In addition to the marine corrosion-resistant environment, materials for marine engineering also require high performance, high functionality, safety, reliability, practicality, and low cost. The following will be described in terms of ships, desalination, marine facilities, and marine exploration.
In the field of ship applications, the harsh working environment requires excellent materials. Ships and some of their equipment parts such as hulls, heat exchangers, pumps, valves, pipelines, etc. are immersed in seawater for a long time, and are very susceptible to seawater corrosion. Titanium can solve the problems of submarine pipeline leakage caused by corrosion/erosion and ship failure caused by marine life. It not only has excellent seawater corrosion resistance, but also can reduce the weight of the ship, reduce maintenance costs, and extend the service life. From ferries, fishing boats, naval warships to deep-sea submarines, titanium is used in large quantities. Its main application areas include plate/frame and shell, tube heat exchanger, water supply system, steam condenser, surface condenser piping system, cooling water system, oil pollution treatment system, deck drainage system, cabin bottom, navigation system, railing , Ship propulsion system, pressure vessel of deep-sea submarine, main structural parts of warship, pressure-resistant parts of ship, etc.
In terms of seawater desalination, the amount of titanium used in seawater desalination plants in the United States, Japan and China has also increased significantly in recent years. A Japanese company built 3200 tons of titanium tubes for a desalination plant built for Saudi Arabia. The amount of titanium used in seawater desalination projects in Tianjin and Shandong, China is about 250 tons.
Titanium in marine facilities has also increased. Large-scale floating marine structures that have implemented or plan to use titanium include airports, harbor logistics bases, crude oil and natural gas storage bases, bridges, and sports and recreational facilities.
In marine exploration, offshore oil production equipment such as oil production platforms, crude oil coolers, oil risers, pumps, valves, joints, fixtures, etc. are in contact with sulfides, ammonia, chlorine and other media in seawater and crude oil. Equipment made of titanium or Parts and components have been widely used in marine exploration.
In addition, the comprehensive utilization of seawater is one of the important projects in marine engineering. The condenser of the coastal power station is a device that uses a large amount of seawater. After using titanium, the life of the condenser is extended, the heat exchange efficiency is improved, and the safety is improved. China has largely used titanium materials to replace other materials to manufacture condensers for seaside power stations. So far, about 100 units in more than 30 power plants have used all-titanium condensers and titanium tube condensers.
Looking to the future, as an emerging civilian market for titanium, offshore engineering has developed rapidly in recent years. In the case of energy shortage, from the offshore to the deep sea, many countries in the world are developing the ocean and using the ocean, and the excellent performance of titanium can well meet the requirements of people in marine engineering applications, so the application field is very wide. It is expected that the ocean Engineering titanium is expected to become a larger application market for titanium materials.