Application And Development Trend Of Titanium Alloy In Civil Aircraft

Titanium alloy has been widely used as aerospace structural material because of its low density, high specific strength and good compatibility with carbon fiber composites.

About 8% titanium alloy is used on the B777, and the near-β titanium alloy Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al with good ductility is used as the landing gear of the B777, with 5.9 tons of titanium material per aircraft. Ti-15Mo-10.7Nb-3Al-0.2Si has oxidation resistance and corrosion resistance, and has mainly used for rear fairing. In addition to using titanium alloy for traditional components such as suspension and landing gear structure, B787 aircraft also use titanium alloy. Due to the significant increase in the amount of composite materials used in b787 aircraft, as well as the good compatibility between titanium alloy and composite materials, titanium alloy has also replaced aluminum alloy in some parts, making the amount of titanium used on b787 aircraft 15%.

The amount of titanium alloy used in Airbus aircraft is relatively stable, lower than that of steel, but as the amount of composite materials gradually increases, the amount of steel decreases, while the amount of titanium alloy gradually increases. For example, the amount of composite materials used by Airbus has increased from 5.5% of the third-generation airliner A320 to 8% of the fourth-generation airliner A340, and the corresponding amount of titanium has increased from 4.5% to 6%. The amount of composite materials for A380 airliners reached 25%, and the amount of titanium alloys increased to 10%. Except for the Boeing 787, the A350 is currently the model with the most use of composite materials, with an amount of about 52%, and the corresponding amount of titanium alloy has also increased to 14%.

The main components of titanium alloy used in A350 airliners include engine suspension, hatch, wing structure, seat rails, landing gear and heat shields for auxiliary power compartments. The amount of titanium alloy used in C-series aircraft has reached 8%. The rear beam frame and tail cone butt frame of the middle fuselage adopt Ti-6Al-4V, which has good compatibility with conforming materials.