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Amaero International has applied for broad international patent coverage for its high-performance titanium alloy “Amalloy Beta Ti”. The new heat treatable titanium alloy has entered the final approval stage, the national phase of the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT).
The PCT is an international treaty with more than 150 contracting states, allowing patent protection for an invention simultaneously in a large number of countries by filing a single “international” patent application, instead of filing several separate national or regional patent applications. The granting of patents remains under the control of the national or regional patent offices in what is called the “national phase”, which Amalloy Beta Ti has now entered.
The new high-performance titanium alloy, a heat treatable version of a beta titanium alloy, achieves ultra-high strength and fatigue performance via homogeneous precipitation and removal of grain boundary alpha.
Known for the highest strength to weight ratio of any structural metal, titanium is used in multiple applications across the aviation, defence and space industries, all markets that have been experiencing significant long-term growth in value, presenting a significant opportunity for Amaero.
Amaero CEO, Barrie Finnin, commented, “The new heat-treatable titanium alloy Amalloy Beta Ti has amazing and compelling mechanical properties for applications such as structural components and fasteners widely used in the aviation, defence and aerospace industries.
“Conventional alloys have limitations and are prone to fatigue failures, which is a risk if used in aircraft. The team at Monash designed a heat treatable beta titanium alloy with a novel composition resulting in significant improvements to yield strength of around 30 per cent, as well as enhancing ultimate tensile strength (UTS), shear strength and fatigue life. In an aerospace context, being able to deliver improved durability, performance and saving weight makes a strong case for this new alloy to be used in place of the traditional options”.
The aviation industry supports US$2.7 trillion in world economic activity (3.6 per cent of global gross domestic product), with the global aerospace and defence market estimated to be valued at US$1,600 billion in the year 2025, growing at a CAGR of 3.5 per cent in the period 2019 to 2025.
The alloy was developed by researchers at Monash University, Australia’s largest university, with which Amaero collaborates for the development of additive manufacturing technology.
Amaero has exclusive global commercial licence rights to the patented alloy, and it will form an important part of the company’s offering to its aviation, defence and space clients in the future. In addition to additive manufacturing, the alloy can also be processed using a number of conventional methods for high volume manufacturing including extrusion, forging and casting.
A second new high-performance alloy developed by Monash University for Amaero will also enter the national phase in June 2020.
