Application of titanium to construction and civil engineering

Demand for titanium in the building materials market has been amazingly increasing. This demand growth is closely related to technology development. In the construction field, factors in the demand growth are market development waged on the initiative of titanium manufacturers, development of application technology undertaken jointly by titanium manufacturers, fabricators and constructors, as well as the advancement of fabrication technology and surface treatment technology as seen in anodizing, mirror polishing and blasting. Marine civil engineering is an area where titanium's excellent corrosion resistance can be best utilized but its cost competitiveness and ease of installation are must severely tested. This field has seen extensive research and development work by titanium engineers in cooperation with engineers specializing in civil engineering, corrosion protection and joining. One outcome of these R & D efforts is the application of titanium-clad steel as protective lining in the splash and tidal zones of steel piers for the Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway (TTB) Bridge. The progress in the past and future outlook of these titanium demand development efforts are described. Furthermore, several studies now under way are discussed, and the service performance of the titanium-clad steel lining of the TTB Bridge steel piers is reported.