The Aerodynamics of Art Forms

      I recently had the occasion to spend some time in Charleston, South Carolina with my wife MaryLynn. We took this opportunity to spend a little time working on business projects as well as to enjoy a bit of vacation time.  I have found that the slower South Carolinian life style agrees with me and almost immediately transforms me into a lazy slug-like creature.  The Charleston area is a beautiful area, laced with great history, wonderful eateries and terrific golf courses.  One of which we played on Kiawah Island that was both beautiful and very challenging, as we soon discovered while chasing balls in the rough and trying to elude 12 foot alligators. I also have discovered that this environment brings out the artistic side of me, whether I am looking for photo opportunities or visiting the many art galleries that are located in Charleston.

      One of the reasons for coming to Charleston was to host a gathering of friends, relatives,artists and art lovers at a reception for the artist Charles Williams, (photo at left). Charles Williams is a friend of MaryLynn's and mine, who hails from the Georgetown area of South Carolina.  Charles is an extremely talented young artist who has in a short period of time become very famous in the United States for his artwork.  My first encounter with Charles was about six years ago, at a charity fund raising event in Richmond, Virginia. Charles at the time was quite young and a relatively unknown artist.  I immediately fell in love with his artwork and his paintings of the South Carolina low country, shrimp boats and the South Carolina ocean scenes. Charles work is so very realistic it gives you the sense that you are actually in the painting and experiencing the subject as Charles does. In the past six years Charles has become recognized as one of the top 21 young artists in America  under 31 years old. Charles has won numerous awards and was most recently featured in American Art Collector Magazine as a featured artist.  Charles opening night at the Robert Lange Gallery was indeed a success as he sold all but one of his paintings that were on exhibit.

      The beauty of Charles paintings reminds me of another type of beauty, one which I believe many take for granted. I am talking about the beautiful smooth lines of a modern day airliner, when combined with the artful way the parts and components are produced, make me realize that not all art takes place on a canvas. Similar to Charles paintings a newly produced Boeing airplane sitting on the tarmac is a thing of beauty, although most see the airplane as an object that delivers us from point A to point B. The brightly polished metal skin of the airplane, the curved engine shrouds and the smooth lines of the wings and fuselage make me forget that this is a man made object.  Being a titanium guy, I look at the way the metals are forged,cast,rolled,welded and shaped to create this very beautiful piece of flying artwork.  When I see a modern day airliner sitting on the tarmac, it reminds me that creating an airplane is very similar to creating a fine painting.  The creative minds of the engineers and the designers can visualize in their minds how the wrought titanium materials can be shaped,molded and fabricated. The finely honed skills of these talented people can see how a chunk of titanium forged metal can be created into a precise component that fits precisely into other finely machined components to make this airplane take the shape of a beautiful flying machine.  The engineer sees his final version of the completed airplane, just as Charles Williams visualizes his completed painting.  Both are artists, one with talents that can transform a piece of canvas into a beautiful painting and the other that can transform titanium metals into a beautiful flying machine.

      Boeing Airplanes, located in North Charleston, produces very fine airplanes and in each of these airplanes you can find hundreds of components that are produced from titanium metals.  Titanium, of course, is utilized for its strength to weight characteristics and can be found in components for jet engines, landing gears, bulkheads, hydraulic tubing and many other parts that are located on the airplane. The aerodynamic lines of the airplane is an artform, capturing both metals and composites. I recently had  the pleasure to observe a number of new airplanes in North Charleston and I must admit they were very pleasing to my eye, just like one of Charles William's paintings.

ATI Corrosion Solutions Conference 2011

I recently had the pleasure of attending the 8th International Corrosion Solutions Conference hosted by ATI Wah Chang.  The event held every two years was held this year at the beautiful Chateau Lake Louise Fairmont Hotel, in breathtaking Banff, Alberta, Canada.  The conference held in the Fairmont Hotel is one of the most beautiful hotels in the world located at the base of the majestic Canadian Rocky Mountains.  You could not have asked for a better place to meet with colleagues and associates in a most relaxed and beautiful setting.  The conference was also special as my wife Mary Lynn came along with me to enjoy the mountains and to meet some new friends.

Kirk Richardson and Rick Sutherlin along with their team have again pulled off a most wonderful conference.  Every aspect of this conference was professional and first class, from the highly regarded technical presentations to the sumptuous dinners and the well planned entertainment, made this a conference to remember.

ATI Wah Chang continues to amaze me by the quality of the technical presentations that are held at this conference.  Truly, there is something of interest to all who attend.  I find that papers having to do with technical presentations on welding, forming and fabrication of titanium, zirconium and stainless steel to be of great interest.  I am sure that others have found that the technical presentations on corrosion and prevention of corrosion to be of great interest also.

I have found over the years that the caliber of the people attending this conference is outstanding and many of these attendees are experts in their respective fields of endeavor.  The ability to mix socially and professionally with so many talented people is what makes this conference unique.  There are many people from all aspects of business that attend this conference, we have found sales and marketing personnel, members of the technical and scientific community, consultants and engineers from noted companies such as Dow Chemical, DuPont, Statoil and General Electric.  All of these people have the same interest and that is how do we combat corrosion and what are the newest and most recent innovations to prevent corrosion.  I personally have found this conference to be of great benefit in learning about technical advances in the industry as well as making great contacts, whether they be in the sessions or on the golf course....and speaking of the golf course.....never have I played on a golf course that was as beautiful as Banff Springs Golf Course.  I have played golf courses all over the world and at many conferences, however this golf course was special.  I was in awe of the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains, the pristine forests and of course the wildlife, which abounds in Banff.  I was also fortunate to play with three very nice guys, who all helped to propel us into number one place at the tournament.  A very special thank you goes out to Mike, Ryan an YS, for making this a very memorable and special golf outing. 

I can't wait until 2013 to see where the next Corrosion Solutions Conference will be held....until then I have great memories of this past conference.

Titanium, A to Z

The time has come to update my quarterly blog and much to the distress of my mentor Despina Yeargin, I have not been as diligent on this matter as I should have been.  To my readers and fans out there (if I have any) please be patient with me, as I have developed a major “writer’s block” when it comes to this blog.
 

As I sat at my desk and tried to overcome this temporary blockage it suddenly dawned on me that everywhere I look nowadays I see the word “titanium”.  When I go to the bank, I see advertisements for a “titanium checking account”.  In the sporting goods section of my favorite department store, I see titanium golf clubs, titanium golf balls and knives made of titanium.  I see eyeglass stores advertising titanium eyeglass frames, the dentist now uses titanium posts for implants and I can go to the hardware store and see titanium drill bits and paint named “metallic titanium”. Specialty jewelry companies have been using titanium for years and I can order titanium pots and pans over the internet.  Wow!! When did all of this happen and why am I surprised to see all of this now and at this point in time?

 The truth of the matter is, Titanium has slowly but surely been entering the consumer markets for the last 25 years or so, it has happened right before my eyes and I have been a part of it.  Perhaps I was so close to the action, I missed what was going on, however, I know for certain that titanium metals have made their mark on our society. 

When I first entered the titanium industry in 1974 our concerns were simple, we wanted to produce and sell titanium into the Chemical Processing Industry and the Aerospace Industry.  We were a fledgling industry and were looking for markets where we could introduce our “space age wonder metal”.  If we found a market, everyone was happy, as there was another place to sell our sheet, plate, pipe or wire products.

I think one of the first consumer markets for titanium that I can remember was for titanium jewelry.  The unique fabrication characteristics of the metal, coupled with the bright anodized colors, made titanium jewelry a very cool and chic product to own. I can also remember the day someone from the office came in and announced that they had seen a titanium tennis racquet; our comments were, what will they think of next?
 

I don’t know about you, but I participated in the growth of titanium in consumer products and probably was not even aware of the impact I was making.  I have worn over the years a number of titanium watches, from very simple designs to the more luxurious brands.  They all do the same thing, but once you own a titanium watch you are considered “cool” by your peers. I have run the gamut on golf clubs from drivers to putters, to titanium golf balls, none of which have helped my game, by the way.  The next trend was the eyeglass frames, for reading glasses, distance glasses to sunglasses, I have had them all. I have had titanium money clips, titanium stereo head phones, titanium knives and the granddaddy of all, titanium dental implants.  All of this has happened to me over the last thirty five years, and I am just waking up to the fact that “titanium” is a household word. 

While many of us were out looking for and developing applications for aerospace, CPI, military, oil and gas and marine markets, there have been a number of dedicated , entrepreneurial and talented individuals creating a consumer goods market for titanium that many of us have taken for granted.  The consumer market for titanium is growing by leaps and bounds and it is very possible that someday this market could be one of our largest markets. Consider this--if every household in the USA, or even every automobile manufacturer, used one pound of titanium, the total usage of titanium product could be staggering.  I for one am now a firm believer that the consumer market for titanium products is a market worth pursuing and one worth developing.  Now...if I could only invent that one titanium product that everyone has to have  ...the possibilities are endless!  Let’s put our thinking caps on and come up with something new and creative.

We all live in a titanium submarine...

I have long been a fan of submarines, starting with Captain Nemo in Jules Verne’s classic, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, to the modern day nuclear submarines of the United States Navy.  In my younger days I was thrilled to read about the exploits of Jacques Cousteau in National Geographic and his legendary trips under the sea, exploring new waters and discovering sea life and species never before seen by mankind. There was one point in my youth that I actually considered a career in oceanography, however, once out in the real world, I discovered titanium and its many uses and was forever hooked on the metal. My last blog article featured Sir Richard Branson’s new deep sea diving submarine, "Virgin Oceanic".  I find this subject utterly fascinating and applaud Sir Richard’s visions and courage and wish him great success with his new venture.    
                                                                                            
I am very happy to see that titanium has again made its way into the world of deep sea diving submarines. For those of us  who follow the titanium industry on a regular basis, we are aware of titanium’s unique characteristics having to do with seawater corrosion and the strength advantage of using  titanium for those very high pressures that are found so deep in the ocean. Sir Richard and his design crew have done what we all have hoped would happen in the titanium world for many years.  Branson has taken a dream and has designed his vehicle using the proper materials for sea water applications. We all remember the Alvin Submarine, which used titanium many years ago and has recently been refurbished using titanium for its pressure sphere.

Over the years there has been titanium usage on submarines, from titanium brine pumps, sewage pumps and titanium cast balls for ball valves, to titanium components for mast assemblies, and many more components than there is space to list in one blog posting.  The Russians have successfully produced titanium hulled submarines and even the author Clive Cussler uses titanium in many of his thrilling Dirk Pitt adventures.

When one designs equipment for deep sea diving applications, one must be sure to request the proper materials that will withstand the tremendous pressures of the deep as well as to protect equipment from seawater corrosion.  In Branson’s Virgin Oceanic design, titanium was the obvious and correct choice. What a pleasure it is to see the metal being used for new commercial applications.  I wish Sir Richard and his crew great success in his endeavors and thank them for utilization of a very great and wonderful metal, titanium.

Sir Richard Branson Explores Deep Ocean in Titanium Submarine.

Made mostly of titanium, this deep ocean cruiser is the creative and adventurous Branson's newest venture.  For the full story, follow the link to the U.K.'s 'Daily Mail'.

2011 ITA Conference

In lovely San Diego, California, this year's titanium conference will be sunny and informative.

All You Ever Wanted to Know...about titanium

From Titanium.org, the website for ITA, a web page full of titanium facts. This is a helpful site, offering information about international conferences, applications, properties and reading material.