Titanium golf clubs can spark fires, study finds

IRVINE, Calif. – Golfers are urged to swing with care after scientists at the University of California, Irvine, proved that titanium-coated clubs can cause course-side vegetation to burst into flames.

Investigators who were “laughed at” when they first floated the golf club theory have been vindicated, according to Concialdi.

Titanium golf clubs can spark fires, study finds

Another story with video:

Scientists say titanium golf clubs pose fire risk

March 31, 2014 12:56 PM EDT — Researchers at UC Irvine say titanium alloy golf clubs can cause wildfires. They demonstrated that when a club coated with the lmetal is swung and strikes a rock, it creates sparks. (Reuters)

Titanium alloys: in a lot of products. Not just golf clubs.

so...you swing this golf club and it creates a spark, then somehow you don't notice the spark, or the smoke, or the flame, you just let it turn into a fire?....stupid article, if you ask me.

I'm wondering if the new bullets they are making can do the same thing. I have lots of rocks here that when they hit metal they spark. It is just chert, quartzite, and also flint. Now a lead or copper coated bullet will not make sparks. Increasing technology can cause problems. The construction of bullets is changing, I think for the worse.

greencmp
reply to post by luxordelphi

 

[SNIP]

lol...but yeah...but seriously these new alloys/advanced alloys have invaded so much of our stuff and they don't seem to be as environmentally friendly as the old stuff.

luxordelphi

greencmp
reply to post by luxordelphi

 

So more evidence Obama just wants to burn it all down!

lol...but yeah...but seriously these new alloys/advanced alloys have invaded so much of our stuff and they don't seem to be as environmentally friendly as the old stuff.

Could be, the data is always coming in but, while I could understand a war on say magnesium, which can burn underwater, the idea that titanium is a fire hazard just boggles the mind. I guess we could just ban bad golfers who hit rocks with their clubs and that would take care of that.

What a research project...get to play golf for a year testing out the theory when it probably been known for decades, should also issue a warning about playing golf when you have flatulence as well?

rickymouse
I'm wondering if the new bullets they are making can do the same thing. I have lots of rocks here that when they hit metal they spark. It is just chert, quartzite, and also flint. Now a lead or copper coated bullet will not make sparks. Increasing technology can cause problems. The construction of bullets is changing, I think for the worse.

There's some pretty big stuff out there utilizing the new advanced titanium alloys. This seemingly insignificant little study on golf course fires has the potential to sink the Titanic.

reply to post by luxordelphi


I actually think they should test the new bullets for this problem of igniting fires if they hit a rock. We live in an area where many people hunt and if the new bullets could ignite a fire it would not be good. In the fall there are a lot of dry leaves out there.

reply to post by greencmp

Could be, the data is always coming in but, while I could understand a war on say magnesium, which can burn underwater, the idea that titanium is a fire hazard just boggles the mind. I guess we could just ban bad golfers who hit rocks with their clubs and that would take care of that.

It's a 'super' alloy. Whatever that is. (It's new and advanced.) It's in a lot of stuff. Maybe just follow the fires?

New Vanadium Demand Imminent as TNG Courts Power Brokers In The Great Game of New Energy

Lightweighting Road Vehicles and Super Alloys: We’re not going to delve too deeply into the relatively well-trodden road with regards to increased titanium and vanadium use in super-alloys for aerospace applications. There is a well-established trend towards a higher proportion of each aircraft being comprised of titanium-vanadium alloys, and a higher number of total passenger and freight air miles travelled each year.

reply to post by luxordelphi


Hmmm, vanadium is like lead so probably not going to spark but, if we are talking about any alloy then there might be a magnesium-titanium alloy or something like it.

But still, I am trying to come up with the most absurd analogy to reveal the colossal waste of time this represents. Furthermore, this is the kind of information only a lawyer could use.

jimmyx
so...you swing this golf club and it creates a spark, then somehow you don't notice the spark, or the smoke, or the flame, you just let it turn into a fire?....stupid article, if you ask me.

Kind of stupid to use this super alloy in & on so much stuff before testing it in the environment. (Do golfers carry fire extinguishers?) (Maybe they should.)

Titanium golf clubs can spark fires, study finds

Scientists painstakingly re-created in the lab course the conditions on the days of the fires. Using high-speed cameras and electron microscopes, they found that if hit upon a rock, clubs containing titanium can produce sparks of up to 3,000 degrees that will burn for more than a second, said James Earthman, a chemical engineering and materials science professor and an author of the study.

“And that gives the spark plenty of time” to ignite nearby foliage, he said. “Titanium reacts violently with both oxygen and nitrogen in the air.”

In contrast, when standard stainless steel clubs were used, there was no reaction.

Most golf clubs have steel heads but many manufacturers also make ones with a titanium alloy component in the head. Such alloys are 40 percent lighter, which can make the club easier to swing, researchers said.

Maxatoria
What a research project...get to play golf for a year testing out the theory when it probably been known for decades, should also issue a warning about playing golf when you have flatulence as well?

History for the titanium golf club:

Titanium Golf Clubs

Titanium golf clubs have been used for several years, but came to be more popular in the early 1990s. Soon after they started being used by golfers, they rapidly grew in popularity thanks to the fact that they offered things other golf clubs couldn’t.

There are two main reasons why titanium is used for golf clubs–it is strong and it is light. In fact, titanium is one of the hardest substances known to man. It also is resistant to corrosion. In fact, titanium is such a strong substance that it is sometimes used as armor for combat vehicles. Therefore, you should have little worry that the club will not hold up.

Warning
According to the British Medical Journal, because modern titanium clubs can create a kind of sonic boom when they connect with the ball, golfers who use titanium clubs have been advised by some doctors to wear ear plugs.

Sonic boom?

rickymouse
reply to post by luxordelphi

 

I actually think they should test the new bullets for this problem of igniting fires if they hit a rock. We live in an area where many people hunt and if the new bullets could ignite a fire it would not be good. In the fall there are a lot of dry leaves out there.

I've heard of Titanium bullets but not sure about whether or not there are bullets made from the new advanced super alloys. Bullet proof stuff is made from it. It makes a difference because the golf clubs starting the fires are an alloy.

reply to post by greencmp

But still, I am trying to come up with the most absurd analogy to reveal the colossal waste of time this represents. Furthermore, this is the kind of information only a lawyer could use.

I'm thinking usage here is pervasive beyond any single group. (Usage of the alloys.)

With the new fangled alloys there also seems to be a time-lag as the stuff slowly (over years) starts to degrade. Or as unseen original imperfections begin to spread.

I'm not sure what difference this makes - surely steel clubs, which have been in use for years, have the same potential to cause sparks?

One thing is for sure - titanium clubs have failed to set my golf game on fire.

SummerLightning
I'm not sure what difference this makes - surely steel clubs, which have been in use for years, have the same potential to cause sparks?

Try telling that to the OP. He doesn't seem to understand much about this story at all.

Not once in my life have I seen such ridiculous chicken little like scare tactics as this. Titanium sparking against rocks somehow being a safety issue? Are you freaking kidding me? Then sonic booms? Wow..... just wow. This is like a whole new level.

And what is the deal with the OP? Why are you making it seem like titanium alloys are somehow dangerous? Do you just have no understanding of materials at all, or do you have something to gain by spreading false rumors that new metal alloy clubs are dangerous?

You do realize that we have been using sparking metals for thousands of years... right?

Go take a hammer and bash it on the concrete, the sidewalk type with lots of aggregate (or rocks, if you don't know what that means) and it will spark all over the place. Because of this fact will you author a thread spreading the dangers of steel? Why not? Because that would be at the same level of ridiculousness.

Go use a saw to cut through some beams with nails in them, you'll see more sparking. Run an angle grinder against something steel, LOTS and LOTS of sparks.

Since when was it news that bashing metals against rocks or anything else similar will cause sparks? Why is this being made into some dangerous thing?

jimmyx
so...you swing this golf club and it creates a spark, then somehow you don't notice the spark, or the smoke, or the flame, you just let it turn into a fire?....stupid article, if you ask me.

plus theyd have to be using their driver in the rough since the greens are watered.

so you just happen to have these rare titanium drivers, which are pricey, you just happen to have hit your ball into the rough an area not watered, it just happens to be very dry climate in that region at that time of year, and you just happen to choose to use a DRIVER to get the ball out of the rough, and you just happen to strike a rock in the process, and you just happen to ignore the ensuing spark, smoke, and fire.

well then, better right a new law banning their use from all people and places nationwide, i mean after all, safety first, who needs freedom, we got the gov to look out for us and tell us whats safe, no need to use your own head or exercise caution/logic.

reply to post by James1982


Under the same conditions, steel didn't cause any fires. The old materials didn't cause any fires. Here's the abstract from the study:

Spark Production by abrasion of titanium alloys in golf club heads

By contrast, no sparks were produced by stainless steel club heads when tested under the same conditions.

Also, the way the study came about, according to the various news stories, was that the fire investigators were saying that the fires were caused by these titanium alloy golf clubs and they were getting laughed at. So a study was commissioned and it showed that the fires were caused by the golf clubs with the titanium alloy.

It' one of the advanced alloys because the abstract says that the abraded combusting particles were a max of 500 microns in diameter.

The findings reveal that Ti alloy faceplates that extend to the sole of the club can produce a number of Ti alloy particles when abraded under swing conditions. The particles then combust for a sufficient duration to potentially ignite a neighboring fuel source such as dry foliage and grasses. Abraded Ti alloy microparticles up to 500 µm in diameter were observed to burn for nearly 1 s, allowing ample time for fuel ignition.

Advanced titanium alloys are in a lot of things - golf clubs are just a tiny part of a much bigger picture.

reply to post by pryingopen3rdeye

well then, better right a new law banning their use from all people and places nationwide, i mean after all, safety first, who needs freedom, we got the gov to look out for us and tell us whats safe, no need to use your own head or exercise caution/logic.

You've missed the point. The point is that there are a lot of new advanced materials being lab manufactured today and we really know almost nothing about them. We don't know how they will react in the environment.

The other option is that these things remain a mystery - phenomenal magic - and we never get to find out that when you rub an advanced titanium alloy hard on, for instance, a rock, it looses particles that spontaneously combust, burning up to a second at 3000 degrees F.

We've been using steel clubs. And they don't do this. So they haven't been a fire hazard.