Why Is Titanium Alloy So Expensive?
The price of titanium alloy is RMB￥200/kg, while the price of military titanium alloy is between RMB￥500-1000. So, what element is titanium? Why is the alloy so expensive?
First, let's take a look at the source of titanium. Titanium is mainly derived from ilmenite, rutile and perovskite. It is a silver-white metal in itself. Due to the lively nature of titanium and the high requirements for smelting technology, it has been unable to produce a large amount of titanium for a long time. It is also classified as a “rare” metal.
In fact, humans discovered titanium in 1791, but the first time pure titanium was made was in 1910. It took more than 100 years. The main reason is that titanium is very active at high temperatures and can easily combine with oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and other elements. It requires very harsh conditions to extract pure titanium. However, China's titanium production has grown from 200 tons in the last century to 150,000 tons now, and it currently ranks first in the world. So, where is the main use of titanium so expensive?
1. Titanium crafts, titanium has a high density and specific gravity, corrosion resistance, especially oxidizable hair color, has excellent decorative effects, and the price is much cheaper than real gold, so it will be used instead of real gold for craft ceramics, antique buildings and ancient building repairs, outdoor nameplates, etc.
2. Titanium jewelry, titanium has actually quietly entered our lives. Some of the jewelry made of pure titanium that girls now wear is made of pure titanium. The biggest feature of this new type of jewelry is health, safety and environmental protection. It will not produce harmful substances to human skin and body. It is called “green jewelry.”
3. Titanium glasses, titanium has a higher resistance to deformation than steel, but its weight is only half that of steel of the same volume. Titanium glasses look no different from ordinary metal glasses, but they are actually light and comfortable, warm and silky to the touch, and there is no cold feeling of other metal glasses.Titanium frames are much lighter than ordinary metal frames, and will not deform after long-term use, and the quality is more guaranteed.
4. In the aerospace field, many steels on aircraft carriers, rockets, and missiles have been replaced with titanium alloys.Someone used steel plate and titanium alloy for cutting experiments, also because of its deformation resistance and light weight. During the cutting process, it was found that the sparks generated by titanium seemed to be a bit different. The steel plate was golden, but the sparks from the titanium alloy were white. This is mainly because of the small particles produced by the titanium alloy during the cutting process. It can spontaneously ignite in the air and emit bright sparks, and the temperature of these sparks is much higher than that of steel plate sparks, so titanium powder is also used as rocket fuel.
According to statistics, there are already more than 1,000 tons of titanium used for navigation in the world every year.In addition to being used as a space material, titanium is also used to make submarines.Someone once sank titanium to the bottom of the sea, and took it out five years later and found that it didn't rust at all, because the density of titanium is only 4.5 grams, and the strength per cubic centimeter can be located at the top of the metal and can withstand 2,500 atmospheres. Therefore, titanium submarines can sail in a deep sea of 4,500 meters deep, while ordinary steel submarines can dive up to 300 meters.
Titanium has a variety of applications, and titanium alloys are also widely used in medicine, and they are used in dentistry, plastic surgery, heart valves, and medical devices. However, the current price of titanium products on the market is generally higher, which makes many consumers discouraged. So, what exactly caused this situation?
First. The mining and utilization of titanium resources is very difficult. The distribution of iron titanite ore in our country is scattered, and the concentration of titanium resources is low. After years of mining and use, good-quality and large-scale resources have been mined, but because the development is mostly based on private mining, it is difficult to form large-scale development and utilization.
Second, the demand for titanium is very strong.As a new type of metal material, titanium has been widely used in aerospace, construction, marine, nuclear energy and electric power fields. With the continuous improvement of our country's comprehensive national strength, the consumption of titanium has also shown a trend of rapid growth.
Third, the production capacity of titanium is insufficient. At present, there are only a few industrialized countries in the world that can produce titanium.
Fourth, the processing of titanium is more difficult.
1. From sponge titanium to titanium ingots to titanium plates, dozens of processes need to go through.The smelting process of titanium is different from that of steel. It is necessary to control the melting speed, voltage and current, and ensure the stability of the composition. Due to the many and complex processes, it is also more difficult to process.
2. Pure titanium has a soft texture and is generally not suitable for use as titanium products.Therefore, other elements need to be added to improve metal properties. For example, Ti-6Al-4V, which is commonly used in the aviation industry, needs to add a large number of other elements to improve its metal properties.
3. Titanium reacts strongly with halogen, oxygen, sulfur, carbon, nitrogen and other elements at high temperatures. Therefore, the smelting of titanium needs to be carried out in a vacuum or inert atmosphere to avoid pollution.
4. Titanium is an active metal, but its thermal conductivity is poor, which makes it more difficult to weld with other materials.
In summary, there are many factors that affect the price of titanium alloys, including cultural value, demand, and production difficulty. However, with the continuous development of science and technology, the difficulty of production may gradually decrease in the future.
