Tungsten vs Titanium

Introduction:

Tungsten and titanium are two popular metals used in various industries due to their unique properties. While both metals have similar uses, they have distinct differences in terms of weight, price, strength, hardness, and compatibility with sensitive skin. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive comparison between tungsten and titanium, helping readers decide which metal suits their needs best.

Tungsten vs Titanium Weight

Tungsten has a density of 19.3 g/cm³, making it significantly heavier than titanium, whose density stands at 4.54 g/cm³. This means that when using the same volume of metal, tungsten will weigh more than titanium. For example, a 1-inch cube of tungsten would weigh approximately 19 times more than a 1-inch cube of titanium.

Tungsten vs Titanium Price:

The cost of tungsten and titanium varies depending on market conditions. However, generally speaking, titanium tends to be less expensive than tungsten. The current price of pure tungsten is around $37 per pound, whereas pure titanium can be purchased for around $28 per pound. It's essential to note that prices may vary based on purity levels and other factors such as supplier pricing and location.

Tungsten vs Titanium Strength

When comparing the strength of these two metals, tungsten takes the lead. Its Young's modulus is approximately 562 GPa, while titanium's Young's modulus sits at approximately 165 GPa. Simply put, tungsten demonstrates greater tensile strength than titanium under stress or elongation before breaking. Nonetheless, titanium possess excellent fatigue resistance, meaning its structure remains reliable even during continuous loading. Additionally, titanium maintains its qualities excellently across a wide range of temperatures, unlike tungsten that exhibits some loss in strength upon heating up past 200°C (392℉).

Tungsten vs Titanium Hardness:

Tungsten boasts one of the highest melting points among all metals, peaking at 3422°C (6192℉), while titanium possesses a relatively low melting point - 1668°C (3304℉). As a result, toughening tungsten requires extensive processes like alloying or work hardening rather than thermal treatment as seen in certain ferrous alloys and nickel. 

On the other hand, because of its natural corrosion resistance and lower reactivity compared to steel, especially stainless types, many believe that pure titanium should never require heat treating like carbon steels do. However, both tungsten carbide cemented carbides and cast titanium parts often use additional hardening methods such as nitriding. Nitride coatings enhance wear life without affecting either material's inherent characteristics too much.

Sensitive Skin Compatibility:

Unlike tungsten, titanium proves to be hypoallergenic and non-toxic; thus, people with hypersensitivity enjoy increased comfort near titanium products. Some individuals have adverse reactions towards jewelry made from particular base metals like nickel found within white gold pieces, but most find equivalent biocompatible alternatives produced in part using recycled content or laboratory procedures available today, including silver cadmium oxide & rhodium plated onto red copper substrate or others containing amounts ranging up to several thousand parts per million Pdmax.

 Although the human body generally tolerates tungsten well enough so long as no exposure occurs through ingestion or skin irritation resulting from sharp edges/points over extended periods, those concerned about potentially sensitive skin would still benefit more from choosing items featuring primarily (>99%).

Applications:

Due to its high strength-to-density ratio and great corrosion resistance, titanium finds widespread application in aircraft engines, industrial processing plants, marine hardware, surgical implants, sports equipment (golf clubs & tennis rackets), watch cases, designer jewelry items, eyeglasses frames, and automotive components - particularly exhaust systems. 

On the other side, because of its extreme hardness against abrasives, tungsten sees action mostly where tremendous durability becomes essential: military ammunition cores, X-ray targets in medical imaging devices, lamp filaments, cutting tools & wear-resistant parts. Superalloys also benefit from tungsten’s addition since it increases their hot strength greatly. These superalloy applications include gas turbine blades for energy generation, jet engine components for commercial airlines or space shuttles, chemical plant reactors/heaters exchanger tubing in highly corrosive environments exposed directly to molten sulfuric acid vapor/liquid droplets – all areas requiring enhanced temperature stability coupled with phenomenal dimensional integrity.

Conclusion:

After analyzing the comparisons above carefully, experts can determine whether tungsten or titanium performs better in various contexts. Ultimately though, deciding between them comes down largely to intended purpose rather than asking what seems objectively superior overall. Consider factors such as budget constraints, required strength versus desired weight reduction measures taken into account alongside environmental situations encountered and physical appearance preferences if applicable. Taken together they should guide our choice clearly toward one material instead of another whenever dealing specifically with these two metals and diverse demands presented by different sectors of our economy.

References:

"Material Database". MatDB. Retrieved from https://www.matrix.auc.dk/materialdb/.

"Metallurgical Terminology". ASM International. Retrieved from http://www.asminternational.org/bookstore/prod_ detail.asp?productID=BK0114P.

H. K. DHALIWAL AND R. M. GARrett (2008) JOM Vol 60(12): page 24–28. DOI: 10.1007/s11837—008—0146–z

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