Advanced Engineering Materials
Introduction
Davis Scientific Treatments has been developing special processes suitable for many advanced engineering materials. These include Titanium and its alloys, used in nuclear engineering for example, and Swedish iron alloys, employed in aerospace industries.
Heat treatment of Titanium and Alloys.
Titanium and its alloys are heat treated in order to:
1) Reduce residual stresses during fabrication or machining (stress relieving).
2) Produce optimum combination of ductility, machinability, and dimensional and structural stability.
3) Increase strength (solution treating, and ageing).
4) Optimise special properties, e.g. fracture toughness, fatigue strength, and high temperature creep strength.
Furnace characteristics
Such heat treatment has to be carried out to particularly high standards, where the quality of both furnace and process is paramount:
1) High vacuum is required.
2) High standard of cleanliness is essential.
3) The grain structure is altered permanently.
4) As a result, such batches CANNOT be re-processed; it is a "one-shot" run.
Stress relieving.
Stress relieving and annealing may be employed to prevent preferential attack in some corrosive environments, e.g. nuclear, and to prevent distortion, which is overcome with a stabilization treatment.
Dimensional accuracy, and stress free condition, is required as preparation for final machining.
Brazing processes.
Recent aerospace applications have included the brazing of pure Titanium to itself. This is very hard to achieve satisfactorily, as it is difficult to get Titanium to "wet".
Much experimentation has to be performed, in order to find the correct braze material, composition, and physical condition.
Davis Scientific Treatments (DST)
At Davis Scientific Treatments, considerable R & D effort is being carried out, on a regular and continual basis, to overcome the problems described.
As a result, we have gained extensive experience in the development of some appropriate solutions, for the processing of advanced engineering materials.
We are always ready and willing to discuss any new projects or applications.