Titanium Beta C refers to Ti Beta-C, a trademark for an alloy of titanium originally filed by

RTI International Research Triangle Institute, trading as RTI International, is a nonprofit organization headquartered in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. RTI provides research and technical services. It was founded in 1958 with $500,000 in funding fr ...

. It is a

metastable In chemistry and physics, metastability denotes an intermediate energetic state within a dynamical system other than the system's state of least energy. A ball resting in a hollow on a slope is a simple example of metastability. If the ball i ...

"beta alloy" which was originally developed in the 1960s; Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Mo-4Zr, nominally 3%

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

, 8%

vanadium Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pass ...

, 6%

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hard ...

, 4%

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42 which is located in period 5 and group 6. The name is from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'', which is based on Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ...

, 4%

zirconium Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name ''zirconium'' is taken from the name of the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. The word is related to Persian '' zargun'' (zircon; ''zar-gun'' ...

and balance (75%):

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion i ...

Properties

Beta C is relatively easy to melt and process during fabrication, when compared with other beta alloys. It is not recommended in high-wear applications due to its tendency to

gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...

. Beta C has good

corrosion resistance Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engin ...

to both saline environments and acids, due to the properties of titanium and to its ability to spontaneously form a well adhered protective

oxide An oxide () is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– (molecular) ion. with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the E ...

layer when exposed to a high oxygen environment. Beta C is one of the least dense beta alloys, which combined with its ability to achieve high strengths through

heat treatment Heat treating (or heat treatment) is a group of industrial process, industrial, thermal and metalworking, metalworking processes used to alter the physical property, physical, and sometimes chemical property, chemical, properties of a material. ...

provides a good strength to weight ratio. It is also capable of consistent high strength through relatively large section thicknesses.

Applications

The properties of Beta C have led to its use in a number of niche applications, including parts of aircraft landing gear and in fasteners used in the automotive industry. Beta C is also used in oilfield applications such as pressure housings, shafts, valves and other critical components where very high strength and excellent corrosion resistance are required. It is especially useful in components which must meet NACE MR0175 for H2S exposure.

Composition

Beta C is composed primarily of

, with relatively large (3-8.5% each) additions of

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

and

, and smaller amounts (0.3 - 0.005% each) of

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-to ...

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements ...

yttrium Yttrium is a chemical element with the symbol Y and atomic number 39. It is a silvery-metallic transition metal chemically similar to the lanthanides and has often been classified as a " rare-earth element". Yttrium is almost always found in co ...

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon ma ...

, and other elements.Beta C data sheet
/ref>

Designations

Other designations for Beta C include: * Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Mo-4Zr * Ti-3-8-6-4-4 * ASTM Grade 19 and Grade 20 (with 0.05% Pd) * AMS 4957 * AMS 4958 * AMS 4945 * MIL –T –9046 B3 * MIL –T –9047 * UNS R58640 (Grade 19) * UNS R58645 (Grade 20) Common Alloy Name: Ti Beta-C Nominal Composition: Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Zr-4Mo Type: Near-Beta and Beta Alloy Alloy Description: A heat-treatable, deep section hardenable, very high strength Ti alloy possessing good toughness/strength properties, low elastic modulus and elevated resistance to stress and localized corrosion in high temperature sweet and sour brines. Approved for use in sour ( H2S ) applications. Material is approved to be certified to meet NACE MR0175 and ISO 15156 with a maximum hardness of HRC 42. Fabricated Products Available: Forged and Machined components - various Mill Product Forms Available: Ingot, Bloom, Bar, Billet, Seamless Pipe, Wire Typical Applications: Geothermal brine energy extraction, Landing gear components, Navy ship components, Hydrocarbon production/drilling, Power plant cooling system components

References

{{reflist Titanium alloys