Research and Development

Research and Development

RTI R&D staff members conduct research in conjunction with major aerospace, energy, industrial customers, academic institutions and government entities, but also provide direct support to RTI's primary manufacturing sites.

RTI's Research & Development is located in Niles, OH, adjacent to the company's main manufacturing facility. The foundation of this facility is based upon over 55 years of research & development history, encompassing technical expertise in the areas of alloy development, vacuum-arc melting, plasma arc cold-hearth melting, forging, rolling, shape component forming, materials characterization, microstructure and property development, and corrosion.

The R&D staff consists of researchers, engineers and technicians who are industry-recognized experts in the fields of extractive and physical metallurgy, alloy development, computer simulation of hot deformation processes (including extrusion and superplastic forming), corrosion of titanium and its alloys, failure analysis, melting technology, and process control.

RTI R&D staff members conduct research in conjunction with major aerospace, energy, industrial customers, academic institutions and government entities, but also provide direct support to RTI's primary manufacturing sites, including RTI Niles, RTI Tradco, RTI Fabrication, RTI Claro, and RTI Energy Systems. The innovations achieved through these collaborations contribute to the growth of RTI by way of its strategic plan.

The scope of support includes manufacturing of mill products used in commercial and military aircraft, but also engineered products such as extruded shapes, hot-formed parts, machined components and assemblies, as well as titanium and steel riser systems used for energy exploration. R&D efforts include the development and deployment of surface enhancement technologies used in a diverse range of applications.

Research facilities include pilot-scale melting (plasma arc button, VAR and plasma arc cold-hearth), sheet, plate and bar rolling, superplastic forming and heat treating facilities for alloy and thermo-mechanical processing development. Metallographic equipment and scanning electron microscopy capabilities are used for materials characterization and failure analyses. A complete corrosion lab is used for energy and industrial product development. A substantial library containing proprietary and public-domain technical reports, conference proceedings, patents, and reference books complements the engineering staff and research facilities.

This facility includes outstanding computer simulation capabilities. R&D engineers employ 2-D and 3-D finite element analysis software in advancing the capabilities and fundamental understanding of manufacturing processes. RTI's capabilities include the creation of custom software used in controlling critical manufacturing and inspection processes.