Why titanium is widely used in aviation?
The maximum speed of modern aircraft has reached more than 2.7 times the speed of sound. Such a supersonic flight will cause the aircraft to rub against the air and generate a lot of heat. When the flight speed reaches 2.2 times the speed of sound, the aluminum alloy can't stand it. A high temperature resistant titanium alloy must be used.
When the aero-engine thrust-to-weight ratio is increased from 4 to 6 to 8 to 10, and the compressor outlet temperature is correspondingly increased from 200 to 300°C to 500 to 600°C, the original low-pressure compressor disks and blades made of aluminum must be replaced Titanium alloy.
In recent years, scientists have continuously made new progress in the research of titanium alloy properties. The original titanium alloy composed of titanium, aluminum and vanadium has a maximum working temperature of 550°C to 600°C, while the newly developed aluminum titanium (TiAl) alloy has a maximum working temperature of 1040°C.
Using titanium alloy instead of stainless steel to manufacture high-pressure compressor disks and blades can reduce the weight of the structure. Every 10% weight reduction of the aircraft can save 4% of fuel. For the rocket, every 1kg of weight reduction can increase the range of 15km.
