Titanium Production Technology: Recent Advances and Future Needs

摘要

Initial developments in titanium production technology were driven by the performance requirements of the aerospace and defence industries. The focus within these traditional markets has shifted increasingly towards cost over the last twenty years. The challenge for the titanium industry is now to deliver the combination of reliability and performance at a cost that is consistent with the needs of the end user. In this paper the recent technology developments and future needs are discussed in the context of costs. Specific examples will be used to illustrate both evolutionary technologies that deliver reliability and incremental cost reductions and novel approaches that eliminate process steps or revolutionize the production route. Extraction technology is critical to the cost of titanium products. The potential for novel approaches such as the FFC-Cambridge process will be discussed. Single step melting technologies such as electron beam cold hearth melting for industrial markets are likely to expand as the cost effectiveness and reliability of the processes are demonstrated. In component manufacturing stages, process design and control are critical to improving reliability and therefore cost. Optimising processes such as eliminating the risk of overheating during ring rolling and broad based benefits of process simulation are discussed. The need for fully integrated predictive tools including microstructure and property modelling to accelerate the design and implementation process is highlighted. New approaches to realize the advantages of near net shape forging are also included. Further simplifying the manufacturing chain by elimination of steps will be illustrated. Examples include laser forming and opportunities offered by critical new extraction technologies.