Vol. 22, No. 4

4^th Quarter 2001

Innovation:

Medical Device Innovator Rebuilds Lives with Zirconium Knee Implant

By Kirk Richardson, Editor

It’s about 11AM (CST) in the R&D Department at Smith & Nephew’s Memphis, Tennessee facility, a hub of orthopaedics innovation for the well-known medical device manufacturer (see sidebar for company overview). A man in golf shirt darts past the visitors lounge only to return seconds later. He introduces himself as Gordon Hunter, Senior Research Project Manager of Advanced Product Technologies.

It’s immediately apparent that Hunter is intelligent and driven (though he insists not tireless). Besides the fact that he earned three degrees from MIT (including one in metallurgy), there are other hints. Probably the most apparent is that he’s here racing from one meeting to the next despite spending the previous day (and night) making his way home from business in Japan. All this, and he’s still coherent enough to answer questions about a ground-breaking material for orthopaedic applications. The visitor wonders, “What drives a guy like you, Hunter? What motivates the people at Smith & Nephew to innovate?”

“The point of the Orthopaedic Division is to produce products that help people with their medical problems,” he answers matter of factly. “Our products are involved in repair of traumatic injuries or repair of progressive disease of the joints. By treating these people with our products, surgeons are able to restore function; allow people to walk, run, move.

The Oxinium® femoral component (top) slides against a polyethylene insert (middle) locked in a tibial platform component (bottom).

“The story that I hear from so many of these patients is that we give them their life back– people who would have no function in their leg or arm,” says Hunter. “When you look at it in terms of some young, very active patients, some of the doctors were uncomfortable putting in new knees because they knew they were going to require two or three revisions in their lifetime. That’s a lot of surgery… that’s a lot of recovery. So those patients had to live with pain and reduced function for decades until they were finally old enough to receive the treatment.” He pauses briefly, then continues, “That’s why oxidized zirconium, for us, is so important… because it is providing a treatment route for patients who would otherwise have been told they had to wait or that there wasn’t an alternative treatment for them.”

Hunter sums it up. “To help people regain their lifestyles, regain functions of their bodies that they find critical to living, to enjoying life… that’s what drives us, that’s what keeps us moving.”

One of Smith & Nephew’s marquee products, the company’s Oxinium® oxidized zirconium knee, is fulfilling that goal. In fact, it’s rebuilding patients’ lives. Officially introduced in 2001, the knee replacement is made from a zirconium alloy (containing a small amount of niobium to enhance its mechanical and physical properties, primarily strength) that is oxidized to create a hard, ceramic surface. The result is a material that combines the best qualities of ceramics and metals: superior wear resistance with reduced potential for fracture. According to Smith and Nephew’s web site (www.smith-nephew.com), oxidized zirconium significantly addresses the critical issue of debris produced by implants as a result of friction between articulating surfaces of the implant.

The company’s orthopaedics researchers have developed a method for creating the ceramic surface with dramatically improved hardness and smoothness on a component with the shape of a human knee. This feat is achieved using a high temperature (500+°C) oxidation process that transforms the surface of zirconium metal into zirconia, a ceramic oxide. This “ceramic zone” extends approximately five microns below the material’s original surface. Underneath the ceramic, a microns-thick gradient of oxygen-enriched metal transitions into zirconium, preventing an abrupt mismatch in properties and enhancing adhesion of the ceramic zone.

The alloy fares well when compared with alternative materials. For example, ceramics may work well as components for hip implants, but Smith & Nephew shies away from manufacturing all-ceramic knee replacements. Hunter states that, although ceramics are exceptionally hard and have low coefficients of friction, they can be brittle and have the potential (however slight) for catastrophic failure.

Knee simulator testing of oxidized zirconium exhibited wear benefits.

In comparison, the oxidized zirconium alloy is plenty strong, having supported 1000 lbs. over 10 million cycles (strength equivalent to cobalt chrome) in a fatigue test simulating full-flexion loading on a femoral component.1 The alloy also has a relatively low modulus of elasticity (100 GPa versus ~250 GPa for cobalt chrome), an attribute that reduces the potential for stress shielding of the bone and might offer additional benefits.

Perhaps the greatest advantage oxidized zirconium offers over other metallic knee replacement materials is its superior wear resistance. Over time, metal alloys can develop tiny scratches from wear, roughening the surface just enough to eat away the polyethylene tibial bearing surface (on which the femoral components slide). Oxidized zirconium is an exception. The alloy’s coefficient of friction on polyethylene can be less than half that exhibited by cobalt-chrome, according to Hunter. When tested against cobalt-chrome in knee-wear simulations, the zirconium alloy reduced the rate of polyethylene wear by 85 percent.

Over 4000 Oxinium® knees, such as the one shown during this surgery, have been implanted.

“Oxidized zirconium’s resistance to wear makes it a realistic option for younger, more active candidates, as it has the potential to last longer than the traditional knee implant,” according to Smith & Nephew. “More than 600,000 knee implant operations are carried out each year around the world. Arthritis and chronic injury are the main reasons for a knee replacement. Most of these operations are for patients who are over the age of 65. The reason for this is that ortho-paedic surgeons have traditionally delayed joint replacement surgery in younger patients because they do not expect the (implant) materials to withstand the wear placed on them for more than 10-15 years.”

But Hunter points out that oxidized zirconium is changing the rules. “Zirconium is one of these unique metals that produces a very high integrity oxide,” he says. “It has good adhesion. It has no cracks or pores and withstands shear (rubbing of its surface). And it’s hard (more than twice as hard as cobalt chrome), so it’s scratch resistant… abrasion resistant. Zirconium has this oxidation behavior that is so beneficial because now you can have a ceramic on the surface, plus oxides have very good wettability.” Simply put, a more wettable material produces less friction even if there is little lubricant, a particularly beneficial attribute for patients with synovial fluid deficiencies.

X-rays of the first oxidized zirconium knee recipient in December 1997.

Hunter also mentions that in abrasion tests against pins of acrylic bone cement (which can produce debris in a joint), oxidized zirconium exhibited 4,900 times the abrasion resistance of cobalt chrome. He points out that while there are other oxidized metals that may wear well (e.g. nickel and aluminum), they are not considered to be biocompatible. “Zirconium is one of the most biocompatible metals out there… like titanium,” he says.

In fact, according to Smith & Nephew, “Oxidized zirconium also increases the opportunity for patients with an acute allergy to nickel to have a knee implant. Although many metals have traces of nickel in them, this advanced material does not have any detectable amount of nickel.” Hunter mentions that his company’s web site provides a moving testimonial from a patient with severe metal allergies and diminishing hopes of a solution… a patient who finally found an answer in Smith & Nephew’s zirconium knee replacement.

It has taken a great deal of thought and careful planning to develop this “answer”. The road to success has been a long, meticulously planned journey for Smith & Nephew, which first started working with the oxidized zirconium alloy in the late 1980s. By 1992, it had regulatory approval to use the alloy in one product, but chose to delay introduction until additional testing was complete and dependable, repeatable manufacturing processes were in place. “We really had to have confidence that this was appropriate and that it was reliable,” says Hunter. “One of the acid tests we’ve used is, would we be willing to implant these in our own mothers... would we implant these in ourselves, and, of course, the answer is yes.”

Oxidized zirconium knees support over 1000 lbs. in fatigue testing.

Meanwhile, his visitor having exhausted a healthy supply of questions, Hunter is set to race off to yet another meeting. This innovator really is tireless. “I call myself the midwife,” he laughs. “I’m not the inventor and I’m not the guy who is responsible for making the parts.” He says the company brought him in to make sure that the “birthing process” for oxidized zirconium implants goes properly. Truth is, there are plenty of satisfied doctors and patients with rebuilt knees (and lives) who would say that Hunter and his colleagues at Smith & Nephew have delivered.

For more information on Smith & Nephew, check out the company’s web site at www.smith-nephew.com. For further details about Allegheny Technologies suite of life-enhancing alloys, visit www.alleghenytechnologies.com.

Headquartered in London, U.K., Smith & Nephew was founded in 1856 (Hull, U.K.) by Thomas Smith. In 1896, Smith formed a partnership with his nephew Horatio to supply medical dressings. Little over a century later, the company has grown into a global medical device giant, employing over 7,000 people with operations in 34 countries. Smith & Nephew is currently comprised of four global business units: Orthopaedics, Endoscopy, and Wound Management and Rehabilitation. The Orthopaedics unit (featured in the accompanying article) is located in Memphis, Tennessee. To learn more, visit the company’s web site at www.smith-nephew.com.

References

1. Joseph Ogando, “A Knee for the Long Haul”, Design News, June 18, 2001, p. 76.

Knee-deep in Facts

• The first knee joint replacement was performed in 1890 on a 17-year-old woman. The artificial knee was constructed of hollow ivory cylinders held together by ivory pegs.

• Smith & Nephew’s oxidized zirconium implant was introduced at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting in 2001.

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared oxidized zirconium for knee implants.

• The most common causes of chronic knee pain and disability are Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Traumatic Arthritis.

• More than 600,000 total knee replacements are performed each year globally. The annual total global knee market is estimated to be $2 billion.

Firsthand:

Titanium Irons Out Corrosion Problems

By Randy Scheel and Kirk Richardson

There are very few companies in the world who produce zirconium. The list becomes even smaller when you add specialty metals like titanium. Mix in a niobium and a little hafnium and vanadium, and Wah Chang may well be the last one standing. Producing this breadth of unique metals certainly presents the company’s engineering staff with challenges. Solutions containing hydrochloric, sulfuric, and other corrosive media in the production process, have forced Wah Chang’s creative engineers to look to its own corrosion resistant metals to keep the plant running smoothly. In this issue’s FIRSTHAND column, Technical Services Representative and Plant Engineer Mr. Randy Scheel focuses on critical titanium components used in the manufacture of reactive and refractory metals.

Ti Grade 2 to the Rescue

In Wah Chang’s zirconium production process, zircon sand is chlorinated to make zirconium tetrachloride. The zirconium tetrachloride is dissolved in water that results in a solution that is 15 to 20% hydrochloric acid (HCl). This acid solution is then used in several ways. In one application, the solution is fed to liquid extraction columns where it separates the zirconium from the hafnium. This is a crucial step in the production of metals destined for the nuclear energy market.

Another application utilizes the solution to produce zirconium chemicals. Wah Chang makes zirconium sulfate and zirconium carbonate, which are used in a variety of consumer products, such as antiperspirant, coated paper and paint.

Rake under drum filter.

Back to production of this very important acid solution. The agitators and pumps employed in the dissolving step (called “feed makeup”) are made of CP Titanium (Grade 2). This alloy is used due to the presence of ferric chloride that would attack zirconium. The presence of the ferric chloride actually reduces the corrosion rate of titanium. There is still some attack on the titanium agitator shaft at the liquid interface (the highest concentration area as the zirconium tetrachloride powder is dissolved), but the remainder of the agitator has exhibited very little corrosion. In addition, the pump, operating at a temperature of <180 °F, has shown no sign of corrosion.

Further into the process, when iron has been removed, the preferred material is Zirconium 702. With the ferric ion gone, the titanium will corrode while zirconium will not.

Tough Environment Wears on Fiberglass

In another severe service application, mixed acids of HCl and H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) with and without ferric ion, Wah Chang again looks to its own metals for a corrosion solution. Both of these processes require precipitation of the zirconium with sulfuric acid. Typically the solution is diluted to 5 to 10% hydrochloric acid; then sulfuric acid is added to about 5 to 10%. The solution may also contain oxidizing ions like ferric chloride. The temperature is 200 °F (93 °C), which adds to the corrosion problems.

Ordinarily, this environment can be handled by fiberglass-type materials. But problems sometimes revolve around moving parts, where mechanical wear will attack the fiberglass or glass-covered metal. A typical example is the rotary drum filter. A fiberglass drum filter housing works very well in supporting a filter cloth; however, the rotating bushings that support the drum cause frequent maintenance problems. In this process, a rake in the tub under a filter constantly moves through the solution. Historically, the rake was made from metal covered with fiberglass. The problem lies with this fiberglass coating. When the rake moves it also flexes, resulting in small cracks in the coating. Once cracks form, the solution attacks the metal core and quickly flakes off the remaining coating, accelerating the corrosion process.

18 Zirconium pumps in Separations.

Wah Chang has met this challenge using either CP titanium or zirconium, depending on composition of the media (and the operating temperature). As mentioned earlier, the presence of ferric chloride will cause pit corrosion with zirconium in the hydrochloric acid environment. Conversely, the presence of the ferric ion in this mixed acid, as with hydrochloric acid, will reduce the corrosion of titanium. It’s worth noting that in this environment, titanium’s corrosion resistance decreases as temperatures rise. In such instances, zirconium might well be the material of choice. However, in this case, where ferric is present and temperatures hover around 200 °F, the preferred metal is titanium. Proving the point, titanium parts in this particular application have provided trouble-free service for several years.

Titanium bushing.

Future Outlooks will contain other “FIRSTHAND” articles describing examples of Wah Chang’s metals’ successful application within their own production. For more information on our corrosion resistant alloys or to discuss your production challenges with Mr. Scheel, contact the company at 541-967-6977. Mr. Scheel can also be reached directly via e-mail at randy.scheel@wahchang.com.

Safety Valves and Rupture Disks

In this issue’s Q&A column, chemical engineer and consultant B. J. Sanders provides useful information regarding selection of materials for safety valves and rupture disks. Mr. Sanders discusses a variety of issues, including standard materials of construction, why zirconium is not a good material for this application, and touches on other candidate metals. With 37 years’ experience in petrochemical equipment design, fabrication, maintenance, and failure analysis with various alloys, he is well qualified to write about the subject. Mr. Sanders’ background includes 23 years with Monsanto and 10 years with Sterling Chemicals, both in Texas City, Texas.

Rupture disk in acetic acid application.

QUESTION:

When zirconium is used to fabricate piping and vessels to be used in chemical processes that are severely corrosive, what materials of construction are employed for safety devices, such as pressure safety valves and rupture disk devices?

ANSWER:

The most widely used material of construction for pressure safety valves in corrosive applications is type 316 stainless steel (UNS grade S31600). In addition, a rupture disk device is usually installed at the inlet of the valve to protect it from the corrosive process. The rupture disk material used in the device can be made from tantalum, a high nickel alloy or other metal in combination with a protective coating or membrane.

QUESTION:

Why is zirconium not used to make rupture disks?

ANSWER:

There are several reasons why zirconium is not used for rupture disks. First zirconium exhibits a property known as anisotropy, which means that wrought sheet material, when subjected to mechanical testing, yields different values in the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction. This property prohibits the use of zirconium as a rupture disk because predictable and repeatable bursting results are not possible. Another reason is because zirconium becomes fragmented during bursting tests, and the metal fragments could interfere with the proper operation of the pressure safety valve. Finally zirconium sparks very easily, and this could be a serious detonation risk when a disk ruptures.

QUESTION:

Are there any other reactive metals or highly corrosion resistant materials that can be used for rupture disks?

ANSWER:

Several applications of rupture disk devices have been successful using niobium as the rupture disk material. Niobium is very resistant to many corrosive environments. Niobium is readily available in sheet form and in many thicknesses, and currently the cost of niobium is about 25 – 30 percent of the cost of tantalum.

Note: Rules for using rupture disks in combination with pressure relief valves are found in Section VIII, paragraph UG-127 of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Code.

For more information about the availability of niobium rupture disks, contact a rupture disk manufacturer. There currently are several manufacturers who maintain websites, and they can be found using the key words “rupture disk” with your favorite search engine. For more information about niobium, contact Wah Chang at 541-967-6977.

Waste Management 2002

Tucson, Arizona

February 24–28, 2002

Allegheny Technologies is pleased to announce that it will participate in Waste Management 2002, billed as the premier conference of the nuclear waste management industry. The event, which takes place in Tucson, Arizona February 24-28, is hosted by the University of Arizona. The conference is organized in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy and International Atomic Energy Agency.

According to Warren H. Bodily, Executive Director of the Waste Management Symposium, the conference is focused on the worldwide safe management of nuclear waste. A partial list of topics includes waste management, decommissioning, environmental restoration, utility waste management, and regulatory requirements. Organizers expect more than 2,000 people to attend the event, which will feature 68 technical sessions and several workshops.

Representatives from Allegheny Technologies’ Total Containment Solutions™ team will be on-hand at Exhibit #338 to answer questions regarding materials of construction. The corporation’s broad range of metals include stainless steels, High Tech Alloys, nickel alloys, hafnium, niobium, titanium, and zirconium. Please stop by our display to discuss the challenges you face and how we might meet your needs.

For more information on this event, go to www.wmsym.org/wm02. We look forward to seeing you at the 28th Annual Waste Management Conference this winter in Tucson.

NACE

Denver, Colorado

April 7–12, 2002

Allegheny Technologies’ unique TCS display.

NACExpo 2002, the organization’s 57th Annual Conference and Exposition, will be held April 7-12 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado. NACE anticipates 5,000 attendees and more than 600 booths for the exhibition.

The exhibit hall opens Monday, April 8 (5:30 to 8PM) and continues daily (10AM to 5PM) until closing Thursday, April 11 (10AM to 2PM). Allegheny Technologies Incorporated’s Total Corrosion Solutions (TCS) team will be on hand to display its wide array of corrosion resistant metals in Booth # 407. Representatives from Allegheny Ludlum, Allvac, and Wah Chang will be present to answer technical questions and provide information on the companies’ broad array of metals that range from stainless steels and High Tech Alloys to nickel alloys, niobium, titanium, and zirconium. The unique Total Corrosion Solutions display (see accompanying picture) will feature new twists as well as product announcements, so make a point of visiting us at the show. We look forward to seeing you in the mile-high city this spring.

Corrosion Solutions Seminar Update

See Locations Below

January–April, 2002

This winter and spring, Wah Chang is offering its technically oriented Corrosion Solutions™ Seminars in North and Central America, and Asia. The course is designed to provide information on zirconium, titanium, niobium and other corrosion resistant materials to engineers, fabrication and maintenance personnel, as well as others facing corrosion challenges. Attendees at past classes include representatives from Agrium, Asahi Chemical, AstroCosmos, Bechtel Bettis, BP Chemicals, BP Petronas Acetyls, Catalytica Pharmaceuticals, Daicel Chemical, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Ellett Industries, Hicks Equipment, Joseph Oat Corporation, MES, Nitrochem, Orica, Phoenix, Polyplastics, Samsung BP, SPF, as well as many others.

According to Rick Sutherlin, who developed and directs Wah Chang’s seminar series, the course has continued to improve since its inception in the spring of 2000. “Initially the Corrosion Solutions seminars dealt primarily with Zirconium but have expanded to the use of titanium and niobium over this past year,” says Sutherlin. “The additional information has enabled some end users to consider and even apply these metals in their particular corrosive environments. A number of attendees have responded that they know of no other source for this type of in-depth information on reactive metals.”

The seminar was developed and is presented by technical personnel and professionals in metallurgical and chemical engineering in addition to other technical disciplines. After a background on the manufacturing processes and uses of these materials, the course reviews the metallurgy, availability, and equipment fabrication, including welding and heat treatment techniques. The course then covers in-detail the corrosion properties of reactive metals, comparing their resistance to other construction materials. It also offers guidance in project management, equipment operation and maintenance, safety issues, failure analysis, and other important issues.

At the close of the seminar, participants receive a Corrosion Solutions™ CD and access to the corrosionsolutions.com website, which includes a searchable database of technical articles, a conversion calculator, and more. Attendees also receive credit valued at $400 for future corrosion testing services (available through the website).

To register for a course, contact Sheryl Renzoni at 541-926-4211 ext: 6280. For more details on content, contact Wah Chang’s Rick Sutherlin at 541-967-6924.

Winter/Spring 2002 Schedule:

January 29-30, 2002, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

March 21-22, 2002, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico

April 11-12, 2002, Nanjing, China

April 15-16, 2002, Beijing, China

Ti Wire Joins Wah Chang Team

Allegheny Technologies Incorporated recently announced that its Titanium Wire Corporation, formerly part of Titanium Industries, was made a new division of its Wah Chang operation. Ti Wire's, 55,000 square foot manufacturing facility, located in eastern Pennsylvania, supplies titanium and titanium alloy bar and wire throughout the United States as well as numerous international destinations.

“The addition of Ti Wire will be a great enhancement to Wah Chang’s current wire manufacturing operations,” says Parry Walborn, Vice President of Commercial at Wah Chang. “Their experienced workforce, additional capacity, and ability to produce sizes not in our current inventory will enable us to offer a broader range of wire products to a variety of markets for many applications.”

“We manufacture a quality line of titanium bar and wire products from .500 inch down to .002 inch diameter,” according to Jim Spehrley, Sales Representative at the Frackville, PA facility. Ti Wire can supply products on coils, spools or in cut lengths either with lubricant on, clean-mill-finish condition or centerless-ground (with tolerances as tight as +/- .0003 inch).

Current stock at the facility includes the following grades of titanium, but plans are in the works to add other alloys and sizes:

Titanium Alloys

According to Sperhley, Ti Wire manufactures to the highest quality standards and is ISO 9002 registered. “Our on-staff Quality Technicians can certify this material to most accepted titanium specifications, both domestically and internationally, or manufacture material to your custom specifications,” he says.

Ti Wire presently supplies product for biomedical, aerospace, chemical processing, industrial welding and recreational applications. For more information on the division’s products and services, contact Sales at 570-874-0311 or e-mail iwire@pottsville.infi.net.

Wah Chang Bolsters Sales Team

Mr. Carl Shawber

Wah Chang is pleased to welcome Mr. Carl Shawber to its Sales staff. Mr. Shawber comes to us from Haynes Inter-national, where he was the Corrosion Marketing Manager. In his new role, he will be a Sales Manager for Wah Chang’s commercial titanium products (excluding commercial aircraft) and alloy additives of Zr, Nb, and Ti.

A graduate of Lehigh University with a degree in Metallurgy and Materials Science, Mr. Shawber’s experience includes working with steel making, plate mills, sheet and tin mills. He has also traveled internationally to introduce magnesium desulfurization to the steel industry, promote lightweight die cast magnesium applications in the automotive industry, advance the use of high purity magnesium in the metal reduction of titanium (among other materials), and develop markets for nickel and cobalt-based alloys in corrosion and high temperature industries.

Mr. Shawber’s background includes positions with Bethlehem Steel (Metallurgical Engineer), Amax Specialty Metals Corporation’s Magnesium Division (Development Engineer), Titanium Metals Corporation (Service Center Manager), and Haynes International (Corrosion Marketing Manager).

He is excited to have the opportunity to contribute to the growth of Wah Chang, with its diverse markets, and to the local community. To contact Mr. Shawber, reach him by phone at 541-967-6968, by fax at 541-967-6994, or by e-mail at carl.shawber@wahchang.com.

News in Review

Joint Strike Fighter Contract

Pratt & Whitney (P&W) and Rolls-Royce today signed the contract covering Rolls-Royce’s short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) development work for the F135 propulsion system for the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft.

The contract, worth approximately $1 billion to Rolls-Royce over ten years, is for the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the program. It covers design and development work on the innovative LiftFan(TM), the roll posts, the three bearing swivel duct and nozzle system that together provide the STOVL capability for the JSF. P&W has prime contractor responsibility for the development of the propulsion and lift system for the JSF under the terms of a $4.8 billion contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense. Activities will include the design and manufacturing of ground test engines, as well as subsequent production and support of flight test engines.

The two companies also signed a teaming agreement for the F135 propulsion system, formalizing their relationship. The teaming agreement continues Rolls-Royce’s responsibility in providing P&W with design and development leadership for major F135 STOVL components.

Rolls-Royce involvement in JSF STOVL development will be led and program-managed by its Bristol, UK site and strongly supported by its Indianapolis, U.S. facility.

P&W’s F135 propulsion system is expected to enter production in 2007. It will power all JSF aircraft variants – conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), carrier variant (CV), and short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL). Up to 6,000 JSF aircraft are expected to be produced over the life of the program.

From PRNewswire via COMTEX, December 19, 2001.

OUTLOOK

LYNN DAVIS, President

PARRY WALBORN, Vice President, Commercial

GARY KNEISEL, Director of Sales

KIRK RICHARDSON, Editor

Outlook is published quarterly by Wah Chang (Albany, Oregon office). The newsletter contains information on reactive and refractory metals, including hafnium, niobium, titanium, vanadium, and zirconium, as well as chemicals. The properties listed herein are average values based on laboratory and field test data from a number of sources. They are indicative only of the results obtained in such tests and should not be considered as guaranteed maximums or minimums. ©, Wah Chang, 2001

INFORMATION & ORDER CONTACTS

Wah Chang (headquarters)

P.O Box 460  

Albany, Oregon 97321

Tel: (541) 926-4211

Fax: (541) 967-6990

www.wahchang.com

www.corrosionsolutions.com

Sales/Tech Support

Tel: (541) 967-6977

Fax: (541) 967-6994

E-mail: custserv@wahchang.com

CPI Service Center–U.S.

Tel: (541) 812-7038

Fax: (541) 967-6979

E-mail: starlene.ladd@wahchang.com

For information on agents/distributors of CPI products

call: (541) 967-6906

For information on agents/distributors of nuclear-grade alloys

call: (541) 967-6914

For information on agents/distributors of Ti, V, and Nb products

call: (541) 967-6977

For information on Allvac products

call: (704) 289-4511

For information on Allegheny Ludlum products

call: (412) 394-2800