There are several different grades and alloys of titanium. The list below describes some common grades of titanium in more detail:
Grade 11, also known as CP Ti-0.15Pd, is commercially pure titanium, similar to Grade 1 and Grade 2. Grade 11 provides enhanced crevice corrosion resistance due to added palladium. It also has high ductility, impact toughness, and weldability. Grade 11 is commonly used in chemical processing and storage, ducts, pumps, and heat exchangers.
Grade 12 titanium, also known as Ti 0.3 Mo 0.8 Ni, is a durable, corrosion-resistant, and thermally stable titanium alloy that is valued for its weldability and formability. Grade 12 titanium alloy contains up to 99% titanium, 0.6-0.9% nickel, 0.2-0.4% molybdenum, up to 0.3% iron, up to 0.25% oxygen, and other elements. Because of its durability and resistance to corrosion, Grade 12 is commonly used in marine components such as ships or offshore drilling platforms, chemical manufacturing, and in heat exchangers.
Grade 4 titanium is the strongest commercially pure titanium. Grade 4 titanium’s strength rivals that of stainless and low-carbon steel, which makes the material a lighter-weight alternative. Because of its strength and corrosion resistance, Grade 4 is commonly used in aerospace, chemical processing, and marine components such as airframe structures and heat exchangers.
Grade 5 is the most commonly used titanium alloy. It accounts for around half of all the titanium used in the world. It has exceptionally high strength, heat resistance, ability to be heat treated, formability, and corrosion resistance. Grade 5 is also known as Ti 6Al-4V due to the percentage of aluminum and vanadium in the alloy. Grade 5 titanium contains 88-90% titanium, 5.5-6.75% aluminum, 3.5-4.5% vanadium, and trace amounts of other elements including iron, oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. Because of its properties, Grade 5 titanium is highly sought after in the aerospace industry to fabricate engines and structural components. Additionally, Ti 6Al-4V is often used in automotive parts like springs and exhausts and medical applications like joint implants..
Grade 7 is a titanium alloy that is nearly identical to Grade 2 titanium. The only difference between Grade 7 and Grade 2 is the addition of palladium in Grade 7 alloys. The composition of Grade 7 titanium is 99% titanium, 0.12-0.25% palladium, 0.3% iron, 0.25% oxygen, and other elements. Grade 7 has the highest corrosion resistance of all titanium alloys and exhibits excellent weldability and forming properties. Because of its excellent corrosion-resistant properties, Grade 7 titanium is often used in chemical manufacturing and desalination applications.
Grade 1 is the softest and most ductile pure titanium grade. Therefore, Grade 1 titanium possesses the best formability out of the different types of titanium. Grade 1 titanium is composed of 99% titanium, 0.2% iron, 0.18% oxygen, and trace amounts of other elements such as nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen. It is often used in plating, piping, tubing, and other applications where formability and weldability are critical, such as in the aerospace, automotive, and power generation industries.
Grade 3 is the least commonly used pure titanium grade. Grade 3 is stronger than Grade 1 and Grade 2 titanium, but also has slightly less ductility and formability. Grade 3 is commonly used in cryogenic vessels, condenser tubing, heat exchangers, and other chemical processing equipment.
Grade 6 titanium is a titanium alloy containing approximately 5% aluminum, 2.5% tin, and 0.5% iron. The addition of aluminum and tin improves titanium’s creep resistance and temperature stability. Grade 6 is preferred for higher service temperatures around 900 °F where it is often used for casings and rings in turbine engines, structural members and frames in aircraft, and chemical processing parts.
Grade 2 is another commercially pure titanium and is the most commonly used commercially pure grade. Like other commercially pure titanium grades, it contains 99% titanium but differs from other pure grades in that it contains 0.3% iron, 0.25% oxygen, and trace amounts of other elements. The larger oxygen percentage allows Grade 2 titanium to be stronger than Grade 1. Additionally, its ductility and weldability make Grade 2 a highly versatile alloy. Grade 2 titanium is often more affordable than other grades of titanium because it is produced in large volumes for widespread uses. Grade 2 titanium is often used in power generation and petroleum industries as a lining material due to its corrosion resistance.
Grade 23 titanium, also known as Ti 6Al-4V ELI due to its chemical composition, has high tensile and yield strength, toughness, ductility, and weldability. It has a composition of 88-90% titanium, 5.5-6.5% aluminum, 3.5-4.5% vanadium, 0.25% iron, 0.13% oxygen, and other elements. Grade 23 is considered a more pure version of Grade 5 titanium and is often the best choice for dental and medical applications. Therefore, Grade 23 titanium is often used in bone and joint replacements, surgical staples, ligature clips, tooth implants, and more.
Grade 5 (Ti 6Al-4V) titanium is the most versatile grade of titanium due to its wide range of desirable properties. It has high strength and ductility and is also corrosion-resistant, thermally stable, and highly formable. Its properties enable Grade 5 titanium to be ideal across a broad scope of industries and applications: from automotive and aerospace parts to sporting goods and consumer products.
Grade 5 (Ti 6Al-4V) titanium is the one used for 3D printing. Grade 5 is best for 3D printing because of its high strength, excellent formability, and thermal stability. Powder bed fusion 3D printing methods like selective laser melting, electron beam melting, and direct metal laser sintering are used to 3D print titanium. These processes consist of selectively melting titanium powder that has been precisely laid onto a print bed. A powerful laser or electron beam melts the titanium powder and fuses it with the preceding layers of printed material to build completed parts.
Commercially pure titanium costs roughly $18-$20 per kg while titanium alloys cost approximately $70-80 per kg.
Grade 2 titanium is the cheapest grade of titanium since it is the most widely used commercially pure titanium grade. Its wide use leads to high production volumes that reduce its price.
Titanium grades 2 and 3 are both suitable for anodizing. Anodizing is an electrochemical process that creates a protective oxide layer on the material’s surface.
The properties of titanium are listed below:
Some of the physical properties of titanium are listed below:
Some of the chemical properties of titanium are listed below:
The properties of titanium make its use common across a wide range of industries and applications. Some applications of titanium are listed below:
Titanium is commonly used in jewelry to make piercings, wristwatches, necklaces, rings, and other items due to its durability, light weight, and corrosion resistance. Additionally, titanium is sometimes mixed with gold to make 24-karat gold alloys which are harder and more durable than pure gold alternatives. Because of its biocompatibility, Titanium is popular among people who have allergies to other metals often found in jewelry, such as nickel.
Titanium is a highly critical metal in the medical industry due to its high strength, fatigue resistance, and biocompatibility. Titanium is often used in surgical and dental tools, implants, and joint replacements. Osseointegration, the ability of a bone and artificial implant to form a structural and functional connection, is possible with titanium. Titanium’s biocompatibility and non-toxicity enable better patient outcomes and durable and strong implants and prosthetics that can last up to 30 years.
Titanium is commonly used in a broad range of industrial environments due to its high strength and fatigue resistance, corrosion resistance, light weight, and durability. Uses of titanium in industrial settings include heat exchangers, tanks, reactors, valves, pipes, connecting rods, pumps, and more.
Titanium is a great choice for the manufacture of aerospace parts and vehicles and accounts for nearly 50% of the total weight of an aircraft. It is often used to manufacture critical parts such as landing gear, firewalls, and hydraulic systems. Titanium is valued in the aerospace industry because of its low density, high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and fatigue resistance.
Titanium is ideal for architectural products due to its light weight, high strength, corrosion resistance, and durability. While steel is still preferred to titanium when it comes to building frames, titanium is often used for glass frames, facades, roofs, interior wall surfaces, and ceilings due to its corrosion resistance and high strength-to-weight ratio.
Titanium-based composites are recently developed materials that utilize titanium’s strength and weight characteristics to produce titanium fiber-reinforced or particulate (powder) reinforced composites. Titanium composites exhibit higher stiffness, wear resistance, and strength than conventional alloys. While titanium composites have only been developed since the start of the 21st century, they are beginning to be implemented in aerospace and automotive applications.
Titanium is often used in the automotive industry to make engine parts, crankshafts, valve seats, connecting rods, exhaust systems, suspension systems, and automotive frames. Titanium is highly coveted in the automotive industry due to its low density, high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and heat resistance. Not only do these characteristics of titanium enable improved aerodynamics and performance, but its low density and high strength also lead to a more cost-effective manufacturing process since less material is used to satisfy particular applications.
Titanium is often used in the chemical processing industry due to its corrosion resistance and chemical inertness. While the reactivity of titanium significantly increases at higher temperatures (>700 °F), titanium is generally unreactive and stable at lower temperatures. Titanium is often used in pipes, flanges, tubing, tanks, pumps, and heat exchangers.
Some of the benefits of titanium are listed below:
Some of the limitations of titanium are listed below.
Yes, titanium is rust-proof. Rust is iron oxide. It is created when iron interacts with the air. Titanium contains no iron, and therefore, does not rust. Unless titanium is exposed to acids at high temperatures, titanium does not corrode because a tightly adherent titanium oxide layer is formed on the surface of titanium when it reacts with the air. The layer of titanium oxide protects the underlying titanium from corrosion due to acids, alkalis, saltwater, and other substances.
Yes, titanium is considered a paramagnetic metal. This means titanium is attracted to externally applied magnetic fields, but not to the same degree as ferromagnetic materials like iron, steel, and nickel.
Yes, titanium is metal. Like other metals, it has a lustrous appearance, is a good electrical and thermal conductor, and is ductile. For more information, see our guide on Metalloids.
Yes, titanium is bulletproof when it comes to handguns and guns used for hunting. However, titanium is not bulletproof when it comes to high-powered, armor-piercing, military-grade weapons.
Titanium and aluminum are two metals on the periodic table that are commonly alloyed and used in a broad range of industries. The primary differences in various properties and costs between the two metals are shown in Table 1 below:
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