Aluminium and Titanium - Comparison - Properties

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

aluminium and titanium - comparison

Compare aluminium with another element

Compare titanium with another element

Aluminium and Titanium – About Elements

Aluminium

Aluminium is a silvery-white, soft, nonmagnetic, ductile metal in the boron group. By mass, aluminium makes up about 8% of the Earth’s crust; it is the third most abundant element after oxygen and silicon and the most abundant metal in the crust, though it is less common in the mantle below.

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.

Aluminium in Periodic Table

Titanium in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Aluminium and Titanium – Applications

Aluminium

Aluminium and its alloys are used widely in aerospace, automotive, architectural, lithographic, packaging, electrical and electronic applications. It is the prime material of construction for the aircraft industry throughout most of its history. About 70% of commercial civil aircraft airframes are made from aluminium alloys, and without aluminium civil aviation would not be economically viable. Automotive industry now includes aluminium as engine castings, wheels, radiators and increasingly as body parts. 6111 aluminium and 2008 aluminium alloy are extensively used for external automotive body panels. Cylinder blocks and crankcases are often cast made of aluminium alloys.

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.

Aluminium and Titanium – Comparison in Table

Element	Aluminium	Titanium
Density	2.7 g/cm3	4.507 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	90 MPa (pure), 600 MPa (alloys)	434 MPa, 293 MPa (pure)
Yield Strength	11 MPa (pure), 400 MPa (alloys)	380 MPa
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	70 GPa	116 GPa
Mohs Scale	2.8	6
Brinell Hardness	240 MPa	700 – 2700 MPa
Vickers Hardness	167 MPa	800 – 3400 MPa
Melting Point	660 °C	1668 °C
Boiling Point	2467 °C	3287 °C
Thermal Conductivity	237 W/mK	21.9 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	23.1 µm/mK	8.6 µm/mK
Specific Heat	0.9 J/g K	0.52 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	10.79 kJ/mol	15.45 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	293.4 kJ/mol	421 kJ/mol