Question

Is “Titanium” stronger than stainless steel?

Answer 1

Hint: Stainless steel as we know and use in our everyday lives, is an iron-based alloy. It is composed of various mixtures of elements that prevent the corrosion of steel. Titanium on the other hand is a silver-grey colored metal. It is a transition metal element bearing the atomic number 22. Titanium is the 2nd element of the first series of transition metals.

Complete Step by Step Solution:
Titanium is a lustrous metal with silver-grey colour. It is the ninth most abundant element present in the Earth’s Crust. As a metal, it has low density and high strength characteristics. Titanium has a very useful property which is that it has an excellent strength-to-density ratio.

Stainless steel on the other hand is not a pure metal, rather it is an alloy(mixture of metals). The composition of stainless steel is usually iron mixed with chromium, carbon, and nickel in varying amounts to serve a specific purpose like it is used in making the inner framework of the buildings. Unlike iron, stainless steel is fully rusted and corrosion resistant and has higher tensile strength and a better strength-to-weight ratio than iron.

Now, whether titanium is stronger than steel or not is a tricky question because when alloyed with other metals such as aluminium or vanadium, titanium becomes dramatically stronger than many forms of steel. The best titanium alloys beat low to medium-grade stainless steel in terms of sheer strength. However, the highest grade(very expensive and rarely used) of stainless steel is stronger than titanium alloys.

Hence, it is safe to assume that titanium is stronger than most of the stainless steel usually found and used in industries and in daily life.

Note: As already mentioned above, titanium and its alloys are not the absolute winners of this debate as the finest grade of steel is stronger than any of the titanium alloys made to date. Moreover, the fact that the strength-to-weight ratio of titanium is better than steel, makes it a good option where strength is required along with less weight. Therefore, titanium is the go-to metal in aerospace engineering.