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Why are car engines not made of titanium alloy?

The cost issue is still the main reason why titanium alloys cannot be applied to engine bodies. However, titanium alloy has indeed been well used in some small components of engines.
The main obstacle to the widespread application of titanium alloys in the automotive industry is the high cost.
Whether it is the initial smelting or subsequent processing of metals, the price of titanium alloys is much higher than other metals. The acceptable cost for titanium parts in the automotive industry is $8-13/kg for connecting rods, $13-20/kg for valves, and $8/kg or less for springs, engine exhaust systems, and fasteners. It is 6-15 times that of aluminum sheet and 45-83 times that of steel sheet.
The characteristics of titanium alloy include light weight, high specific strength, and good corrosion resistance. Therefore, titanium alloy is widely used in the automotive industry. The most commonly used titanium alloy is in the automotive engine system, and using titanium alloy to manufacture engine parts has many benefits.
Titanium alloy has a low density, which can reduce the inertial mass of moving parts. At the same time, titanium valve springs can increase free vibration, reduce body vibration, and improve engine speed and output power. Reduce the inertial mass of moving parts, thereby reducing friction and improving the fuel efficiency of the engine. Choosing titanium alloy can reduce the load stress of related parts, shrink the size of parts, and thus reduce the weight of the engine and the entire vehicle. The reduction of inertia mass of components reduces vibration and noise, improving engine performance. The application of titanium alloy in other components can improve the comfort of personnel and the aesthetics of cars.
In the automotive industry, titanium alloys have played an immeasurable role in energy conservation and consumption reduction. Although titanium alloy components have such superior performance, there is still a long way to go before titanium and its alloys are widely used in the automotive industry, due to issues such as high cost, poor formability, and poor welding performance. Titanium alloy is a new type of structural material, with a density of 4.15g/cm, much smaller than iron; The melting point of titanium is 1668 ℃, which is higher than that of iron; The coefficient of thermal expansion is small, and it has great potential as a heat-resistant material; The tensile strength of the titanium alloy made from it can reach 1500MPa, comparable to ultra-high strength steel, and its specific strength is the highest among commonly used engineering materials; Titanium alloy can work below 550 ℃, which is superior to aluminum alloy and general steel.
Therefore, it has gained increasingly widespread application and rapid development in industrial sectors such as aviation, aerospace, automotive, and shipbuilding. Due to its excellent corrosion resistance, good mechanical properties, and qualified tissue compatibility, titanium and its alloys are used in the production of biomaterials such as prosthetic devices. Titanium has better corrosion resistance than stainless steel, with a density of 1/2 that of iron and toughness comparable to steel. It is widely used in the aviation industry and is one of the "three pillars of materials" alongside aluminum and composite materials. Its disadvantages are high cost, poor processing performance, and difficulty in cutting, welding, and surface treatment.

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