About Titanium

Titanium and its alloys offer excellent corrosion resistance to acids, chlorides and salt; a wide continuous service temperature range, from liquid nitrogen (-322°F) to 1100°F; and the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal.

For example, the most widely used grade of titanium alloy, ASTM Grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V), has a yield strength of 120,000 psi and a density of 282 lb/ft3. In comparison, ASTM A36 steel has a yield strength of 36,000 psi and a density of 487 lb/ft3, while 6061-T6 aluminum has a yield strength of 39,900 psi and density of 169 lb/ft3.

In short, titanium is about 45 percent lighter than steel, 60 percent heavier than aluminum and more than three times stronger than either of them. While expensive initially, titanium lowers life cycle costs because of its long service life and reduced (or non-existent) maintenance and repair costs. For example, the Navy replaced copper-nickel with titanium for seawater piping systems on its LDP-17 San Antonio Class of ships because it expects titanium to last the entire 40 to 50 year life of the ship.

In addition to military applications, other common uses for this light, strong and corrosion-resistant metal include those for aerospace, marine, chemical plants, process plants, power generation, oil and gas extraction, medical and SPORTS.