Titanium Boron in Titanium Alloys

The logo is a TiB hollow needle. It was "extracted" from a mixture of α-titanium (hcp) and orthorhombic TiB (a = 0.61, b=0.31, c=0.56 nm).

The interest in TiB. Reinforcing Ti alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V) with TiB reduces grain size while increasing both bulk modulus and tensile strength. This improved performance at high temperature leads to use in valves -- initially in the Toyota-manufactured valves for Japan-only Toyota Altezza. More recently the values are manufactured for Yamaha in their motorcyle engines whose higher profit margin makes the added cost acceptable.

The Ti-B phase diagram. Small TiB grains are formed at few percent B.

Fine needles are produced via rapid solidification for concentrations less than 0.5 wt.% B. Subsequent heat treatments have a typical profile of 1100 C for 1 hr followed by slow cooling or quenching. Polishing the surface and then etching with HF reveals that many of the needles have alpha-Ti interiors. The resulting hollow needle consists of exfoliated layers with many sides. The logo has a 200 micron diameter, hollow needle in a mixture of other cylinders and whiskers.