Titanium and Tungsten - Comparison - Properties

This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of titanium and tungsten, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Titanium vs Tungsten.

titanium and tungsten - comparison

Compare titanium with another element

Compare tungsten with another element

Titanium and Tungsten – About Elements

Titanium

Titanium is a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength. Titanium is resistant to corrosion in sea water, aqua regia, and chlorine. Titanium can be used in surface condensers. These condensers use tubes that are usually made of stainless steel, copper alloys, or titanium depending on several selection criteria (such as thermal conductivity or corrosion resistance). Titanium condenser tubes are usually the best technical choice, however titanium is very expensive material and the use of titanium condenser tubes is associated with very high initial costs.

Tungsten

Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in chemical compounds. Tungsten is an intrinsically brittle and hard material, making it difficult to work.

Titanium in Periodic Table

Tungsten in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Titanium and Tungsten – Applications

Titanium

The two most useful properties of the metal are corrosion resistance and strength-to-density ratio, the highest of any metallic element. The corrosion resistance of titanium alloys at normal temperatures is unusually high. These properties determine application of titanium and its alloys. The earliest production application of titanium was in 1952, for the nacelles and firewalls of the Douglas DC-7 airliner. High specific strength, good fatigue resistance and creep life, and good fracture toughness are characteristics that make titanium a preferred metal for aerospace applications. Aerospace applications, including use in both structural (airframe) components and jet engines, still account for the largest share of titanium alloy use. On the supersonic aircraft SR-71, titanium was used for 85% of the structure. Due to very high inertness, titanium has many biomedical applications, which is based on its inertness in the human body, that is, resistance to corrosion by body fluids.

Tungsten

Tungsten is widely used metal. Approximately half of the tungsten is consumed for the production of hard materials – namely tungsten carbide – with the remaining major use being in alloys and steels. Mining and mineral processing demand wear-resistant machines and components, because the energies and masses of interacting bodies are significant. For this purposes, materials with the highest wear-resistance must be used. For example, tungsten carbide is used extensively in mining in top hammer rock drill bits, downhole hammers, roller-cutters, long wall plough chisels, long wall shearer picks, raiseboring reamers, and tunnel boring machines. The remaining 40% is generally used to make various alloys and specialty steels, electrodes, filaments, wires, as well as diverse components for electric, electronic, heating, lighting, and welding applications. High-speed steels are complex iron-base alloys of carbon, chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, or tungsten (as much as 18%), or combinations there of.

Titanium and Tungsten – Comparison in Table

Element	Titanium	Tungsten
Density	4.507 g/cm3	19.25 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	434 MPa, 293 MPa (pure)	980 MPa
Yield Strength	380 MPa	750 MPa
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	116 GPa	411 GPa
Mohs Scale	6	7.5
Brinell Hardness	700 – 2700 MPa	3000 MPa
Vickers Hardness	800 – 3400 MPa	3500 MPa
Melting Point	1668 °C	3410 °C
Boiling Point	3287 °C	59300 °C
Thermal Conductivity	21.9 W/mK	170 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	8.6 µm/mK	4.5 µm/mK
Specific Heat	0.52 J/g K	0.13 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	15.45 kJ/mol	35.4 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	421 kJ/mol	824 kJ/mol