Failure analysis of a commercially pure titanium tube in an air conditioner condenser

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the failure reasons and failure mechanism of the commercially pure titanium air conditioning condenser. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, chemical analysis, metallographic observation, visual examination and scanning electron microscope examination, corrosion products analysis and working conditions analysis were adopted for determining the reasons for the failure of the condenser. Findings The results indicated that TA2 titanium pipe perforation failure is caused by the synergistic effect of crevice corrosion and deposit corrosion. The corrosion processes can be divided into three steps. Originality/value This research is an originality study on the failure case of a commercially pure titanium air conditioning condenser. This study makes up for the shortage of titanium alloy failure cases and also gives the result of the failure reason and failure mechanism for titanium, which has an engineering significance.