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Titanium
Titanium
Titanium
This article provides an introduction to titanium, the TIG (or GTA) welding
process, and focuses on best practices and outlines common pitfalls.
Pretty colors are fine for titanium jewelry. However, blue, violet, green, grey and
white colors indicate atmospheric contamination in a GTA welded titanium
component. In critical applications, welds exhibiting such colors may suffer
reduced strength and loss of ductility and could (or must) be rejected.
About Titanium
Titanium and its alloys offer excellent corrosion resistance to acids, chlorides and
salt; a wide continuous service temperature range, from liquid nitrogen (-322°F)
to 1100°F; and the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal.
For example, the most widely used grade of titanium alloy, ASTM Grade 5 (Ti-
6Al-4V), has a yield strength of 120,000 psi and a density of 282 lb/ft3. In
comparison, ASTM A36 steel has a yield strength of 36,000 psi and a density of
487 lb/ft3, while 6061-T6 aluminum has a yield strength of 39,900 psi and density
of 169 lb/ft3.
In short, titanium is about 45 percent lighter than steel, 60 percent heavier than
aluminum and more than three times stronger than either of them. While
expensive initially, titanium lowers life cycle costs because of its long service life
and reduced (or non-existent) maintenance and repair costs. For example, the
Navy replaced copper-nickel with titanium for seawater piping systems on its
LDP-17 San Antonio Class of ships because it expects titanium to last the entire
40 to 50 year life of the ship.
In addition to military applications, other common uses for this light, strong and
corrosion-resistant metal include those for aerospace, marine, chemical plants,
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process plants, power generation, oil and gas extraction, medical and sports.
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When heated, titanium becomes highly reactive and readily combines with
oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon to form oxides (titanium’s famous colors
actually come from varying thickness of the oxide layer). Interstitial absorption of
these oxides embrittles the weldment and may render the part useless. For these
reasons, all parts of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) must be shielded from the
atmosphere until the temperature drops below 800°F (note: experts disagree on
the exact temperature, with recommendations ranging from 500°F to 1000°F.
Use 800°F as a reasonable median unless procedures, standards or codes
indicate otherwise).
One of the most common mistakes when welding titanium is not verifying the
many variables that contribute to good shielding gas coverage prior to striking the
first arc. Make it a practice to always weld on a test piece before beginning each
“real” welding session. To ensure that gas purity meets your requirements, AWS
recommends using analytical equipment to measure shielding gas purity prior to
welding. Gas purity varies by application. Typical specifications require that the
shielding gas (typically argon) be not less than 99.995 percent purity with not
more than 5 to 20 ppm free oxygen and have a dew point better than –50 to –76°
F.
Welding Advice
ASTM International recognizes 31 grades of titanium. Different grades address
the need for various combinations of mechanical properties, corrosion resistance,
formability, ease of fabrication and weldability. While the various properties of
these grades can be somewhat overwhelming (see the side bar story for brief
explanation), the welding of titanium is relatively similar to other alloy metals.
The following images and advice demonstrate the basic best practices for
welding titanium, expanding on the advice and information given above.
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After turning off the arc, hold the torch in position so that
the post-flow shielding gas continues to cool the
weldment until its temperature drops below 800°F. Post-
flow duration will vary by the mass of the weldment, size
of the weld and total heat input (post-flow was set at 20
seconds for the weld shown here).
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The front and bottom of the weld, which were properly shielded, show
no evidence of contamination. To demonstrate the importance of
shielding all sides of a weldment, the purge block was intentionally
removed from the backside of this fillet weld and two welds
approximately 3/4 – 1 in. were made.
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The most common CP grade are ASTM Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4. They differ by the
varying degrees of oxygen and iron content; greater amounts of these elements
increase tensile strength and lower ductility. Grade 2 is the most widely used,
notably in corrosion resist applications. CP Grades have good ductility, good
elevated temperature strengths to 572°F and excellent weldability. They cost less
than alloyed grades, but have a relatively low tensile strength, such as 70,000 to
90,000 psi for Grade 2.
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to acknowledge the significant contributions to this article
made by two people. Geoff Ekblaw has more than 40 years of experience (and
the patience to pose for the photos in this article). He is the senior welder at
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, www.whoi.edu). Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution is a private, independent organization in Falmouth,
Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education.
Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of
Sciences, its primary mission is to understand the oceans and their interaction
with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate a basic understanding of the
ocean's role in the changing global environment. WHOI is world-renowned for its
deep-sea submersible vehicle Alvin. Alvin makes extensive use of titanium and is
most famous for its use in exploring the wreck of the Titanic.
Works Consulted
American Welding Society (2007), Structural Welding Code, Titanium (AWS
D1.9), https://www.awspubs.com/
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TWI (The World Centre for Materials Joining Technology) and The Titanium
Information Group (1999), Welding Titanium, A Designers and Users Handbook,
http://www.twi.co.uk/j32k/protected/pdfs/bpweldti.pdf [Visitors must register to
download this file]
Kobelco, http://www.kobelco.co.jp/english/titan/files/details.pdf
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