1. What is titanium?Titanium is a lustrous, silver-gray, metallic element. It has the strength of steel and yet weight comparable to aluminum. It responds very little to electricity, heat and magnets (making it perfect as the medium for a magnetic bracelet). In addition, titanium forms protective surface layers, which gives it excellent resistance to corrosive attacks by salt water, sea air and certain acids. It is even capable of being submerged in water for long periods of time without sustaining damage.
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Sign up here to purchase Amega Products!2. Where is it being used?Blackbird Titanium is one of the favorite metals in the aerospace industry. After World War II, the U.S. military was developing advanced missile systems and aircraft that could fly faster than the speed of sound. It needed a stronger metal, one that could handle the high temperature and the NASA stresses produced by air friction when traveling at high speed. It chose titanium. The Black Bird (AKA Habu) is made of titanium alloy. It can fly more than 2,200 mph (more than three times the speed of sound). NASA has also realized the benefits of titanium, using it to make many of its space shuttles.
Most of the grades are of alloyed type with various additions of, for example, aluminum, vanadium, nickel, ruthenium, molybdenum, chromium or zirconium for the purpose of improving and/or combining various mechanical characteristics, heat resistance, conductivity, microstructure, creep, ductility, corrosion resistance etc.
The mechanical properties of commercially pure titanium are in fact controlled by "alloying" to various levels of oxygen and nitrogen to obtain strength levels varying between approximately 290 and 550 MPa. For higher strength levels alloying elements, e.g. Al and V have to be added. Ti3Al2,5V has a tensile strength of minimum 620MPa in annealed condition and minimum 860 MPa in the as cold worked and stress relieved condition. The CP-titanium grades are nominally all alpha in structure, whereas many of the titanium alloys have a two phase alpha + beta structure. There are also titanium alloys with high alloying additions having an entire beta phase structure. While alpha alloys cannot be heat treated to increase strength, the addition of 2,5% copper would result in a material which responds to solution treatment and ageing in a similar way to aluminum-copper.
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Sign up here to purchase Amega Products!3. HistoryTitanium does not occur in its free, pure, metal form in nature. It was discovered in 1791 in its oxide form by an Englishman, William Gregor, and later rediscovered as only a component of the oxide and dubbed "Titanium" by the German Heinrich Klaproth.
This Titan remained dormant until the 1920s when its extraction from its common oxide form was refined. Common awareness of this metal and its use took place only with its introduction as the material of choice for cold-war armaments and space race material. Starting in the 1950s Titanium became an essential raw material in the war-industrial complex. This choice was based on this metal's extraordinary characteristics: it is extremely strong (3 times stronger than steel) yet much (42%) lighter, it is chemically inert in all weather (and body) temperatures and conditions, and is a slow heat conductor. As a result, it was, and still is, used in the production of missiles, submarines, light weaponry, satellites, spy planes, and even the Concord airplane.
Titanium is a very lightweight metal with great strength. Because it has great resistance to acidity, it doesn't change its appearance over time like many other metals. Wearing a titanium magnetic bracelet, you don’t have to worry about damaging your jewelry while participating in outdoor activities. You can wear your titanium bracelet to the hot tub or swimming pool and not have to worry about it getting damaged by chlorine. For someone with sensitive skin who usually cannot wear jewelry, titanium might be the only choice. For years titanium has been known for its compatibility with the human body and has been widely used as a surgical replacement for bones and hips.
As an interesting anecdote, an experiment conducted by the Nigata Industrial Technology Laboratory in Japan has shown that commercial pure titanium products can increase blood circulation where worn. This additional benefit is great news to people.
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Sign up here to purchase Amega Products!4. AvailabilityAlthough it is the fourth most common metal after aluminum, iron, and magnesium, and the ninth most abundant element on earth, its extraction as a pure metal has proven to be extremely difficult. An expensive metal in the fifties, it has more recently become somewhat more readily available due to disarmament efforts by the superpowers. Noticeable civil use started shaping in Japan by the 1970s where it was used in glass framing in the construction of skyscrapers (due to its low thermal expansion rate matching that of glass).
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Sign up here to purchase Amega Products!5. Titanium: A Design ElementTitanium, a designers dream come true and a metal smith's dread or ...passion! Titanium's amazing strength, resilience, relative lightness, biological and chemical inertness (it does not interact easily with other elements and substances, it is corrosion free and resists most acids and other corrosive materials) makes it ideal for designers of everything from cutlery to artificial joints, Ferrari hubcaps, eyeglass frames, mountain-bikes, hunting knives, and jewelry. In most cases, jewelry items are hand crafted or finished after machining from a solid titanium slab since melting, welding, or casting titanium all involve challenges stemming from Titanium's high interactivity at very high (e.g., melting) temperatures.
What renders titanium so desirable is also the cause of much toil, chagrin and 'trouble'. The hard, labor-intensive cutting and shaping process explains the scarcity of Titanium jewelry manufacturers and a price tag commensurable with that of 'precious' metal jewelry. To work with it-- you must love it. An important property of Titanium (and more so its higher quality alloys) is its strength and unique springiness. Titanium's lower-than steel "Modulus of Elasticity" (it is half that of steel's) coupled with very high Tensile and Yield Strength means that its resistance to change is higher than steel's, and is exercised over shorter allowable room for movement by the metal: a Titanium spring of the same performance and resistance power will be shorter than the one made of steel and it will develop metal fatigue or fractions at a lower rate than steel. Car manufacturers are now studying the use of Titanium and new Titanium alloys in prestige car-model shocks.
Titanium is most commonly encountered in sporty, matte grayish finishes...the stealthy look. In jewelry, however, Titanium finishes include the polished, satin (or "brushed", matte), frost (matte surface of sparkling etched dots) and anodized finish. When polished it has its special metallic look, not as white as silver but, rather closer to the platinum and surgical steel look, albeit somewhat cooler. Colorful finishes (in almost every color of the rainbow) may be created through anodizing. In this process, the micron oxide layer that typically envelopes all metals is electrically thickened (ever so slightly) creating different refractive effects which the human eye perceives as different colors. Controls through the application of electric currents in different intensities and duration bring about the different resulting colors, across the rainbow spectrum. No dye or pigment need be used nor added. Colorization of Titanium through anodizing is very prone to scratch damage and is not recommended in exposed parts of Titanium accessories. Titanium is highly dent & bend resistant, and its scratch resistance is best displayed in the polished and high polish finish. Its level of hardness, incidentally, on the Mohs scale, is the upwards of 6.5, many times more so than what is the case in what is commonly referred to as "precious metals". In other words, it maintains its shape and finish. Scratches that may occur over long use may be easily polished off. Titanium, it is cool to the touch, and cool to look at.
Click here to view Amega's range of Bio Energy products 6. Magnetic Properties.Titanium, like aluminum, is non-magnetic and does not become magnetized when exposed to natural backgrounds or imposed magnetic fields. It is an ideal material for electronic containment cases and military applications where a non magnetic signature is required.
7. Density.Titanium is more than 46% lighter than steel. For comparative analysis, Aluminum is approximately 0.12 lbs./cu .in., Steel is approximately 0.29 lbs./cu .in., and Titanium is approximately 0.16 lbs./cu .in.
8. Corrosion Resistance.Titanium's outstanding corrosion resistance is due to the formation of a tightly adherent oxide film on its surface. When damaged, this thin invisible layer immediately reforms, maintaining a surface which is completely resistant to corrosive attack in sea water and all natural environments. This oxide is so resistant to corrosion that titanium components often look brand new even after years of service.
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