils in laboratory autoclaves and heat exchangers. The applicability of titanium for the production of cylinders in which gases and liquids are stored for a long time under pressure is evidenced by the used in microanalysis of combustion products instead of a heavier glass tube (shown in the upper part of the picture). Due to its low wall thickness and low specific gravity, this tube can be weighed on more sensitive analytical balances of smaller dimensions. Here, the combination of lightness and corrosion resistance improves the accuracy of chemical analysis.

Other areas of application. The use of titanium is advisable in the food, oil and electrical industries, as well as for the manufacture of surgical instruments and in surgery itself.

Tables for food preparation, steaming tables made of titanium are superior in quality to steel products.

In the oil and gas drilling industry, the fight against corrosion is of great importance, therefore the use of titanium will make it possible to replace corrosive rods of equipment less often. In catalytic production and for the manufacture of oil pipelines, it is desirable to use titanium, which retains its mechanical properties at high temperatures and has good corrosion resistance.

In the electrical industry, titanium can be used for armoring cables due to its good specific strength, high electrical resistance and non-magnetic properties.

Various industries are beginning to use fasteners of one form or another, made of titanium. Further expansion of the use of titanium is possible for the manufacture of surgical instruments mainly due to its corrosion resistance. Titanium instruments are superior to conventional surgical instruments in this respect when repeatedly boiled or autoclaved.

In the field of surgery, titanium is superior to vitalium and stainless steels. The presence of titanium in the body is quite acceptable. The plate and screws made of titanium for fastening the bones were in the animal's body for several months, and the bone grew into the threads of the screw threads and into the hole of the plate.

The advantage of titanium is also that muscle tissue is formed on the plate.

About half of the world's titanium production is usually directed to the civil aircraft industry, but its decline after the well-known tragic events forces many industry participants to look for new areas of titanium application. This material represents the first part of a selection of publications in the foreign metallurgical press devoted to the prospects of titanium in modern conditions. According to estimates of one of the leading American titanium producers RT1, out of the total volume of titanium production on a global scale at the level of 50-60 thousand tons per year, the aerospace segment accounts for up to 40 consumption, industrial applications and applications account for 34, and the military sector 16 , and about 10 comes from the use of titanium in consumer products. Industrial applications of titanium include chemical processes, power generation, oil and gas, and desalination plants. Military non-aviation applications include primarily use in artillery and combat vehicles. Sectors with significant volumes of titanium use are automotive, architecture and construction, sporting goods, jewelry. Almost all titanium in ingots is produced in the USA, Japan and the CIS - Europe accounts for only 3.6 of the global volume. Regional markets for the end use of titanium are very different - the most striking example of the uniqueness is Japan, where the civil aerospace sector accounts for only 2-3 when using 30 of the total titanium consumption in equipment and structural elements of chemical plants. Nuclear power and solid fuel power plants account for about 20 of Japan's total demand, with the remainder coming from architecture, medicine and sports. The opposite picture is observed in the United States and Europe, where consumption in the aerospace sector is extremely important - 60-75 and 50-60 for each region, respectively. In the United States, traditionally strong end markets are the chemical industry, medical equipment, and industrial equipment, while in Europe the largest share is accounted for by the oil and gas industry and the construction industry. The heavy reliance on the aerospace industry has been a long-standing concern of the titanium industry, which is trying to expand titanium applications, especially in the current downturn in civil aviation worldwide. According to the US Geological Survey, in the first quarter of 2003 there was a significant decline in titanium sponge imports - only 1319 tons, which is 62 less than 3431 tons in the same period of 2002. According to John Barber, the director of market development for giant American titanium manufacturer and supplier of titanium products, Type John Barber, the aerospace sector will always be one of the leading markets for titanium, but we titanium industry must take up the challenge and do everything to make sure that our industry does not follow cycles of development and bust in the aerospace sector. Some of the leading manufacturers in the titanium industry are seeing growth opportunities in existing markets, one of which is the subsea equipment and materials market. According to Martin Proco, Sales and Distribution Manager at RT1, titanium has been used for a long time, since the early 1980s, in power generation and subsea operations, but only in the last five years have these areas become steadily developing with a corresponding growth in the market niche. As for subsea operations, the growth here is primarily due to drilling operations at greater depths, where titanium is the most suitable material. Its underwater life cycle, so to speak, is fifty years, which corresponds to the usual duration of underwater projects. Above, we have already listed the areas in which the increase in the use of titanium is likely. According to Bob Fannell, sales manager for US company Howmet Ti-Cast, the current state of the market can be seen as increasing opportunities in new areas such as rotating turbochargers in trucks, rockets and pumps.

One of our current projects is the development of lightweight artillery systems BAE Howitzer XM777 in 155 mm caliber. Nawmet will supply 17 of the 28 structural titanium casting assemblies for each gun mount, which are scheduled to begin shipping to the US Marine Corps in August 2004. With a total weight of 9,800 pounds of approximately 4.44 tonnes, titanium accounts for about 2,600 pounds of approximately 1.18 tonnes in its design - using 6A14U alloy with a lot of castings, says Frank Hrster, head of BAE 8u81et8 fire support systems. This XM777 system should replace the current M198 Howitzer system, which weighs about 17,000 pounds approximately 7.71 tons. Mass production is planned for the period from 2006 to 2010 - initially scheduled for deliveries to the US, UK and Italy, but the program may expand for deliveries to NATO member states. Timet's John Barber points out that examples of military equipment that use significant amounts of titanium are the Abraham tank and the Bradley combat vehicle. For two years now, a joint program of NATO, the United States and Great Britain has been carried out to intensify the use of titanium in weapons and defense systems. As already noted more than once, titanium is very suitable for use in the automotive industry, however, the share of this direction is quite modest - about 1 of the total volume of consumed titanium, or 500 tons per year, according to the Italian company Rogipolini, a manufacturer of titanium assemblies and parts for Formula- 1 and racing motorcycles. Daniele Stoppolini, the head of the research and development department of this company, believes that the current demand for titanium in this market segment at the level of 500 tons with the massive use of this material in the designs of valves, springs, exhaust systems, transmission shafts, bolts can potentially rise to the level of almost not 16,000 tonnes per year He added that his company is just beginning to develop automated titanium bolt production in order to reduce production costs. In his opinion, the limiting factors due to which the use of titanium is not expanding significantly in the automotive industry are the unpredictability of demand and uncertainty with the supply of raw materials. At the same time, a large potential niche for titanium remains in the automotive industry, combining optimal weight and strength characteristics for coil springs and exhaust systems. Unfortunately, in the American market, the widespread use of titanium in these systems is noted only for the rather exclusive semi-sports model Chevrolet-Corvette Z06, which can in no way claim to be a mass car. However, due to the constant challenges of fuel economy and corrosion resistance, the prospects for titanium in this area remain. For approval in the markets of non-aerospace and non-military applications, a joint venture UNITI was recently created in its name, the word unity is played up - unity and Ti - the designation of titanium in the periodic table as part of the world's leading titanium producers - American Allegheny Technologies and Russian VSMPO-Avisma. These markets have been deliberately excluded, said Karl Multon, President of the new company - we intend to make the new company a leading supplier to industries using titanium parts and assemblies, primarily petrochemical and energy. In addition, we intend to actively market desalination devices, vehicles, consumer products and electronics. I believe that our production facilities complement each other well - VSMPO has outstanding capabilities for the production of final products, Allegheny has excellent traditions in the production of cold and hot titanium rolled products. UNITI is expected to have a share of 45 million pounds of approximately 20,411 tonnes in the global titanium market. The medical equipment market can be considered a steadily developing market - according to the British Titanium International Group, the annual titanium content around the world in various implants and prostheses is about 1000 tons, and this figure will increase, as the possibilities of surgery to replace human joints after accidents or injuries. Besides the obvious advantages of flexibility, strength, lightness, titanium is highly biocompatible with the body due to the absence of corrosion to tissues and fluids in the human body. In dentistry, the use of prostheses and implants is also skyrocketing - tripling over the past decade, according to the American Dental Association, thanks in large part to the characteristics of titanium. Although titanium has been used in architecture for over 25 years, its widespread use in this area has only begun in recent years. Expansion of the Abu Dhabi airport in the UAE, scheduled for completion in 2006, will use up to 1.5 million pounds of approximately 680 tonnes of titanium. Quite a lot of different architectural and construction projects using titanium are planned to be implemented not only in the developed countries of the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Singapore, but also in Egypt and Peru.

The consumer market segment is currently the fastest growing segment of the titanium market. While 10 years ago this segment was only 1-2 titanium market, today it has grown to 8-10 market. Overall, titanium consumption in consumer goods production grew at about twice the rate of the entire titanium market. The use of titanium in sports is the longest lasting and has the largest share in the use of titanium in consumer products. The reason for the popularity of the use of titanium in sports equipment is simple - it allows you to obtain a ratio of weight and strength superior to any other metal. The use of titanium in bicycles began about 25-30 years ago and was the first use of titanium in sports equipment. The main pipes used are Ti3Al-2.5V ASTM Grade 9. Other titanium alloy parts include brakes, sprockets and seat springs. The use of titanium in golf club production first began in the late 1980s and early 1990s by golf club manufacturers in Japan. Until 1994-1995, this use of titanium was virtually unknown in the United States and Europe. That changed when Callaway introduced their titanium golf club, manufactured by Ruger Titanium, called the Great Big Bertha. Due to the obvious benefits and through Callaway's well-thought-out marketing, titanium golf clubs instantly became hugely popular. In a short period of time, titanium clubs have gone from being an exclusive and expensive inventory of a small group of golfers to being widely used by most golfers, while still being more expensive than steel. I would like to cite the main, in my opinion, trends in the development of the golf market; it went from high-tech to mass production in a short period of 4-5 years following the path of other industries with high labor costs, such as the production of clothing, toys and consumer electronics, the production of golf clubs went into countries with the cheapest labor, first to Taiwan, then to China, and now factories are being built in countries with even cheaper labor, such as Vietnam and Thailand titanium is definitely used for driver drivers, where its superior qualities give an obvious advantage and justify the higher price ... However, titanium has not yet found very widespread use on subsequent golf clubs as the significant cost increases are not matched by a corresponding improvement in play. Currently, drivers are mostly manufactured with forged striking surfaces, forged or cast tops and cast bottoms. the upper limit of the so-called return rate, and therefore all club manufacturers will try to increase the spring properties of the striking surface. To do this, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the striking surface and use for it more durable alloys, such as SP700, 15-3-3-3 and VT-23. Now let's dwell on the use of titanium and its alloys on other sports equipment. Tubes for racing bicycles and other parts are made of ASTM Grade 9 Ti3Al-2.5V alloy. A surprisingly significant amount of titanium sheet is used in the manufacture of diving knives. Most manufacturers use Ti6Al-4V, but this alloy does not provide edge durability like other harder alloys. Some manufacturers are switching to using VT23 alloy.

The retail price of titanium diving knives is roughly $ 70-80. Cast titanium horseshoes provide a significant reduction in weight compared to steel, while providing the necessary strength. Unfortunately, this use of titanium did not come to life, because the titanium horseshoes sparkled and frightened the horses. Few will agree to use titanium horseshoes after the first bad experiences. Titanium Beach Company of Newport Beach, CA Newport Beach, California has developed Ti6Al-4V skate blades. Unfortunately, this is again the problem of blade edge durability. I think this product has a chance of life, provided that manufacturers use stronger alloys such as 15-3-3-3 or VT-23. Titanium is very widely used in mountaineering and tourism, for almost all items that climbers and hikers carry in their backpacks, bottles, cups retail for $ 20-30, cooking kits retail for about $ 50, tableware mostly made from commercially pure titanium Grade 1 and 2. Other examples of climbing and camping equipment are compact stoves, poles and tent poles, ice axes and ice screws. Weapon manufacturers have recently begun producing titanium pistols for both sporting shooting and law enforcement.

Consumer electronics is a fairly new and rapidly growing market for titanium. In many cases, the use of titanium in consumer electronics is due not only to its excellent properties, but also to the attractive appearance of the products. Commercially pure titanium Grade 1 is used to make housings for laptop computers, mobile phones, plasma flat screen TVs and other electronic equipment. The use of titanium in speaker construction provides better acoustic properties due to the lightness of titanium compared to steel, resulting in increased acoustic sensitivity. Titanium watches, pioneered by Japanese manufacturers, are now one of the most affordable and recognized consumer titanium products. The world consumption of titanium in the production of traditional and so-called wearable jewelry is measured in several tens of tons. More and more often you can find titanium wedding rings, and of course, people wearing jewelry on their bodies are simply obliged to use titanium. Titanium is widely used in the manufacture of marine fasteners and fittings, where the combination of high corrosion resistance and strength is very important. Atlas Ti, based in Los Angeles, manufactures a wide range of these VTZ-1 alloy products. The use of titanium in the manufacture of tools first began in the Soviet Union in the early 80s, when, on the instructions of the government, lightweight and convenient tools were manufactured to facilitate the work of workers. The Soviet giant of titanium production, the Verkhne-Salda Metal Processing Production Association, produced titanium shovels, nail pullers, pry bars, hatchets and keys at that time.

Later, Japanese and American toolmakers began using titanium in their products. Not so long ago VSMPO signed a contract with Boeing for the supply of titanium plates. This contract undoubtedly had a very beneficial effect on the development of titanium production in Russia. Titanium has been widely used in medicine for many years. The advantages are strength, resistance to corrosion, and most importantly, some people are allergic to nickel, an essential component of stainless steels, while no one is allergic to titanium. The alloys used are commercially pure titanium and Ti6-4Eli. Titanium is used in the manufacture of surgical instruments, internal and external prostheses, including critical ones such as the heart valve. Crutches and wheelchairs are made from titanium. The use of titanium in art dates back to 1967, when the first titanium monument was erected in Moscow.

At the moment, a significant number of titanium monuments and buildings have been erected on almost all continents, including such famous ones as the Guggenheim Museum, built by the architect Frank Gehry in Bilbao. The material is very popular with people of art for its color, appearance, strength and corrosion resistance. For these reasons, titanium is used in souvenirs and bijouterie and haberdashery, where it successfully competes with such precious metals as silver and even gold. ... As noted by Martin Proco of RTi, the average price of a titanium sponge in the United States is 3.80 per pound, in Russia it is 3.20 per pound. In addition, the metal price is highly dependent on the cyclical nature of the commercial aerospace industry. The development of many projects can accelerate dramatically if it is possible to find ways to reduce the costs of titanium production and processing, scrap processing and smelting technologies, notes Markus Holz, Managing Director of Deutshe Titan, Germany. A British Titanium spokesperson agrees that titanium product expansion is being constrained by high production costs, and many improvements in modern technology are needed before titanium can be mass-produced.

One of the steps in this direction is the development of the so-called FFC-process, which is a new electrolytic process for obtaining metallic titanium and alloys, the cost of which is significantly lower. According to Daniele Stoppolini, the overall strategy in the titanium industry requires the development of the most suitable alloys, production technology for each new market and application of titanium.

Sources of

Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia, WikiPedia

metotech.ru - Metotechnics

housetop.ru - House Top

atomsteel.com - Atom technology

domremstroy.ru - DomRemStroy

Titanium (Latin Titanium; denoted by the symbol Ti) is an element of a secondary subgroup of the fourth group, the fourth period of the periodic system of chemical elements, with atomic number 22. The simple substance titanium (CAS number: 7440-32-6) is a light silver-white metal ...

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The discovery of TiO 2 was made almost simultaneously and independently of each other by the Englishman W. Gregor and the German chemist M. G. Klaproth. W. Gregor, investigating the composition of magnetic ferrous sand (Creed, Cornwall, England, 1789), identified a new "earth" (oxide) of an unknown metal, which he named Menakenova. In 1795, the German chemist Klaproth discovered a new element in the rutile mineral and named it titanium. Two years later, Klaproth established that rutile and Menakenian earth are oxides of the same element, behind which the name "titanium", proposed by Klaproth, remained. Ten years later, titanium was discovered for the third time. The French scientist L. Vauquelin discovered titanium in anatase and proved that rutile and anatase are identical titanium oxides.
The first sample of metallic titanium was obtained in 1825 by J. J. Berzelius. Due to the high chemical activity of titanium and the complexity of its purification, a pure Ti sample was obtained by the Dutchmen A. van Arkel and I. de Boer in 1925 by thermal decomposition of titanium iodide TiI 4 vapor.

origin of name

The metal got its name in honor of the titans, the characters of ancient Greek mythology, the children of Gaia. The name of the element was given by Martin Klaproth, in accordance with his views on chemical nomenclature in the counter-flow of the French chemical school, where they tried to name the element according to its chemical properties. Since the German researcher himself noted the impossibility of determining the properties of a new element only by its oxide, he chose a name for it from mythology, by analogy with uranium he had discovered earlier.
However, according to another version, published in the journal "Tekhnika-Molodezhi" in the late 1980s, the newly discovered metal owes its name not to the mighty titans from ancient Greek myths, but to Titania - the queen of the fairies in Germanic mythology (Oberon's wife in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" ). This name is associated with the extraordinary "lightness" (low density) of the metal.

Receiving

As a rule, the starting material for the production of titanium and its compounds is titanium dioxide with a relatively small amount of impurities. In particular, it can be a rutile concentrate obtained during the beneficiation of titanium ores. However, the reserves of rutile in the world are very limited, and the so-called synthetic rutile or titanium slag obtained during the processing of ilmenite concentrates is often used. To obtain titanium slag, ilmenite concentrate is reduced in an electric arc furnace, while iron is separated into a metallic phase (cast iron), and unreduced oxides of titanium and impurities form a slag phase. Rich slag is processed by the chloride or sulfuric acid method.
The titanium ore concentrate is subjected to sulfuric acid or pyrometallurgical processing. The product of sulfuric acid treatment is titanium dioxide TiO 2 powder. By the pyrometallurgical method, the ore is sintered with coke and treated with chlorine, obtaining a pair of titanium tetrachloride TiCl 4:
TiO 2 + 2C + 2Cl 2 = TiCl 2 + 2CO

The resulting TiCl 4 vapors at 850 ° C are reduced with magnesium:
TiCl 4 + 2Mg = 2MgCl 2 + Ti

The resulting titanium "sponge" is remelted and refined. Titanium is refined by the iodide method or electrolysis, separating Ti from TiCl 4. To obtain titanium ingots, arc, electron-beam or plasma processing is used.

Physical properties

Titanium is a light, silvery-white metal. It exists in two crystalline modifications: α-Ti with a hexagonal close-packed lattice, β-Ti with a cubic body-centered packing, the polymorphic transformation temperature α↔β is 883 ° C.
It has a high viscosity, during machining it is prone to sticking to the cutting tool, and therefore requires the application of special coatings on the tool, various lubricants.
At normal temperatures, it is covered with a protective passivating film of TiO 2 oxide, due to this, it is corrosion-resistant in most environments (except for alkaline ones).
Titanium dust tends to explode. Flash point 400 ° C. Titanium shavings are fire hazardous.

In the periodic table, the chemical element titanium is designated as Ti (Titanium) and is located in a secondary subgroup of group IV, in the 4th period under atomic number 22. It is a silvery-white solid metal that is part of a large number of minerals. You can buy titanium on our website.

Titanium was discovered at the end of the 18th century by chemists from England and Germany, Ulyam Gregor and Martin Klaproth, and independently of each other with a six-year difference. The name of the element was given by Martin Klaproth in honor of the ancient Greek characters of the titans (huge, strong, immortal creatures). As it turned out, the name became prophetic, but it took humanity more than 150 years to get acquainted with all the properties of titanium. Only three decades later it was possible to obtain the first sample of titanium metal. At that time, it was practically not used due to its fragility. In 1925, after a series of experiments, using the iodide method, chemists Van Arkel and De Boer extracted pure titanium.

Thanks to the valuable properties of the metal, engineers and designers immediately drew attention to it. It was a real breakthrough. In 1940, Kroll developed a magnesium-thermal method for producing titanium from ore. This method is still relevant today.

Physical and mechanical properties

Titanium is a fairly refractory metal. Its melting point is 1668 ± 3 ° С. According to this indicator, it is inferior to such metals as tantalum, tungsten, rhenium, niobium, molybdenum, tantalum, zirconium. Titanium is a paramagnetic metal. In a magnetic field, it is not magnetized, but it is not pushed out of it. Image 2
Titanium has a low density (4.5 g / cm³) and high strength (up to 140 kg / mm²). These properties practically do not change at high temperatures. It is more than 1.5 times heavier than aluminum (2.7 g / cm³), but 1.5 times lighter than iron (7.8 g / cm³). In terms of mechanical properties, titanium is much superior to these metals. In terms of strength, titanium and its alloys are on a par with many grades of alloy steels.

In terms of corrosion resistance, titanium is not inferior to platinum. The metal has excellent resistance to cavitation. Air bubbles formed in a liquid medium during the active movement of a titanium part practically do not destroy it.

It is a tough metal that can resist fracture and plastic deformation. It is 12 times harder than aluminum and 4 times harder than copper and iron. Another important indicator is the yield point. With an increase in this indicator, the resistance of titanium parts to operational loads improves.

In alloys with certain metals (especially nickel and hydrogen), titanium is able to "remember" the shape of the product, created at a certain temperature. Such a product can then be deformed and it will retain this position for a long time. If the product is heated to the temperature at which it was made, then the product will take its original shape. This property is called "memory".

The thermal conductivity of titanium is relatively low and the coefficient of linear expansion, respectively, is also relatively low. It follows from this that the metal conducts electricity and heat poorly. But at low temperatures, it is a superconductor of electricity, which allows it to transmit energy over long distances. Titanium also has a high electrical resistance.
Pure titanium metal is subject to various types of cold and hot processing. It can be drawn and made into wire, forged, rolled into strips, sheets and foil with a thickness of up to 0.01 mm. The following types of rolled products are made from titanium: titanium tape, titanium wire, titanium tubes, titanium bushings, titanium circle, titanium bar.

Chemical properties

Pure titanium is a reactive element. Due to the fact that a dense protective film is formed on its surface, the metal is highly resistant to corrosion. It does not undergo oxidation in air, in salty sea water, does not change in many aggressive chemical environments (for example: diluted and concentrated nitric acid, aqua regia). At high temperatures, titanium interacts with reagents much more actively. It ignites in air at a temperature of 1200 ° C. When ignited, the metal gives off a bright glow. An active reaction also occurs with nitrogen, with the formation of a yellow-brown nitride film on the titanium surface.

Reactions with hydrochloric and sulfuric acids are weak at room temperature, but when heated, the metal strongly dissolves. As a result of the reaction, lower chlorides and monosulfate are formed. Weak interactions with phosphoric and nitric acids also occur. The metal reacts with halogens. The reaction with chlorine takes place at 300 ° C.
An active reaction with hydrogen takes place at a temperature slightly above room temperature. Titanium actively absorbs hydrogen. 1 g of titanium can absorb up to 400 cm³ of hydrogen. The heated metal decomposes carbon dioxide and water vapor. Interaction with water vapor occurs at temperatures above 800 ° C. As a result of the reaction, a metal oxide is formed and hydrogen is volatilized. At higher temperatures, hot titanium absorbs carbon dioxide and forms carbide and oxide.

Methods of obtaining

Titanium is one of the most abundant elements on Earth. Its content in the bowels of the planet by mass is 0.57%. The highest concentration of metal is observed in the "basalt shell" (0.9%), in granite rocks (0.23%) and in ultrabasic rocks (0.03%). There are about 70 titanium minerals in which it is found in the form of titanic acid or dioxide. The main minerals of titanium ores are: ilmenite, anatase, rutile, brookite, loparite, leucoxene, perovskite, and sphene. The main world titanium producers are Great Britain, USA, France, Japan, Canada, Italy, Spain and Belgium.
There are several ways to obtain titanium. All of them are applied in practice and are quite effective.

1. Magnetic thermal process.

An ore containing titanium is mined and processed into dioxide, which is slowly chlorinated at very high temperatures. Chlorination is carried out in a carbonaceous environment. Then the titanium chloride formed as a result of the reaction is reduced with magnesium. The resulting metal is heated in a vacuum equipment at a high temperature. As a result, magnesium and magnesium chloride evaporate, leaving titanium with many pores and voids. Spongy titanium is remelted to obtain a quality metal.

2. Hydride-calcium method.

First, titanium hydride is obtained, and then it is separated into components: titanium and hydrogen. The process takes place in an airless space at high temperatures. Calcium oxide is formed, which is washed with weak acids.
Calcium hydride and magnesium thermal methods are commonly used on an industrial scale. These methods allow you to obtain a significant amount of titanium in a short period of time, with minimal financial costs.

3. Electrolysis method.

Titanium chloride or titanium dioxide is exposed to high amperage. The result is the decomposition of the compounds.

4. Iodide method.

Titanium dioxide interacts with iodine vapor. Next, titanium iodide is exposed to a high temperature, resulting in titanium. This method is the most effective, but also the most expensive. Titanium is obtained with very high purity without impurities and additives.

Titanium application

Due to its good anti-corrosion properties, titanium is used for the manufacture of chemical equipment. The high heat resistance of metal and its alloys facilitates their use in modern technology. Titanium alloys are an excellent material for aircraft construction, rocketry and shipbuilding.

Monuments are made of titanium. Bells made of this metal are known for their extraordinary and very beautiful sounding. Titanium dioxide is a component of some medicines, such as ointments for skin diseases. Compounds of metal with nickel, aluminum and carbon are also in great demand.

Titanium and its alloys have found application in such areas as the chemical and food industries, nonferrous metallurgy, electronics, nuclear technology, power engineering, electroplating. Weapons, armor plates, surgical instruments and implants, irrigation equipment, sports equipment and even jewelry are made from titanium and its alloys. In the process of nitriding, a golden film is formed on the surface of the metal, which is not inferior in beauty even to real gold.

- an element of the 4th group of the 4th period. A transition metal, exhibiting both basic and acidic properties, is quite widespread in nature - 10th place. The most interesting for the national economy is the combination of high metal hardness and lightness, which makes it an indispensable element for aircraft construction. This article will tell you about the marking, alloying and other properties of titanium metal, give a general description and interesting facts about it.

In appearance, the metal most of all resembles steel, but its mechanical qualities are higher. At the same time, titanium is notable for its low weight - molecular weight 22. The physical properties of the element have been studied quite well, but they strongly depend on the purity of the metal, which leads to significant deviations.

In addition, its specific chemical properties matter. Titanium is resistant to alkalis, nitric acid, and at the same time violently interacts with dry halogens, and at higher temperatures - with oxygen and nitrogen. Worse, it begins to absorb hydrogen even at room temperature if there is an active surface. And in the melt it absorbs oxygen and hydrogen so intensively that the melting has to be carried out in a vacuum.

Another important feature that determines the physical characteristics is the existence of 2 phases of the state.

Low temperature- α-Ti has a hexagonal close-packed lattice, the density of the substance is 4.55 g / cc. cm (at 20 C).
High temperature- β-Ti is characterized by a body-centered cubic lattice, the phase density, respectively, is less - 4, 32 g / cc. see (at 900C).

The phase transition temperature is 883 C.

Under normal conditions, the metal is covered with a protective oxide film. In its absence, titanium poses a great danger. So, titanium dust can explode, the temperature of such a flash is 400C. Titanium shavings are a fire hazardous material and are stored in a special environment.

The video below tells about the structure and properties of titanium:

Properties and characteristics of titanium

Today titanium is the most durable among all existing technical materials, therefore, despite the complexity of obtaining and high safety requirements for, it is used quite widely. The physical characteristics of the element are quite unusual, but highly dependent on purity. Thus, pure titanium and alloys are actively used in rocket and aircraft construction, while technical ones are unsuitable, since they lose strength at high temperatures due to impurities.

Density of metal

The density of a substance changes with temperature and phase.

At temperatures from 0 to the melting point, it decreases from 4.51 to 4.26 g / cc. cm, and during the phase transition increase by 0.15%, and then decrease again.
The density of the liquid metal is 4.12 g / cu. cm, and then decreases with increasing temperature.

Melting and boiling points

The phase transition divides all the properties of a metal into qualities that the α- and β-phases can exhibit. So, the density up to 883 C refers to the qualities of the α-phase, and the melting and boiling points - to the parameters of the β-phase.

The melting point of titanium (in degrees) is 1668 +/- 5 C;
The boiling point reaches 3227 C.

Titanium burning is covered in this video:

Mechanical features

Titanium is about 2 times stronger than iron and 6 times stronger than aluminum, which makes it such a valuable structural material. The indicators relate to the properties of the α-phase.

The tensile strength of the substance in tension is 300-450 MPa. The indicator can be increased to 2000 MPa by adding some elements, as well as resorting to special processing - hardening and aging.

It is interesting that titanium retains its high specific strength even at the lowest temperatures. Moreover, with a decrease in temperature, the flexural strength increases: at +20 C, the indicator is 700 MPa, and at -196 - 1100 MPa.

The elasticity of the metal is relatively low, which is a significant disadvantage of the substance. The modulus of elasticity under normal conditions is 110.25 GPa. In addition, titanium is characterized by anisotropy: elasticity in different directions reaches different values.
The hardness of the substance on the HB scale is 103. Moreover, the indicator is an average. Depending on the purity of the metal and the nature of the impurities, the hardness may be higher.
The conventional yield point is 250-380 MPa. The higher this indicator, the better the products made of the substance withstand loads and the more they resist wear. The titanium index exceeds the aluminum index by 18 times.

Compared to other metals having the same lattice, the metal has very decent ductility and ductility.

Heat capacity

The metal is characterized by low thermal conductivity, therefore, in the relevant areas, the manufacture of thermoelectrodes, for example, is not used.

Its thermal conductivity is 16.76 l, W / (m × deg). This is 4 times less than that of iron and 12 times less than that of.
But the thermal expansion coefficient of titanium is negligible at normal temperature and increases with increasing temperature.
The heat capacity of the metal is 0.523 kJ / (kg · K).

Electrical characteristics

As is most often the case, low thermal conductivity also provides low electrical conductivity.

The specific electrical resistance of the metal is very high - 42.1 · 10 -6 ohm · cm under normal conditions. If we assume that the conductivity of silver is 100%, then the conductivity of titanium will be 3.8%.
Titanium is a paramagnet, that is, it cannot be magnetized in the field, like iron, but also pushed out of the field, as it will not. This property linearly decreases with decreasing temperature, but, having passed the minimum, it increases somewhat. Specific magnetic susceptibility is 3.2 10 -6 G -1. It should be noted that the susceptibility, as well as the elasticity, forms anisotropy and changes depending on the direction.

At a temperature of 3.8 K, titanium becomes a superconductor.

Corrosion resistance

Under normal conditions, titanium has very high anti-corrosion properties. In air, it is covered with a 5–15 µm thick titanium oxide layer, which provides excellent chemical inertness. The metal does not corrode in air, sea air, sea water, humid chlorine, chlorine water and numerous other technological solutions and reagents, which makes the material indispensable in the chemical, paper-making, and oil industries.

With an increase in temperature or strong grinding of the metal, the picture changes dramatically. The metal reacts with almost all gases that make up the atmosphere, and in the liquid state it also absorbs them.

Safety

Titanium is one of the most biologically inert metals. In medicine, it is used for the manufacture of prostheses, as it is resistant to corrosion, lightness and durability.

Titanium dioxide is not as safe, although it is used much more often - in the cosmetic, food industry, for example. According to some reports - UCLA, research by professor of pathology Robert Schistle, titanium dioxide nanoparticles affect the genetic apparatus and may contribute to the development of cancer. Moreover, the substance does not penetrate through the skin, therefore the use of sunscreens, which contain dioxide, does not pose a danger, but the substance that gets inside the body - with food dyes, biological additives, can be dangerous.

Titanium is a uniquely strong, hard and light metal with very interesting chemical and physical properties. This combination is so valuable that even the difficulties in smelting and refining titanium do not stop manufacturers.

How to distinguish titanium from steel, this video will tell you:

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The discovery of titanium dioxide (TiO 2) was made almost simultaneously and independently of each other by the Englishman W. Gregor and the German chemist M. G. Klaproth. W. Gregor, investigating the composition of magnetic ferrous sand (Creed, Cornwall, England), identified a new "earth" (oxide) of an unknown metal, which he named Menakenova. In 1795, the German chemist Klaproth discovered a new element in the rutile mineral and named it titanium. Two years later, Klaproth established that rutile and Menakenian earth are oxides of the same element, behind which the name "titanium", proposed by Klaproth, remained. Ten years later, titanium was discovered for the third time: the French scientist L. Vauquelin discovered titanium in anatase and proved that rutile and anatase are identical titanium oxides.

The first sample of metallic titanium was obtained in 1825 by the Swede J. J. Berzelius. Due to the high chemical activity of titanium and the complexity of its purification, a pure Ti sample was obtained by the Dutchmen A. van Arkel and I. de Boer in 1925 by thermal decomposition of titanium iodide TiI 4 vapor.

Titanium did not find industrial use until the Luxembourger G. Kroll (English) Russian in 1940 he did not patent a simple magnesium-thermal method for the reduction of metallic titanium from tetrachloride; this method (Kroll process (English) Russian) until now remains one of the main in the industrial production of titanium.

origin of name

The metal got its name in honor of the titans, the characters of ancient Greek mythology, the children of Gaia. The name of the element was given by Martin Klaproth in accordance with his views on chemical nomenclature, as opposed to the French chemical school, where they tried to name the element by its chemical properties. Since the German researcher himself noted the impossibility of determining the properties of a new element only by its oxide, he chose a name for it from mythology, by analogy with uranium he had discovered earlier.

Being in nature

Titanium is the 10th most abundant in nature. Content in the earth's crust is 0.57% by weight, in sea water - 0.001 mg / l. In ultrabasic rocks 300 g / t, in basic rocks - 9 kg / t, in acidic rocks 2.3 kg / t, in clays and shales 4.5 kg / t. In the earth's crust, titanium is almost always tetravalent and is present only in oxygen compounds. Not found in free form. Titanium under conditions of weathering and sedimentation has a geochemical affinity for Al 2 O 3. It is concentrated in the bauxite of the weathering crust and in marine clay sediments. Titanium is transferred in the form of mechanical fragments of minerals and in the form of colloids. Up to 30% TiO 2 by weight accumulates in some clays. Titanium minerals are resistant to weathering and form large concentrations in placers. More than 100 titanium-containing minerals are known. The most important of them: rutile TiO 2, ilmenite FeTiO 3, titanomagnetite FeTiO 3 + Fe 3 O 4, perovskite CaTiO 3, titanite (sphene) CaTiSiO 5. There are primary titanium ores - ilmenite-titanomagnetite and placer ores - rutile-ilmenite-zircon.

Place of Birth

Large primary titanium deposits are located in South Africa, Russia, Ukraine, Canada, USA, China, Norway, Sweden, Egypt, Australia, India, South Korea, Kazakhstan; placer deposits are found in Brazil, India, USA, Sierra Leone, Australia. In the CIS countries, the Russian Federation (58.5%) and Ukraine (40.2%) take the leading place in explored reserves of titanium ores. The largest deposit in Russia is Yaregskoye.

Reserves and production

As of 2002, 90% of the mined titanium was used for the production of titanium dioxide TiO 2. World production of titanium dioxide was 4.5 million tons per year. The proven reserves of titanium dioxide (excluding Russia) amount to about 800 million tons. In 2006, according to the US Geological Survey, in terms of titanium dioxide and excluding Russia, the reserves of ilmenite ores are 603-673 million tons, and of rutile ores - 49, 7-52.7 million tons. Thus, at the current rate of production of the world's proven reserves of titanium (excluding Russia), it will be enough for more than 150 years.

The world's largest titanium producer is the Russian company VSMPO-AVISMA.

Receiving

The titanium ore concentrate is subjected to sulfuric acid or pyrometallurgical processing. The product of sulfuric acid treatment is titanium dioxide TiO 2 powder. By the pyrometallurgical method, the ore is sintered with coke and treated with chlorine, obtaining a pair of titanium tetrachloride TiCl 4:

T i O 2 + 2 C + 2 C l 2 → T i C l 4 + 2 C O (\ displaystyle (\ mathsf (TiO_ (2) + 2C + 2Cl_ (2) \ rightarrow TiCl_ (4) + 2CO)))

The resulting TiCl 4 vapors at 850 ° C are reduced with magnesium:

T i C l 4 + 2 M g → 2 M g C l 2 + T i (\ displaystyle (\ mathsf (TiCl_ (4) + 2Mg \ rightarrow 2MgCl_ (2) + Ti)))

In addition, the so-called FFC Cambridge process is now beginning to gain popularity, named after its developers Derek Frey, Tom Farthing and George Chen from the University of Cambridge, where it was created. This electrochemical process allows direct continuous reduction of titanium from oxide in a molten mixture of calcium chloride and quicklime (calcium oxide). This process uses an electrolytic bath filled with a mixture of calcium chloride and lime, with a consumable (or neutral) graphite anode and a cathode made from the oxide to be reduced. When passing a current through the bath, the temperature quickly reaches ~ 1000-1100 ° C, and the calcium oxide melt decomposes at the anode into oxygen and metallic calcium:

2 C a O → 2 C a + O 2 (\ displaystyle (\ mathsf (2CaO \ rightarrow 2Ca + O_ (2))))

The resulting oxygen oxidizes the anode (in the case of using graphite), and calcium migrates in the melt to the cathode, where it reduces titanium from its oxide:

O 2 + C → C O 2 (\ displaystyle (\ mathsf (O_ (2) + C \ rightarrow CO_ (2)))) T i O 2 + 2 C a → T i + 2 C a O (\ displaystyle (\ mathsf (TiO_ (2) + 2Ca \ rightarrow Ti + 2CaO)))

The formed calcium oxide again dissociates into oxygen and metallic calcium, and the process is repeated until the cathode is completely transformed into a titanium sponge or the calcium oxide is exhausted. Calcium chloride in this process is used as an electrolyte to impart electrical conductivity to the melt and mobility of active calcium and oxygen ions. When using an inert anode (for example, tin dioxide), instead of carbon dioxide, molecular oxygen is released at the anode, which pollutes the environment less, but the process in this case becomes less stable, and, in addition, in some conditions, the decomposition of chloride becomes more energetically favorable. and not calcium oxide, which leads to the release of molecular chlorine.

Physical properties

Titanium is a light, silvery-white metal. At normal pressure, it exists in two crystalline modifications: low-temperature α-Ti with a hexagonal close-packed lattice (hexagonal system, space group C 6mmc, cell parameters a= 0.2953 nm, c= 0.4729 nm, Z = 2 ) and high-temperature β-Ti with cubic body-centered packing (cubic system, space group Im 3m, cell parameters a= 0.3269 nm, Z = 2 ), transition temperature α↔β 883 ° C, transition heat Δ H= 3.8 kJ / mol (87.4 kJ / kg). When dissolved in titanium, most metals stabilize the β-phase and lower the α↔β transition temperature. At pressures above 9 GPa and temperatures above 900 ° C, titanium transforms into a hexagonal phase (ω -Ti). The density of α -Ti and β -Ti is respectively 4.505 g / cm³ (at 20 ° C) and 4.32 g / cm³ (at 900 ° C). The atomic density of α-titanium is 5.67⋅10 22 at / cm³.

The melting point of titanium at normal pressure is 1670 ± 2 ° C, or 1943 ± 2 K (adopted as one of the secondary calibration points of the ITS-90 temperature scale (English) Russian). The boiling point is 3287 ° C. At low enough temperatures (-80 ° C), titanium becomes quite brittle. Molar heat capacity under normal conditions C p= 25.060 kJ / (mol K), which corresponds to the specific heat capacity of 0.523 kJ / (kg · K). The heat of fusion is 15 kJ / mol, the heat of vaporization is 410 kJ / mol. The characteristic Debye temperature is 430 K. Thermal conductivity 21.9 W / (m K) at 20 ° C. The temperature coefficient of linear expansion is 9.2 · 10 −6 K −1 in the range from −120 to +860 ° C. Molar entropy of α-titanium S 0 = 30.7 kJ / (mol K). For titanium in the gas phase, the enthalpy of formation Δ H0
f= 473.0 kJ / mol, Gibbs energy Δ G0
f= 428.4 kJ / mol, molar entropy S 0 = 180.3 kJ / (mol K), heat capacity at constant pressure C p= 24.4 kJ / (mol K)

Plastic, weldable in an inert atmosphere. Strength characteristics depend little on temperature, but strongly depend on purity and pretreatment. For technical titanium, the Vickers hardness is 790-800 MPa, the modulus of normal elasticity is 103 GPa, and the shear modulus is 39.2 GPa. High-purity titanium preliminarily annealed in vacuum has a yield strength of 140-170 MPa, a relative elongation of 55-70%, and a Brinell hardness of 716 MPa.

It has a high viscosity, during machining it is prone to sticking to the cutting tool, and therefore requires the application of special coatings on the tool, various lubricants.

At normal temperatures, it is covered with a protective passivating film of TiO 2 oxide, due to this, it is corrosion-resistant in most environments (except for alkaline ones).

Isotopes

Natural titanium consists of a mixture of five stable isotopes: 46 Ti (isotopic abundance 7.95%), 47 Ti (7.75%), 48 Ti (73.45%), 49 Ti (5.51%), 50 Ti ( 5.34%).

Among artificial isotopes, the longest-lived are 44 Ti (half-life 60 years) and 45 Ti (half-life 184 minutes).

Chemical properties

It easily reacts even with weak acids in the presence of complexing agents, for example, with hydrofluoric acid, it interacts due to the formation of a complex anion 2−. Titanium is most susceptible to corrosion in organic media, since in the presence of water a dense passive film of titanium oxides and hydride forms on the surface of a titanium product. The most noticeable increase in the corrosion resistance of titanium is noticeable with an increase in the water content in an aggressive environment from 0.5 to 8.0%, which is confirmed by electrochemical studies of titanium electrode potentials in solutions of acids and alkalis in mixed aqueous-organic media.

When heated in air to 1200 ° C, Ti ignites with a bright white flame with the formation of oxide phases of variable composition TiO x. From solutions of titanium salts, hydroxide TiO (OH) 2 · xH 2 O is precipitated, which is carefully calcined to obtain the oxide TiO 2. Hydroxide TiO (OH) 2 · xH 2 O and dioxide TiO 2 are amphoteric.

When titanium interacts with carbon, titanium carbide TiC x (x = 0.49-1.00) is formed.

Titanium in the form of alloys is the most important structural material in aircraft, rocket and shipbuilding.
The metal is used in the chemical industry (reactors, pipelines, pumps, pipeline fittings), the military industry (body armor, armor and firewalls in aviation, submarine hulls), industrial processes (desalination plants, pulp and paper processes), the automotive industry, the agricultural industry , food industry, sporting goods, jewelry, mobile phones, light alloys, etc.
Titanium is physiologically inert, which is why it is used in medicine (prostheses, osteoprostheses, dental implants), in dental and endodontic instruments, and piercing jewelry.
Titanium casting is performed in vacuum furnaces into graphite molds. Vacuum investment casting is also used. Due to technological difficulties in artistic casting, it is used to a limited extent. The first monumental cast sculpture made of titanium in the world is the monument to Yuri Gagarin on the square named after him in Moscow.
Titanium is an alloying addition in many alloyed