Developments in Titanium Research and Applications in Germany

In this plenary paper, advances in research, development and applications of commercially pure titanium, titanium alloys and titanium aluminides, which have occurred since the Ti-2011 World Conference on Titanium held in Beijing, China, are discussed. Information is given on important achievements in the German titanium industry, governmental and non-governmental research organisations and universities from the last four years. Research focused on the development of new alloys mainly for aerospace and medical engineering. To reduce the production costs of conventional titanium alloys, advanced processes like electron beam melting or investment casting have been introduced into industrial production and rapid manufacturing as well as multi-material design have been intensively investigated. Forgings of intermetallic γ-TiAl based alloys allow its application in low pressure turbine blades in the geared turbofan. Finally, the feasibility of titanium scrap recycling has been studied.