Increasing demand for military and commercial aircraft, in addition to the growing preference for high-strength and low-weight titanium-based blisks, has been driving the global aerospace titanium blisk market. Additionally, reduction in titanium prices is resulting in the production of cost-effective blisks, thus supporting their adoption and market growth worldwide. The market, according to P&S Intelligence, was valued at $3,988.3 million in 2017 and is expected to progress at a CAGR of 3.7% during the forecast period (2018–2023), reaching $4,945.4 million by 2023.
An integral component of several machines or engines, blisks are a combination of a rotor shaft and attached blades. The
aerospace titanium blisk market has been segmented by application, diameter, and region. Talking about the application segment, it is further divided into commercial, military, general aviation, and others (experimental and model aircraft). Among all these categories, the commercial category held the largest revenue and sales volume shares in 2017, due to significant growth in cargo and passenger flow throughout the world, which required more commercial aircraft than before.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the number of passengers taking commercial flights increased from 2,452 million in 2007 to 4,093 million in 2017. Thus, significant growth in passenger count, over the years, has resulted in the increased
demand for commercial aircraft. Subsequently, the demand for titanium blisks has also been high across the world. North America, owing to its heavy demand for business jets, held the largest aerospace titanium blisk market share, accounting for revenue worth $1,735.6 million in 2017.
Yet another reason for the aerospace titanium blisk market growth has been the reduction in the prices of titanium blisks, achieved via adoption of advanced manufacturing techniques. The utilization of additive manufacturing techniques, such as direct energy deposition and power bed fusion, has greatly helped reduce material wastage and enhance designing capabilities. These new techniques have helped manufacturers overcome several constraints associated with computer numerical control (CNC) machining, including chipping and design complexities.
Besides, these techniques help in reducing the burden from the middle of the disk as well as from the blades and creating a web-like structure to save raw materials, which further reduces the weight and cost of the product. Another way the price of titanium blisks can be reduced is linear friction welding. It is a production process that uses friction to create heat in order to join two components permanently and produce a single piece. This helps in removing manufacturing complexities and reducing the cost incurred during the process.
The cost of raw material itself plays a major part in determining the cost of the finished product. It is anticipated that with the fall in the price of titanium, the market will witness increased demand for titanium blisks. Besides increasing awareness about the advantages of titanium-based blisks, such as greater resilience, reduced weight, and minimal maintenance compared to traditional bladed disks, is expected to drive the aerospace titanium blisk market globally.
Thus, it can be concluded that fall in titanium prices will help drive the demand for titanium blisks for use in aircraft combustion engines. Furthermore, the rise in aircraft production is expected to support the aerospace titanium blisk market growth in the near future.
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