Welding titanium - a guide to best practice

Written by Lee Smith, Philip Threadgill and Mike Gittos (TWI); Edited by David Peacock (Titanium Metals Corporation)

Section 1. Introduction and contents

Introduction

The high strength, low weight and outstanding corrosion resistance possessed by titanium and titanium alloys have led to a wide and diversified range of successful applications in aerospace, chemical plant, power generation, oil and gas extraction, medical, sports, and other industries. There is a common question which links all of these applications, and that is how best to join titanium parts together, or to other materials to produce the final component or structure.

The variety of titanium alloys, and the vastly greater number of engineering metals and materials requires that there should be a versatile selection of joining processes for titanium if the metal is to be capable of use in the widest range of applications. Although mechanical fastening, adhesives, and other techniques have their place, welding continues to be the most important process for joining titanium.

Welding of titanium by various processes is widely practised, and service performance of welds is proven with an extensive and continuously extending record of achievements. Newer methods adaptable for titanium are further advancing the science, technology and economics of welding. Application of this technology to the design, manufacture and application of titanium is as relevant to first time users as to committed customers. For many applications, choosing the welding process is as important a step in design as the specification of the alloy.

Aim of best practice guide

This best practice guide is based on a handbook (the sixth in a series) produced jointly by the Titanium Information Group and TWI. The aim of this edition of the handbook remains as with its predecessors, to bring together key elements of widely dispersed data into a single source book. Use of this handbook/best practice guide will enable those responsible to select welding processes that will be appropriate to the titanium alloy, the component, and the application. In this way the most demanding goals for reliability, maintainability and safety can be achieved, together with the lowest overall cost for components and systems of the highest performance and integrity.

Contents

  • Benefits of using titanium
  • Properties and weldability of titanium and its alloys
  • Welding: arc, laser, EB, resistance, friction and forge processes
  • Diffusion bonding
  • Brazing and soldering
  • Adhesive bonding and mechanical fastening
  • Joining titanium to other materials
  • Welding process selection
  • Joint preparation
  • Arc welding technique
  • Resistance welding technique
  • Evaluation of weld quality
  • Repair of defects
  • Porosity
  • Distortion and stress relief
  • Best practice
  • Standards and specifications

Please note that this best practice guide is a PDF file

To the guide

Copyright by TWI, 1999

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