Studies of New-Type Titanium Alloys for Aviation Applications in China

Abstract

The latest R&D of new-type titanium alloys and their aviation applications as well as the newly developed processing technologies in China have been reviewed in this paper. To meet the requirements of high performance and low cost design of aviation-oriented titanium alloys, great efforts and achievements have been made in establishing a system with Chinese characteristics, in which the low-strength-and-high-toughness titanium alloy (such as Ti45Nb alloy used for fasteners and TA18 for tubes & pipes), the medium-strength and high-damage-tolerance titanium alloy (such as TC4-DT used for large-integral airframe structures), the high-strength and high-toughness damage tolerance titanium alloy (such as TC21 used for large-integral airframe structures), and the ultra-high strength titanium alloy (such as TB8) are included. Some new processing technologies such as quasi-β forging and quasi-β heat treatment, integral isothermal forging and electron beam welding, have been demonstrated to be able to markedly enhance the properties of titanium alloys, which is regarded to be very important in increasing the application amount and level of titanium in aviation industry.

Study on KIC of TC4-DT titanium alloy electron beam welding

“…Therefore, TC4-DT titanium alloy not only maintains the excellent mechanical properties of traditional TC4 titanium alloy, but also has good damage tolerance performance. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the requirements for the durability and safety of aviation equipment, the thick-wall damage-tolerant TC4-DT titanium alloy is widely used in important load-bearing frame beam structural parts of aviation [3] . Electron beam welding technology, due to its high welding power density, stable welding process and vacuum environment, can obtain welded joints with large penetration depth, small deformation, and good quality, making it an ideal choice for welding aerospace thick-walled titanium alloys [4] .…”

Influence of hot isostatic pressing on microstructure, properties and deformability of selective laser melting TC4 alloy

“…TC4 alloy with the characteristics of light weight, high strength, good corrosion resistance and heat resistance is widely used in the aerospace field, and as an important engineering material for the manufacturing of aircraft parts [1,2] . At present, with the increasing demand for the integration and complexity of the aircraft parts, it is difficult to produce components with dimensional accuracy and acceptable surface quality by traditional processing technologies like casting and forging [3] .…”

Formation mechanism and function of tribo-layers in dry sliding wear of TC11 alloy

“…Titanium alloys have been widely applied in aeronautical and astronautical, automotive, mechanical, marine and chemical industries owing to their low density, good corrosion resistance, high specific strength, good biocompatibility and so on [1,2] However, titanium alloys are well known to have poor wear resistance. When applied in wear occasions, the relative motion of direct contact will cause severe friction and wear in titanium alloys, which will seriously affect the reliability and safety of the system, resulting in incalculable energy and resource loss [3,4].…”