Titanium Castings for Marine Propellers

Abstract

Due to its high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent seawater corrosion resistance, titanium is an attractive material of construction for marine propellers. For an application such as the complicated configuration of a propeller, the casting process would be the most economical, if not the only practical, means of producing the part. However, there is very little information relative to one important property of concern for this application, the corrosion fatigue strength of cast titanium. An investigation is now in progress at the Naval Ship Research and Development Center, Annapolis, Maryland aimed at determining the feasibility of the use of cast titanium for hydrofoil craft propellers. This paper describes one phase of this investigation, a study of the corrosion fatigue properties of cast titanium. The areas covered include

The opinions or assertions made in this paper are those of the authors and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Department of the Navy or the naval service at large.