At present, the use of
titanium is developing rapidly. Titanium and titanium compounds have already been widely used in various fields by human beings. We all know that after pure metals are made into alloys, many properties can be improved and the applications are more extensive. So, what about titanium alloys?
Based on titanium, the alloy composed of other alloying elements is called titanium alloy. Titanium alloy has the advantages of low density, high specific strength, good corrosion resistance, good process performance, etc., and is an ideal structural material for aerospace engineering. Titanium alloy is a new type of structural material. It has excellent comprehensive properties, low density, high specific strength and specific fracture toughness, good fatigue strength and crack growth resistance, good low temperature toughness, and excellent corrosion resistance. Some titanium alloys The maximum operating temperature is 550°C and is expected to reach 700°C.
Titanium alloys are more widely used than titanium and its compounds.
1. 1 The well-deserved space metal
Today, titanium and titanium alloys are mainly used to manufacture fuel and oxidant storage tanks for rockets and missiles, as well as other high-pressure containers. In addition, a large amount of titanium is used to make rockets, missile casings, and spacecraft cabins.
As you may know, for rockets, missiles and spaceships in the sky, weight really needs to be carefully calculated. After using titanium and titanium alloys instead of steel on rockets, missiles, and spacecraft, the weight can be reduced by tens to hundreds of kilograms, so a little "lightening" can improve their flight performance.
For example, if a long-range missile is reduced by one kilogram, the range can be increased by 7.7 kilometers, and if the final stage rocket is reduced by one kilogram, the total launch weight can be reduced by 30 to 100 kilograms, and the range can be increased by more than 15 kilometers. Due to the reduced weight, it can also save a lot of expensive advanced fuel, reducing the cost of construction and launch. So you see, titanium is well-deservedly called a "space metal."
1. 2 Magical anti-corrosion ability
You all have watches on your hands, and the cases are shining brightly, no matter how long it takes, it won't fade away. Why is this? The original case is made of nickel-chromium stainless steel with strong corrosion resistance.
The corrosion resistance of titanium is much stronger than that of stainless steel. At room temperature, titanium can lie safely in various strong acid and alkali solutions. Even the most ferocious acid - aqua regia, can't do anything to it. Especially in terms of corrosion resistance to seawater, titanium has a stronger ability, which is comparable to the famous platinum. Someone once sank a piece of titanium to the bottom of the sea, took it out five years later, and found that there were many small animals and sea plants stuck to it, but it was not rusted at all, and it was still shining.
Titanium is resistant to corrosion, so it is often used in the chemical industry. Historically, stainless steel has been used for the parts of the chemical reactor that hold the hot nitric acid. Stainless steel is also afraid of the strong corrosive agent - hot nitric acid, every six months, all these parts have to be replaced. The parts themselves are not expensive, but the cost of each replacement and the loss due to downtime are many times higher than the price of the parts. Now, titanium is used to make these, although the cost is more expensive than stainless steel, but it can work continuously for five years, which is much more cost-effective in calculation.
Everyone knows that ships sail on the vast sea all year round, and the underwater parts must be rust-removed and painted, otherwise they will soon become "broken copper and rotten iron". And if titanium and titanium alloys are used to manufacture parts for warships, submarines, and ships, such troubles and losses can be avoided. Submarines made of titanium are lighter in weight than submarines made of stainless steel, and the depth of diving can be increased by 80%, reaching more than 4,500 meters.
1. 3 "Strange temper" is useful
Titanium is not interested in liquid and solid things, and aqua regia can't help it. However, titanium is very congenial to gases, and likes to combine with nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane and many other gases. This "temper" can serve us.
Haven't you already admired the colorful fireworks on a festive night more than once? Titanium is here
A credit. When the titanium powder and oxygen combine rapidly to burn, it can produce strong high temperature and brilliance. Fireworks can not only enhance the festive atmosphere in festivals, but also can be used as military flares to indicate targets or convey orders. Adding an appropriate amount of titanium compound to the arc lamp can increase its brightness.
Using titanium's strong absorption of air, the air can be removed to create a vacuum. For example, using a vacuum pump made of titanium, the air can be pumped down to only one tenth of a billionth.
In the metallurgical industry, adding a small amount of titanium to steel or other metals to "eat" the gas and impurities inside can play a very good role in deoxidation and nitrogen removal, and can also eliminate the harmful effects of sulfur, thereby improving steel and Mechanical properties of other alloys, improving their corrosion resistance.
1. 4 The whitest thing in the world
The walls of the classroom are white, the snow is white, the paper is white, there are many things in the world that are white, but do you know what is the whitest thing in the world?
The whitest thing in the world is titanium dioxide, which is a snow-white powder and the best white pigment, commonly known as titanium dioxide. In the past, the main purpose of mining titanium ore was to obtain titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide has strong adhesion, is very stable at room temperature, and will always be snow white. What is particularly valuable is that titanium dioxide is non-toxic and will not cause harm to the human body.
One gram of titanium dioxide can paint an area of more than 450 square centimeters white. It is five times whiter than the commonly used white pigment - lithopone, so it is the best pigment for preparing white paint. The amount of titanium dioxide used as a pigment in the world reaches hundreds of thousands of tons a year. Titanium dioxide can be added to paper to make it white and opaque, so it is added to banknote paper and art supply paper. In the rubber industry, titanium dioxide is also used as a white rubber filler.
1. 5 Sharp "underwater eyes"
Students who like to read extracurricular books may know that in the ocean, fish generally swim around in groups. When the fishermen arrived with their fishing boats, they hid under the water. However, the fishermen knew exactly where they were hiding and cast their nets accurately.
So, how do fishermen know where the fish are hiding?
It is simple to say, fishermen have a "baby", it has a pair of sharp "underwater eyes", can "see" the position of fish through the sea, and then report the news to fishermen, its name is fish detector. Why do fish finders have such sharp "underwater eyes"?
It turns out that there is a substance called barium titanate in the fish finder, and the crystal of barium titanate has such a special temper: when people put it in the ultrasonic wave, because the ultrasonic wave will generate a certain pressure on the object, it will When it is pressed, it generates electricity; conversely, when people electrify it, it can generate ultrasound. It has a really weird temper.
Using this strange temper of barium titanate, people have made a fish finder. Fishermen first pass high-frequency current through the crystal of barium titanate to generate ultrasonic waves, which can propagate in water. When the ultrasonic waves hit fish schools, some of them are blocked by the fish schools, and the barium titanate receives them. After returning the ultrasonic waves, an electric current is generated. At this time, the timing device will record the round-trip time of the ultrasonic waves, and multiply the speed of the ultrasonic waves to calculate the distance between the school of fish and the fishing boat.
This is how the fish finder finds the location of the fish.
In addition, barium titanate can also be used to make underwater detectors. It also has sharp "underwater eyes". It can not only see fish schools, but also underwater reefs, icebergs and enemy submarines.
