Common military metal new materials include titanium alloys, high-temperature alloys, and aluminum alloys. Common military metal new materials include titanium alloys, high-temperature alloys, aluminum alloys, and magnesium alloys. New and high-end metal materials have an irreplaceable position in the military industry.

Titanium alloy: a star metal for new weapons and equipment

Titanium has a series of excellent characteristics such as light weight, high specific strength, and corrosion resistance. It is a lightweight, high melting point structural material, new functional material, and important biomedical material. It is widely used in aviation, aerospace, ships, nuclear energy, chemical industry, petroleum, metallurgy, electricity, light industry, medical, sports, environmental protection, and people's daily lives. The market prospects are becoming increasingly broad with social progress. Titanium belongs to the category of rare metals, but it is abundant in resources and can effectively meet the needs of social development. China, the United States, Russia, Japan and other countries have established complete systems for titanium metallurgy, processing, application, and scientific research. Europe and other countries have also established advanced systems for the processing, application, and scientific research of titanium and its alloys, providing reliable guarantees for the production of high-quality titanium materials. Therefore, titanium is a widely used material that people are striving to research, develop, and apply.

The history of China's titanium industry is only 57 years, and the history of the world's titanium industry is only over 60 years. According to data, in 2010, the world produced more than 110000 tons of titanium processing materials, of which China and the United States each used more than 30000 tons, Japan, Russia, and Europe each used nearly 10000 tons, and South Korea and Taiwan each used about 5000 tons. The consumption of titanium in other regions of the world is very small.

The history of China's titanium industry is only 57 years, and the history of the world's titanium industry is only over 60 years. According to data, in 2010, the world produced more than 110000 tons of titanium processing materials, of which China and the United States each used more than 30000 tons, Japan, Russia, and Europe each used nearly 10000 tons, and South Korea and Taiwan each used about 5000 tons. The consumption of titanium in other regions of the world is very small.

From the perspective of global market demand structure, titanium alloys are mainly used in the aviation industry, defense and military industry, and other industries. Among them, there is a high demand for applications in the aviation industry, accounting for about 50%, mainly used in the manufacturing of aircraft and engines. However, compared to domestic demand, there are significant differences in the demand structure for titanium products. In North America and the European Union, which have developed aerospace and military defense industries, especially in the United States, more than 50% of titanium product demand comes from the aerospace and military defense sectors. Although China is one of the world's largest producers and consumers of titanium metal, the majority of its demand for titanium products comes from the chemical industry, mainly using corrosion-resistant materials with relatively low technological content. The high-end demand in the aerospace industry has increased in recent years, but still only accounts for about 18.4% (10000 tons), far below the international average level. The above data indicates that the more developed a country is and the larger its industrial scale is, the greater its titanium consumption. The more technologically advanced a country is, the more it uses titanium materials in the aerospace industry, and the more it uses high-end titanium materials.

High temperature alloys: the culmination of modern physical metallurgy and metallurgical processes

High temperature alloys have superior performance and a wide range of application scenarios. High temperature alloy refers to a type of metal material based on iron, nickel, and cobalt, which can work for a long time at high temperatures above 600 ℃ and under certain stress. High temperature alloys have high high-temperature strength, good oxidation and corrosion resistance, good fatigue resistance, fracture toughness and other comprehensive properties, also known as "superalloys". From the perspective of high-temperature alloy applications, it can be used in civil industry for diesel engine turbocharged turbines, flue gas turbine blades and discs, metallurgical steel rolling heating furnace pads, internal combustion engine exhaust valve seats, and other aspects. In addition, in recent years, the application of high-temperature alloys has been continuously expanding, with significant progress in industries such as petrochemicals, glass and fiberglass, and mechanical manufacturing. In the military industry, nickel based high-temperature alloys are currently key hot end component materials for modern aviation engines, spacecraft and rocket engines, as well as ships and industrial gas turbines. They are also important high-temperature structural materials needed in nuclear reactors, chemical equipment, coal conversion technology, and other fields. As an important material in the military and civilian fields, high-temperature alloys have a wide range of applications and significant economic and strategic significance.

According to data from Guanyantianxia, the market size of high-temperature alloys in China increased from 7.8 billion yuan to 18.7 billion yuan from 2015 to 2020, a three fold increase over five years. In the future, with the release of huge demand for military aviation engines, it is expected that the market size of China's high-temperature alloy industry will reach 85.6 billion yuan by 2025, with a CAGR of 35.56%.

Aluminum alloy: a widely used metal structural material in military industry

Aluminum alloy is one of the light metal materials, which is an alloy based on aluminum with a certain amount of other alloying elements added. In addition to the general characteristics of aluminum, it also has high strength, good casting performance and plastic processing performance, good conductivity and thermal conductivity, good corrosion resistance and weldability. Aluminum alloy has the characteristics of low density, good mechanical properties, good processing performance, non toxicity, easy recycling, excellent conductivity, heat transfer, and corrosion resistance, making it widely used. Currently, it has been widely used in the marine industry, chemical industry, aerospace, metal packaging, transportation and other fields.

At present, high-end aluminum alloys in China's aerospace and shipbuilding industries can be produced independently. However, due to weak technological accumulation and insufficient production process control, the uniformity of product performance or the qualification rate are poor, and there is still a gap in cost control compared to foreign countries. But with the accumulation of experience and the gradual breakthrough of key technologies, the industrial chain is constantly deepening and developing towards high-end fields. At present, aluminum alloy is the second largest metal material after steel, and is developing towards applications such as high strength, high toughness, corrosion resistance, intelligence, precision, and compactness. Data shows that in 2022, China's domestic aluminum alloy production reached 12.183 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 14.07%.

Article source: Internet