Aluminium vs. Titanium

[Gnolg]

Hi,

I´m thinking about purchasing mac´s Tri-Edc. However i´m not sure if I should get the titanium version or the aluminium version (when he makes a Tri-Edc Titanium).



I was wondering about the heatsink capabilities of Titanium versus Aluminium. How mutch faster does a titanium flashlight heat up? Other pros and cons?



Thanks for your input.

 

[jeowf]

Titanium has lower heat conduction (con) but higher electrical resistivity (con for some torches, because you want good conductivity between the negative of your battery and the front of your torch, but its still such a small resistance anyways it may not even matter). Also if they are the same torch the titanium torch will be heavier(not as far as steel goes) but it will be much, much, much stronger (assuming that the volume of both the titanium and aluminum in the torch is the same).

 

[StarHalo]

Titanium for crush resistance, aluminum for thermal conductivity:

 

[Norm]

Did you try a google search Aluminium vs. Titanium ?
Especially this thread Benefits of a titanium version of an existing aluminum flashlight ?
Norm

 

[espeery]

Titanium has some neat characteristics - strength of steel but about half the weight. It also is bio-compatible, a unique metal that can be implanted in the body such as knee replacements etc. But as mentioned above, it doesn't dissipate heat nearly as well as aluminum. Aluminum is great at heat conduction and dissipation and much cheaper than Ti, but you don't get the strength. ideally you would have Ti for strength and copper to dissipate the heat.

 

[Kestrel]

Hello espeery, :welcome:

Titanium [...] doesn't dissipate heat nearly as well as aluminum. Aluminum is great at heat conduction and dissipation [...]

Not necessarily true about heat dissipation, as it is a direct function of emissivity (as well as delta T of course).

The emissivity coefficient of Ti ranges from 0.3 to 0.8, while that for Al ranges from 0.1 to 0.4.
For the same surface conditions, Ti appears to have a greater emissivity than Al:
http://www.raytek.com/Raytek/en-r0/IREducation/EmissivityTableMetals.htm

However, anodizing aluminum is an improvement in this regard.

 

[lunas]

So what im getting from that chart if we made a heatsink with a copper core and fins of titanium the thermal conductivity of titanium is lower but the dissipation it twice that of aluminum.

I know from anodizing titanium with fire that it cools down incredibly fast. As in heat it red hot wave in the air for a min and it is cool to the touch or dip it in water and it is cold from red hot just seconds before.