Titanium is the IVB element in the periodic table. It looks like steel and has a melting point of 1672 ℃. It is a refractory metal. Titanium is abundant in the crust, much higher than common metals such as Cu, Zn, Sn and Pb. China is extremely rich in titanium resources. Only the extra large vanadium titanium magnetite found in Panzhihua, Sichuan, has associated titanium metal reserves of about 420 million tons, which is close to the total proven titanium reserves abroad.
Pure titanium has strong mechanical properties, good plasticity and is easy to process. If there are impurities, especially O, N and C, the strength and hardness of titanium will be improved, but its plasticity will be reduced and brittleness will be increased.
Titanium is a metal easy to passivate, and its passive film can heal itself after being damaged in an oxygen containing environment. Therefore, the dry corrosion medium is stable. Titanium and titanium alloys have excellent corrosion resistance and can only be eroded by hydrofluoric acid concentration. Especially stable. After titanium or titanium alloy is taken out, it is still as bright as before, much better than stainless steel.
Liquid titanium can dissolve almost all metals to form various alloys such as solid solutions or metal compounds. The addition of alloy elements such as Al, V, Zr, Sn, Si, Mo and Mn can improve the performance of titanium to meet the needs of different departments. For example, Ti Al Sn alloy has high thermal stability and can work for a long time at a very high temperature; Superplastic alloy represented by Ti-Al-V alloy can be formed by 50%~150% elongation, and its maximum elongation can reach 2000%. The maximum elongation of plastic processing of general alloys shall not exceed 30%. In addition, titanium alloys usually have low density, high strength and wide application value.
Due to the above excellent properties, titanium enjoys the reputation of "metal of the future". Titanium alloy has been widely used in various sectors of the national economy. It is an indispensable material for rockets, missiles and space shuttles. Titanium alloys are widely used in ships, chemical industry, electronic devices and communication equipment, as well as in some light industrial sectors. However, the high price of titanium restricts its wide use.
