Wear protection for titanium components

The use of titanium and its alloys in the last decades keeps on increasing due to its material-specific characteristics like high firmness, good corrosion characteristics and very high thermal maximum stress. However nowadays, the use of titanium components in systems where wear resistance is important is limited by titanium's relatively low wear resistance. Surface wear is in principle a characteristic, conditioned by chemical and physical effects of the elements involved as well as collective stress. The necessity for new systems where good wear resistance and excellent mechanical properties are combined keeps on showing up. Due to titanium's tendency to react with surrounding media, titanium alloys are difficult to be welded. Embrittlement by admission of hydrogen and oxygen can occur at high temperature processes or even changes on titanium's microstructure may appear. Brazing techniques, which are actually applied to steel, have been modified and adapted for using them to titanium materials. Here, commercially available braze pastes and hard materials where combined and applied on titanium.