Applications of Titanium: THE CHESTER BEATTY LECTURE

It is a great privilege and honour to be asked to deliver the annual Chester Beatty Lecture, particularly in the presence of Mr Chester Beatty himself. The theme of these Lectures is “metals in the service of mankind” and, in this respect, the material which I will be covering in this lecture has been serving mankind for a relatively short time compared with other metals such as copper, zinc, iron, etc. Titanium is a metal which has only achieved direct engineering usage, as distinct from some minor applications as a strengthening alloy in other metals, since the Second World War. Its rise in importance for structural purposes has been very rapid and the purpose of this paper is to outline its history, to indicate the reasons why designers are so impressed by its potential, and to give some examples of present and future applications.