If steel is the metal that caused a sensation in the world in the middle of the 19th century, and aluminum is the metal that caused a sensation in the early 20th century, then the next new metal that will cause a sensation in the world will be titanium, known as “the metal of our time” and “the steel of the future”.
Titanium is strange to us, because we really know it, only in recent years, but titanium is actually an unusual metal, it can be both heaven and earth, but also quietly dedication. Let’s take a look at the applications of titanium.
If I ask you, what metal is the plane made of? You will not hesitate to answer, it is aluminum magnesium alloy. But with the development of aviation industry, the flight speed of aircraft is faster and faster. The high temperature generated by the friction between aircraft surface and air can reach 45baidu ℃. At this time, the aluminum magnesium alloy is hard to bear, not competent, and the steel is too heavy, only using titanium alloy to manufacture. Therefore, it is said that if titanium alloy is not used as the manufacturing material, supersonic aircraft with speed of more than 2.5 times of sound can not be developed. Therefore, titanium has become an indispensable material for the manufacture of modern weapons such as airplanes.
1. Titanium crafts
Titanium has high density and specific gravity, is corrosion-resistant, especially oxidizable, and titanium oxide (titanium gold) is similar to real gold in color. The coating on the ceramic surface is bright with gold, which has excellent decorative effect. The coating is corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant, and can not fall off and remain dark for a long time. Moreover, the price of real gold is much more suitable, instead of real gold, it is used in daily ceramics, process ceramics, antique buildings and ancient building repair. Outdoor nameplate, plaque, etc.
2. Titanium jewelry
In addition to these great uses, titanium has also come close to our lives. In the past, some gold-plated necklaces worn by girls did not have the stability of pure gold and silver. The nickel contained in the necklaces directly affects the skin and is prone to allergic reactions, which may lead to skin itching and erythema. The jewelry with pure titanium as raw material will not have these problems. The biggest feature of this new jewelry is health, safety and environmental protection, which will never produce harmful substances to human skin and body, so it is called green jewelry.
3. Titanium glasses
In terms of appearance, titanium glasses are no different from general metal glasses. But in fact, it is light and comfortable, soft and smooth to touch, no cold feeling of other metal glasses, no harm to human body. Titanium frame is much lighter than general metal frame, and it will not deform in long-term use, and its quality is more guaranteed, which is very popular with young groups.
Titanium application is rich and colorful, but at present, the general price of titanium products in the market will be higher, which makes many consumers flinch, so what is the reason for the high price of titanium products?
I. mining and utilization difficulties
China’s ilmenite placers are extremely scattered, with low concentration of resources. After years of mining, large-scale and high-quality resources have been exhausted. At present, most of the development is based on civilian mining, which is difficult to form large-scale development and utilization. There are radioactive elements in some coastal titanium placers, and the pressure of mining environmental protection is great.
II. Strong demand
As a new type of metal material, titanium is in great demand. The consumption of titanium is in direct proportion to the comprehensive national strength and development of a country. With the continuous strengthening of China’s comprehensive national strength, the consumption of titanium has also increased rapidly.
III. lack of production capacity
Titanium materials are mainly used in aerospace, architecture, ocean, nuclear energy, electric power and other fields. In addition, titanium is widely used in chemical industry, sports, electronics, automobile and medicine. At present, only a few industrialized countries can produce titanium materials in the world.
IV. processing difficulties
1. Titanium sponge is the raw material of titanium material, titanium powder and other titanium components. It must be remelted and cast in an electric furnace to become a new type of structural material titanium ingot. It takes dozens of processes from titanium sponge to titanium ingot to titanium plate. Unlike steel, most of them need to be melted more than twice, not only to control the melting speed, voltage and current, but also to control the composition. From titanium ingot to slab, it needs to be heated and forged several times. From slab to plate, it has to go through many processes, such as heating, cold rolling and hot rolling, which are various and complex, so it will be very difficult to process.
2. Pure titanium is very soft and generally not suitable for use as titanium products. Therefore, other elements need to be added again, such as titanium-64 commonly used in the aviation industry. Many other elements need to be added to improve the metal performance. But at high temperature, titanium will be polluted by strong reaction with halogen, oxygen, sulfur, carbon, nitrogen and other elements. Therefore, titanium should be melted in vacuum or inert atmosphere.
3. Titanium is difficult to be machined. If the speed is too low, titanium will not move at all. If the speed is too high and too hot, titanium will be oxidized. Ordinary machining centers cannot process titanium alloy products at all.
4. Titanium is a kind of active metal. The reason for its corrosion resistance is that the passivation layer on the surface is much more severe than aluminum. In addition, the poor thermal conductivity of titanium makes it difficult to weld with other materials.
To sum up, there are many factors that affect the high price of titanium products, such as cultural value, strong demand and difficult production. The increasing demand for titanium products will promote the progress of processing technology and technology, and directly reduce the cost of titanium products. I believe that in the near future, titanium household products will become household names, adding a solid guarantee for more people’s happiness and healthy life.