TITANIUM

A Brief History

The History of Titanium

Discovered in 1791 by William Gregor
(Cornwall, England)
Fe3O4
Ilminite:
TiO2
Given the name manaccanite

The History of Titanium

Rediscovered in 1795 (separate incident) by
Martin Heinrich Klaproth (Berlin, Germany)

Rutile: Primarily TiO2

Given the name titanium

Although Gregor was the true founder, scientists
preferred the name titanium over mannacanite

The History of Titanium

119 years later (1910), 99.9% titanium was obtained by
Matthew Hunter (General Electric)
Heated TiCl4 with sodium in a pressure cylinder

1936: the commercial production of titanium was made

possible by William J. Kroll
Kroll Process:
2Mg(l) +TiCl4(g) 2MgCl2(l) +Ti(s) [T = 800850 C]

By 1956, due to its desirable properties, titanium

production had reached 25000 tons/yr, compared to
3 tons/yr in 1948
2011: 223,000 metric tons

Properties

Basic Properties
Silvery-White
Hard
Lustrous
Resists Corrosion
Relatively low density
4.506 g cm3
Relatively strong
High melting/boiling
point
1943 K/3560 K
Ductile
Malleable (when heated)

Medical Use

Histor
y
Before Titanium was found:
316L stainless steel and Co-Cr alloy
Low resistance to bioenvironment
Titaniums great biocompatibility (
) was found.
1960s: First used as dental implants

EXCITED

Then why is the

biocompatibility so important

Titanium biocompatibility
Resistance to fluid
Low toxicity

Ti TiO2
Low solubility
Hard to react with biological molecules

First Two Type

Pure Ti
Ti-6Al-4V

Great biocompatibility

Pure Titanium is easy to wear

out
V & Al are poisonous
V would influence ATP
enzyme( )
Fe and Nb replace V, making
it much less toxic

Ti-5Al-2.5Fe
Ti-6Al-7Nb

The

Elastic Modulus

are 4 to 10 times higher than

that of bones.

Why is Elastic Modulus

important?

Our bone are

always
deformed
elastically.

Why is Elastic Modulus

important?
Too low elastic modulus
No use (which is quite obvious)

Too high elastic modulus

Very reliable
But the bones would become weaker and less
dense!
The implant treatment would fail at last.

Why is Elastic Modulus

important?
FORC
E

FORCE

FORCE

IMPLAN
T
BON
E

IMPLAN
T
BON
E

Wolffs law
Bones in a body will adapt to the
loads under which it is placed.
The loads increase The bone become stronger
and denser
The loads decrease The bone become weaker
That is also why some
Kung Fu masters exercise
by hitting something
really hard!

Sum up

New Type
Ti-12Mo-6Zr-2Fe, Ti-15Mo-5Zr-3Al, Ti15Mo-3Nb-0.3O, Ti-2Mo-2Zr-3Al, etc.
Mo will cause severe effects
Ti-15Zr-4Nb-2Ta-0.2Pd, Ti-15Sn-4Nb-2Ta0.2Pd
Pd and Sn are not quite biocompatible

The Elastic Modulus is still too high

 Still much
higher

Car Industry

Properties Used in Car

Industry
Low density
High strength
Stable under extreme temperatures
Corrosion resistance

Weight reduction

High strength
and low
density
The strength is 3
times as much as
that of iron with the
same weight.

Advantages of Weight
Reduction
Save the product cost
If 1kg weight reduced 2.2dollars in production

Decrease the fuel consumption

4.5~7.7dollars are saved in petrol per weight
reduced

Safety
p=mv p=Ft

Co

g r nne
od cti

Titanium in Engine

0
1

Exhaust 02
valve

03
l
Va
ve
ri n
sp
g

Connecting rod
Low density
High strength

Corrosion
resistance
Fatigue

Reduce inertia
Reduce size

Increase the
service life

Decrease
shake and
noise

Exhaust Valve
Hot strength and anti oxidation
guarantee the engine works well in
high temperature

Valve spring

01

Lighter

60%weight of steel spring

02

Smaller
Half size of steel spring

High
Steel 500Hz
frequency

03

Ti alloy 900Hz

Other Applications
Alloying agent (used in aerospace, aircraft
and weaponry): Low density, strength,
resistivity to extreme temperatures
Ship hulls, propeller shafts: Corrosion
resistance
TiO2 (95% of titanium production): High
refractive index + strong UV light
absorption
Used in white paint, sunscreen, toothpaste,
etc.