Titanium: an indispensable material for weapons

Titanium alloy has been widely used in weapon industry and has become an indispensable material. Titanium alloy weapons not only light weight, good mobility, and power rise, especially suitable for airborne troops and assault troops to use, titanium alloy mortar seat plate is more than 50% lighter than steel plate, titanium alloy is the manufacture of mortar tube, seat plate, barrel, gun rack, etc., is also a good material for the preparation of protective clothing and helmets.

Titanium and titanium alloy since the mid - 1940 - s industrialized production, the United States and the Soviet union began to pay attention to and study their application in the weapon, the United States Watertown (THT) for free-cutting of titanium alloy (Watertown) ordnance factory in weapon many pioneering work, the application of titanium alloy is the world's research in the field application of the largest and most advanced weapons of the unit.In 1955, the United States arms industry used 57 tons of titanium, 281 tons in 1961, 1,040 tons in 1971, and it is estimated to reach 2100 tons in 2020. Because of the non-war period, the growth rate is not fast.

Titanium powder's application in artillery

Titanium and titanium alloys are important materials for gun structural parts, and have been used in some world-famous guns since 1950s.The barrel, charge chamber, nozzle and firing piston of the M28 120mm Crockett recoil gun manufactured in 1950 in the United States are forged and extricated from Ti-6Al-6V-2Sn-0.5Fe-0.5Cu alloy. The weight of the whole gun is 68kg, 34.9% lighter than that of steel gun 104.4kg.In 1961, it began mass production, equipped with infantry battalion, paratrooper battalion, mechanized infantry battalion, tank battalion and airborne division. It has the advantages of small size, light weight, large power, high mobility and easy camouflage.Ti-6al-6v-2sn-0.5fe-0.5cu is a kind of (α+β) alloy. The mechanical properties of ti-6Al-6V-2Sn-0.5Fe-0.5Cu alloy in annealing state are as follows: tensile strength 1098MPa, yield strength 1030MPa, elongation 13%, area reduction 37%, Brinell hardness 34.

In the 1970s, ti-6Al-4V-2Sn titanium alloy was used to manufacture the gun barrel, and Ti-6Al-4V, Ti-7Al-4Mo and Ti-5Al-1.5Fe-1.4Cr-1.2Mo titanium alloy were used to manufacture the chamber, nozzle and firing piston. The whole gun weight was only 49kg, and 4 people could fight running forward.The tail frame and gun frame of T66 76mm gun are 93.55kg lighter than steel, only 142.9kg, after titanium alloy is used.The titanium frame is 42% lighter than steel.Later, the U.S. manufactured the base plate of T227 81mm mortar with industrial pure titanium, which was only 10.9kg lighter than steel plate by 50%.The plug of the gun is also made of titanium alloy, which is used to connect the barrel to the seat plate. Hundreds of tests have been carried out on ground and gravel with good results.The T227 81mm mortar with titanium plate has a mass reduced to 34kg and a range increased to 4500m, while the steel gun has a mass of 42.25kg and a range of 3600m, which not only reduces its mass by 20% but also increases its range and mobility.

The quality of Japan's 155mm mortars was reduced by about 50% after the titanium alloy of Kobe Iron and Steel company was used for welding 5mm and 8mm Ti-6Al-4V alloy plate. The test shows that the welding quality is good and can fully meet the needs of combat.The Japanese 100mm mortar seat plate made of TA7 alloy is 10kg lighter than the steel one. The design was finalized in 1981 and the series was produced in 1983.The 82mm mortar, which was installed in 1984, had a titanium alloy body, base and bracket and was 16.6kg lighter than steel.

According to the Us Army Times on January 31, 2007, the 155mm new M777 howitzer, the first ground combat system made of titanium alloy, is about 3150kg lighter than the obsolete M198 gun, with a mass drop of nearly 50%.The reduced quality of the artillery system did not affect its range or accuracy, but its mobility was greatly improved.

Titanium metal powder's application in helmet, body armor and other equipment

From 1959 to 1961, ti-6Al-4V and Ti-5Al-2.5Sn titanium alloys were used in the United States to spin THE M-1 standard helmet, which was not successful. Later, ti-4Al-3Mn titanium alloy and explosive forming process were used successfully, with only 0.794kg-1.02kg in mass. In terms of bulletproof effect, titanium helmet and steel helmet are the same.But titanium helmets are 0.45kg lighter than standard steel helmets.

The U.S. uses a 25.4-mm thick plate made of 10 layers of nylon and one layer of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn titanium alloy sheet to make bulletproof vests. The weight of the vest is only 3.86kg, and it can protect against shells, grenades, and landmine fragments, but not 7.62mm bullets.

The muzzle brake of the Russian Soyuz 152mm dual-barrel self-propelled gun is made of titanium alloy. It has two barrels, which are used alternately when firing. The firing speed is fast and the firepower is strong, up to 15-18 rounds per minute.Mobility, off-road capability, and survivability.

Since 1970s, China began to study the application of titanium alloy in weapon manufacturing and achieved remarkable results.Anti-tank missile steering gear and frame body are made of TC9 titanium alloy, which is a ti-0.2Pd α alloy and is applied in annealing state.The type 85 anti-aircraft machine gun brake made of TC4 titanium alloy has achieved very good results. Later, casting ZTC4 alloy instead of TC4 alloy extrusion bar has achieved better results, the material utilization rate has increased from 18% to 94%, and a lot of cutting costs have been saved.TC4 is a commonly used ti-6Al-4V alloy with excellent performance, α+β type, in the annealing state application.Titanium light flamethrower firing range up to 70m, is a kind of close-range small weapons, lighter than steel 3kg or more, can be used for industrial pure titanium, Ti-3Al-2.5V alloy preparation.