Background

Titanium applications in airline gas turbines increase with each new generation of aero-engines. There have been extremely few advances in production quality control to support this massive growth. In the US, where the use of titanium is continuing to grow at an exponential rate, aerospace applications account for 70% of all Titanium used. Safety, economic and environmental reasons for using titanium are huge as its use, in place of more traditional materials such as steel, can realise a weight reduction, in excess of 40% (per component). European engine manufacturers currently utilising higher volumes of titanium components attract an enormous competitive advantage over their world-wide rivals. Figure 1 illustrates the predicted number of aircraft and aircraft engines required for the aerospace market in the near future. The new generation Rolls Royce engine designs seek to utilise more than twice as much titanium as compared with the previous generation RB211 engine. Hence the total volume of titanium used in the aircraft industry will see a drastic increase as long as lean design philosophies can be supported by quality and lifetime structural integrity assurance.

Figure 1. Numbers of aircrafts and aero-engines required to service industry need into the 2020s.