Scientists in Australia develop a new class of titanium alloys
Researchers have utilized laser 3D printing to generate a new class of titanium alloys that they claim might increase the sustainability of the titanium industry and be used in aerospace and medicinal engineering. Titanium is a valuable metal used in many different industries because of its great strength, low weight, and durability. Titanium is referred to as "a magic metal" by Prof. Ma Qian of RMIT University in Melbourne, who oversaw the development of the new alloy.
More than 1,000 tonnes of titanium metal are manufactured into bone implants each year worldwide, he claimed, adding that the material is biocompatible. It is also frequently used in submarines and desalination plants since it is more resistant to corrosion in seawater than stainless steel. “Without titanium alloys, we wouldn’t be able to fly as we can today,” Qian said, adding that titanium constitutes about 20% of the weight of a typical aircraft.
The Ti-6Al-4V alloy, which has 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium, is the backbone of the titanium industry. This one alloy, which was created in 1954, controls more than 50% of the titanium market, according to Qian. The new alloy, created using 3D printing and metal powder, replaces the need for aluminum and vanadium with the more prevalent and less expensive elements oxygen and iron. Historically, titanium alloys with a high oxygen and iron concentration have been regarded as waste. The "kryptonite of titanium" is oxygen, which can make the metal brittle. Iron tends to separate into flaw specks.
But by using 3D printing, the researchers were able to precisely control the distribution of oxygen and iron atoms within the alloy and manufacture titanium crystals with a size comparable to that of nanoscales. As a result, the alloy has various strengths and degrees of ductility (the ability to be pulled into wire), and it is not brittle under tension.
According to co-lead researcher Prof. Simon Ringer, who is also the pro-vice-chancellor at the University of Sydney, the new material is as strong as traditional titanium alloys. The flexibility to alter production parameters to provide the alloy "gradient properties" was one benefit of using 3D printing, according to Ringer. You could create something that had some properties in one part and others in another.