Research and Development of Ti and Ti alloys: Past, present and future

Abstract

This study provide an insight of established and future research and development on Titanium metal production, Titanium alloy development, Titanium powder metallurgy, and thermomechanical and manufacturing processes. In the last 60 years, research initiatives were investigating the cost effective alternative ways of producing Titanium metal from rutile, ilmenite and synthetic rutile. The very recent research focuses on the combination of pyro and hydrometallurgical process to produced synthetic rutile from ilmenite. Chloride leaching and solvent extraction will be significant strategies to reduce operating costs and protect the environment. New and developed processed for production of Titanium will be mostly focussed on direct electrowining of synthetic rutile or beach sand. Future perspectives associated with alloy development, biomedical, additive manufacturing, and Titanium powder metallurgy emerging techniques such as hydrogen sintering and phase transformation, and cold gas dynamic spraying or Titonic Kinetic Fusion are discussed.