Какви са приложенията на титан и титанови сплави в космическото пространство?
Titanium and its alloys are mainly used in the aviation industry to manufacture aircraft engines and fuselages. Generally speaking, for aircraft with a Mach number less than 2, their engines use part of titanium and its alloys, and the fuselages generally use aluminum alloys. For aircraft with a Mach number of 2, the amount of titanium used in the engine increases, and part of the fuselage also needs titanium. For aircraft with a Mach number greater than 3.5, the engine inlet temperature is already very high, so titanium alloys cannot be used and superalloys are required, but the amount of titanium used in the fuselage increases significantly.
Titanium and its alloys also have good low-temperature resistance. Even at an ultra-low temperature of -250°C, it still has high impact strength and can withstand high pressure and vibration. Therefore, titanium and its alloys are not only used to manufacture engine casings and structural components on rockets, missiles and spacecraft, but also used to manufacture high-pressure containers, such as high-pressure gas cylinders, cryogenic liquid fuel tanks, etc.
Titanium alloys are mainly used in the manufacturing of aircraft and engines, such as forged titanium fans, compressor discs and blades, engine covers, exhaust devices and other parts, as well as aircraft beam bulkheads and other structural frame parts. Spacecraft mainly use the high specific strength, corrosion resistance and low temperature resistance of titanium alloys to manufacture various pressure vessels, fuel tanks, fasteners, instrument straps, frames and rocket shells. Artificial satellites, lunar modules, manned spacecraft and space shuttles also use titanium alloy sheet welded parts.
The application of titanium in the aerospace industry mainly utilizes its low density, high strength, high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance and other properties.
The application of titanium in the aerospace industry has also achieved the purpose of reducing launch weight, increasing range and saving costs, and is a popular material in the aerospace industry. In rockets, missiles and aerospace industries, it can be used as pressure vessels, fuel tanks, rocket engine casings, rocket nozzle sleeves, artificial satellite casings, manned spacecraft cabins (skin and structural skeleton), landing gear, lunar module, propulsion systems, etc.
The Ti-6Al-4V alloy is widely used as the casing material of the first-stage rocket engine in the United States. Other alloys that use this alloy include: giant cylindrical liquid rocket containers; intercontinental ballistic missiles, "Minuteman" missiles and other spherical and elliptical engine casings, etc. On the other hand, since Ti-6Al-4VELI and Ti-5Al-2.5SnELI alloys have low interstitial elements, especially low oxygen content, and can be used at ultra-low temperatures, these alloys are used as liquid hydrogen containers for rockets and missiles, sealed cabins for the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft, and the main structural parts of the Apollo spacecraft that successfully landed on the moon.
In addition to industrial pure titanium, Ti-6Al-4V, Ti-5Al-2.5Sn, Ti-6Al-4VELI and Ti-5Al-2.5SnELI, titanium and titanium alloys used in the aerospace industry also include Ti-7Al-4Mo, Ti-3Al-2.5V, Ti-13V-1Cr-Ti-15V-3Cr-3Sn-3Al and Ti/B-Al composite materials.
The space shuttle is the world's first manned spacecraft that can be used repeatedly. It began to be developed in 1972 and its first flight was successful in 1981. The spacecraft consists of a small-winged aircraft, a 47m-long external fuel container, and two solid-fuel rocket boosters totaling 500t.
The orbital spacecraft is 37m long and weighs about 68t, which is roughly the same size as the jet transport DC-9. It is the largest manned spacecraft to date. Its cargo hold is 18m long and 5m in diameter, and can transport 29.5t of cargo to Earth orbit.
The space shuttle can be launched like a rocket and fly in an orbit with a maximum altitude of 1000km like a spacecraft. In the absence of thrust, it can glide and land like an airplane. This space shuttle is essentially a space transport ship, so one of the parameters to judge its usefulness is the payload transported between the Earth and Earth orbit. In order to maximize this payload, titanium alloy has become an important material for aerospace motor components.
The design life of an orbital spacecraft is 100 flights, with each flight staying in space for 7 to 30 days. The spacecraft is manned, so it is designed to adapt to the outer space environment (vacuum, extreme temperature differences in orbit, heat when returning to the atmosphere, etc.) and be used repeatedly.
