INTRODUCTION

ABSTRACT

Titanium, at long last, is now being viewed, accepted and used as a material for the prevention of corrosion, the reduction and elimination of major corrosion related maintenance issues and for the advantages it offers in weight savings, replacement costs and life cycle cost benefits. This presentation focuses on explaining the properties of titanium, the how and the why the metal is so suitably qualified for use in seawater and all water environments, and the advantages that titanium provides in marine service. The discussion will also include comparisons against materials currently being used, where these have or are being replaced, as well as experience and applications for titanium's use- both in industrial service and aboard ship.

The need to resolve corrosion, maintenance and weight issues is obviously apparent and ever ongoing. The use of titanium, in its many forms and with its many benefits, is a real, currently available solution to the corrosion problems in marine service.

Titanium is well established for use in some of the most severe environmems in many industries including the Chemical Process Industry (CPI), Energy (including Geothermal), Pulp & Paper, Desalination (in Multi-Stage Flash Desalination units), Refineries, and in the Utility Industry in Utility Steam Condensers. It is also playing a significant part in Offshore rigs in Ballast Tanks, Fire-Main systems and general Service Water piping systems, linings for Flue Gas Desulfufization (FGD), among many others.

In the past decade there has been a significant increase in the usage of titanium for military applications including armor, protective linings, and especially in naval applications where seawater is the environment and where corrosion, erosion and maintenance are of primary concern. Within the context of seawater environments, applications for titanium include Heat Exchanger seawater cooling (both Shell & Tube and Plate/Frame), in service water Lube Oil Co61ers and other general heat exchanger systems. It is also used, both shipboard and in land-based plants, in Hot Water Heater units as well as for Refrigeration, as Air Chillers and air-conditioning systems ~. Its products run the gamut from sheet for heat exchanger shells and baffles, plate for tubesheets and vessels, tubes for seawater cooling, pipe, fittings (elbows, tees, reducers, etc.), fasteners, flanges, pumps and valves for seawater service water input, fire protection systems and drainage.

Titanium's virtual immunity to seawater (and all waters) provides the service reliability, long-term proven life-cycle cost economies and reduction (or elimination) of maintenance that are driving its usage in solving the corrosion issues in marine service. Explanations with regard to some of the more appropriate Chemistries (Grades), Properties (Mechanical & Physical), Corrosion Resistance (Immunity), Weight Savings, Shock Resistance and other advantages that this metal provides, along with some of the most Frequently Asked Questions and Concerns are addressed.

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