This chapter is a detailed account of the history of development of titanium and its modern applications in the aerospace market. It begins by discussing the attempts made to produce titanium metal. This is followed by a discussion on the invention of a process for making titanium by William Kroll. Various studies on the properties on titanium and research programs related to the production of titanium sponge and titanium metal products are then described. The chapter concludes with a discussion of titanium use in jet engines.

This chapter provides an overview of the production and use of titanium and its significance as an engineering material. It begins by identifying important deposits and ores and assessing current and future production capacities and how they align with global consumption trends. It then describes the physical and mechanical properties of pure titanium and numerous grades of wrought titanium alloys and explains how they compare with other aerospace materials in terms of processing complexity and cost. The chapter also includes information on extractive metallurgy, current and emerging processes, product forms, and related costs.

This chapter familiarizes readers with the machining characteristics of titanium and the implementation of machining and shaping processes. It explains why titanium alloys are more difficult to machine than other metals and how it impacts the equipment and procedures that can be used. It describes the basic machining requirements for titanium in terms of tool geometry and materials, machine setup rigidity, cutting speeds and feed rates, and surface conditions, and explains how the requirements are met in practice in milling, turning, drilling, surface grinding, and broaching operations. The chapter also covers chemical and electrochemical machining processes as well as flame cutting.

This chapter describes the applications with the greatest impact on titanium consumption and global market trends. It explains where, how, and why titanium alloys are used in aerospace, automotive, chemical processing, medical, and military applications as well as power generating equipment, sporting goods, oil and gas production, and marine vessels.

Contaminants can be a cause of numerous types of system failures. There are numerous techniques for confirming contaminant presence. When the presence of a contaminant is suspected, the failure analysis team must find and eliminate the contaminant source, which can be obvious or quite subtle. This chapter summarizes a few commonly encountered contaminant sources to stimulate the reader's thinking about potential contaminant sources. A case study of titanium component washing at Litton Lasers is presented to illustrate how the presence of contaminants leads to a system failure.

Titanium alloys are classified according to the amount of alpha and beta phase material retained in their structures at room temperature. This chapter discusses the metallurgy, composition, processing, and properties of titanium and its alloys. It provides information on melting, forging, casting, heat treating, and secondary fabrication. It also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of titanium and its alloys in various applications.

The nonferrous alloys described in this chapter include aluminum and aluminum alloys, copper and copper alloys, titanium and titanium alloys, zirconium and zirconium alloys, and tantalum and tantalum alloys. Some of the factors that affect the corrosion performance of welded nonferrous assemblies include galvanic effects, crevices, assembly stresses in products susceptible to stress-corrosion cracking, and hydrogen pickup and subsequent cracking. The emphasis is placed on the compositions, general welding considerations, and corrosion behavior of these alloys.

This chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of producing titanium parts using powder metallurgy (PM) techniques. It compares the typical properties of wrought, cast, and PM titanium alloy products, addresses various manufacturing challenges, and describes several consolidation and shaping processes along with associated property data.

This appendix provides datasheets on high purity titanium, describing its processing characteristics, mechanical and fabrication properties, and heat treating practices.

This appendix provides information on organizations that issue specifications and standards related to titanium and its alloys.

This appendix includes contact information for titanium manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers.

This appendix provides an extensive amount of data corresponding to titanium machining processes, including sawing, turning, drilling, reaming, tapping, broaching, face milling, end milling, slotting, surface grinding, and thermal cutting.

This appendix is a list of symbols found in technical literature on titanium and their corresponding definitions.

This appendix is a glossary of titanium-related terms and their definitions.

This appendix provides references for additional information on titanium and its alloys. The references are organized by topic based on the author’s recommendations. Topics include physical metallurgy, corrosion, processing, applications and developments, and general background.

This chapter provides a general overview of titanium and its versatility as an engineering material.

This chapter discusses the principles of corrosion of metals in aqueous environments. The thermodynamics of aqueous corrosion is the subject of the first half of this chapter, which addresses concepts such as corrosion reactions and free-energy change, the relationship between free energy and electrochemical potential, the effect of ionic concentration on electrode potential, and the corrosion behavior of a metal based on its potential-pH diagram. The corrosion (potential-pH) behavior of iron, gold, copper, zinc, aluminum, and titanium are described. Understanding the kinetics of corrosion and the factors that control the rates of corrosion reactions requires examination of the concepts of polarization behavior and identification of the various forms of polarization in an electrochemical cell. These concepts, addressed in the remaining of this chapter, include anodic and cathodic reactions, the mixed-potential theory, and the exchange currents.

All materials are susceptible to corrosion or some form of environmental degradation. Although no single material is suitable for all applications, usually there are a variety of materials that will perform satisfactorily in a given environment. The intent of this chapter is to review the corrosion behavior of the major classes of metals and alloys as well as some nonmetallic materials, describe typical corrosion applications, and present some unique weaknesses of various types of materials. It also aims to point out some unique material characteristics that may be important in material selection, and discuss, where appropriate, the characteristic forms of corrosion that attack specific materials. The materials addressed in this chapter include carbon steels, weathering steels, and alloy steels; nickel, copper, aluminum, titanium, lead, magnesium, tin, zirconium, tantalum, niobium, and cobalt and their alloys; polymers; and other nonmetallic materials, including rubber, carbon and graphite, and woods.