Titanium powders manufacturing process

Citation

(2005), "Titanium powders manufacturing process", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 77 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2005.12777aad.001

Titanium powders manufacturing process

Titanium powders manufacturing process

Keywords: Aircraft components, Titanium

Hi-tech industries are increasingly looking to produce more and ever cheaper components in titanium, because of its attractive strength to weight ratio and corrosion resistance. QinetiQ, by industrialising a new electrolytic powder production process and by establishing a dedicated pilot production plant, believes that it is poised to capture a significant share of the emerging titanium powder metal market.

Most titanium components are currently machined from solid ingots, often a costly, wasteful and time- consuming process. However, using titanium powder as the feedstock and adopting powder metallurgy manufacturing processes, complex engineered components can be more competitively produced and with much reduced waste material. Strength or performances are not compromised, and in many cases the cost and time scales of production are reduced.

“The existing processes for producing high quality titanium powders start with ingots that cost around £20 per kilogram and significant additional costs are then incurred in converting it into powder form”, explained Professor Malcolm Ward-Close, the QinetiQ lead on the project. “With our process we can go straight to producing titanium alloy powders, from a widely available and inexpensive metal oxide feedstock. This has the potential to significantly reduce the market price for powdered titanium. Component manufacturers will now be able to seriously look at titanium powder metallurgy as a viable commercial production process”.

The QinetiQ process is based on the FFC Cambridge process, converting titanium dioxide, a low cost chemical widely used for a number of applications including paint production, directly into titanium metal via an electrodeoxidation process. QinetiQ has developed some unique and patented modifications to the process to permit production of high purity titanium metal powder. The resulting powder is suitable for use in a wide range of powder metallurgy manufacturing technologies and can be used to produce complex engineered components without the need for extensive machining.

Taking the aircraft industry as an example, currently around 10 per cent of a typical aircraft is made from titanium, but designers anticipate that this could rise to around 30 per cent in the future. Titanium is also increasingly being used in the automotive sector and not just for high end performance models. Other applications include biomedical implants, golf clubs, spectacle frames and high-end consumer products like computers where strength and lightness can be promoted as “unique selling points”.

This process is not confined to producing pure titanium. By mixing other metal oxides with the titanium dioxide during the initial process, a range of alloys, each with specific characteristics, can easily, and cost- effectively be produced. These could include titanium-nickel shape memory and titanium-niobium superconducting alloys.

Initial production at QinetiQ's pilot plant is expected to start later this year, with commercial quality powders being available by January 2005. Once fully commissioned, QinetiQ will be able to supply a wide range of titanium alloy powders at tonnage levels per year. The design of the pilot plant can also be easily scaled with the addition of further units to meet anticipated market demand for affordable titanium alloy powders.

“It is still early days but we have high hopes for this technology”, concluded Malcolm Ward-Close. “Titanium is quite a common material but has to date maintained its exclusive status as it has been difficult to manufacture cost- effectively. With our new process we should be able to competitively provide significant quantities of high quality titanium alloy powders, growing demand and fulfilling supply. We envisage titanium becoming a relatively common material over the next few decades”.

Another key driver for the wider adoption of titanium is the fact that it does not rust, tarnish or deteriorate over time. Legislation is increasingly demanding that manufacturers are made responsible for disposing of their own products and components once they reach the end of their useful life. Parts manufactured from titanium should be easily recognised and therefore easy to extract and recycle.

For further details contact: QinetiQ. Tel: +44 (0) 1252 394611/4573/4572.