Aluminium alloy
Structural materials of non-ferrous metals
An alloy based on aluminum with a certain amount of other alloying elements is one of the light metal materials.
Product Features
An alloy based on aluminum with a certain amount of other alloying elements is one of the light metal materials. In addition to the general properties of aluminum, aluminum alloy has some specific properties due to the different types and amounts of alloying elements. The density of aluminum alloy is 2.63 ~ 2.85g/cm3, with high strength (σb is 110 ~ 650MPa), the specific strength is close to high alloy steel, the specific stiffness is higher than steel, has good casting performance and plastic machining performance, good electrical and thermal conductivity, good corrosion resistance and weldability, can be used as structural materials. It is widely used in aerospace, aviation, transportation, construction, electromechanical, lightweight and daily necessities.
Classification
Aluminum alloy is divided into deformation aluminum alloy and casting aluminum alloy according to its composition and processing method. Deformed aluminum alloy is the first alloy ingredients melting cast into billet, plastic deformation processing, through rolling, extrusion, stretching, forging and other methods to make a variety of plastic processing products. Casting aluminum alloy is the raw material which is directly cast into various parts by means of sand mold, iron mold, investment mold and die casting.
deformation
Deformed aluminum alloys are semi-finished aluminum alloys such as tubes, rods, wires and shapes made by various pressure processing methods. According to its use can be divided into anticorrosive aluminum alloy, super hard aluminum, special aluminum, hard aluminum, forged aluminum 5 categories.
The main alloying elements in the commonly used rust-proof aluminum alloy are manganese and magnesium. Manganese can improve its corrosion resistance, and magnesium can strengthen and reduce the specific gravity. It is characterized by corrosion resistance, good polishing, can keep bright surface for a long time, and its strength is higher than that of pure aluminum. Duralumin, also known as Dura aluminum, is aluminum, copper, magnesium alloy, and contains a small amount of manganese. The solubility of copper and magnesium in aluminum is large, which has strengthening effect, and manganese makes it corrosion resistant. Duralumin can be made of rivets, aircraft propellers and high-strength parts of aircraft according to its alloying element content. Superduralumin is a kind of duralumin containing zinc. Its hardness and strength are higher than duralumin. Different kinds of superduralumin are used to manufacture various structural parts and high-load parts, and it is one of the important materials in the aviation industry. Forged aluminum in the general state has high plasticity, high strength, used to manufacture a variety of forgings or stamping parts, such as internal combustion engine piston; Special aluminum is used in specific cases, different components, each has a purpose. [2]
casting
Cast aluminum alloy is used to directly cast mechanical parts of various shapes of aluminum alloy. According to the different main elements added, it can be divided into Al-Si alloy, Al-Zn alloy and Al-Mg alloy. Each system has its own brand and is more complex. [2]
The difference between
The fundamental difference between the deformed aluminum alloy and the cast aluminum alloy can be illustrated by the aluminum base binary alloy phase diagram: the alloy at the left of the B ‘point belongs to the deformed aluminum alloy. When heated to a temperature higher than the solid solution line (BD), it can obtain single-phase α solid solution, which has good plastic workability and is suitable for cold and hot pressure processing. Due to the development of fusion casting technology, the composition of some deformed aluminum alloys has been expanded to F point. Alloys with the composition at point E to the right are cast aluminum alloys. Because it contains low melting point cocrystal in the structure, good fluidity, can prevent hot cracking phenomenon, suitable for casting. It can be seen that the composition content of cast aluminum alloy is higher than that of deformed aluminum alloy. Aluminum alloy can be divided into two categories: heat treatment and non heat treatment. For the alloy whose composition is left at point D, the composition of the solid solution does not change with the change of temperature, and there is no phase change during heat treatment and no strengthening, so it is called non-heat treatment strengthened alloy. For the alloy whose composition is between DF, the composition of the solid solution changes with temperature, that is, the phase changes during heat treatment, and thus the strengthening occurs, which is called heat treatable enhanced alloy.
History of Development
In 1908, Aluminum Company of the United States invented electrical aluminum alloy 1050, and made steel core aluminum strand, the pioneer of high voltage long-distance transmission.
Alcoa invented alloy 2017 in 1915 and Alloy 2024 in 1933, which rapidly expanded the application of aluminum in aircraft. In 1933, Alcoa invented 6061 alloy and created the extruder quenching process, which significantly expanded the application of extruded profiles.
In 1943, Alcoa invented 6063 and 7075 alloys, ushering in a new era of high strength aluminum alloys.
In 1965, Alcoa invented the A356 cast aluminum alloy, which is a classic cast aluminum alloy.
With the in-depth research on aluminum alloy materials, high-strength aluminum alloy (2000, 7000 series) has been used in commercial aircraft with its excellent comprehensive performance has reached more than 80% of its structural quality, so it has been paid attention to by the global aviation industry. Aluminum alloy began to be gradually used in life, military, science and technology.
Application
Aluminum alloy has the characteristics of low density, good mechanical properties, good processing properties, non-toxic, easy to recycle, electrical conductivity, heat transfer and excellent corrosion resistance, etc., and it is widely used in Marine industry, chemical industry, aerospace, metal packaging, transportation and other fields. [3]
Aerospace and Aerospace
Aluminum alloy is the main material used in making aircraft. Compared with the soft steel used in the manufacture of automobiles, aluminum alloy is expensive, small density, relative density of 2.8, compared with the soft steel relative density of 7.8, about one-third light, although the strength is similar, but for the aircraft, the material light is the most important, and strong corrosion resistance, processing is convenient, so aluminum alloy is the most ideal material for the manufacture of aircraft. [4]
Duralumin can be made of rivets, aircraft propellers and high-strength parts of aircraft according to its alloying element content. Superduralumin is a kind of duralumin containing zinc. Its hardness and strength are higher than that of duralumin. Different kinds of superduralumin are used to manufacture various structural parts and high-load parts, and it is one of the important materials in the aviation industry. [2]
Marine industry
Aluminum and aluminum alloy are more and more widely used in the shipbuilding industry, from small to large motor boats to ten thousand tons of oil tankers, from the sea hovercraft to submarine, from civil to military, from fishing vessels to Marine mining vessels, aluminum alloy with excellent comprehensive performance is used to produce ship shell, support structure, supporting facilities, pipelines and so on. [5]
Aluminum alloy applied in Marine industry can reduce the overall weight of the ship, improve the speed of the ship, and resist the corrosion of the sea water on the ship. [6] Aluminum alloys used in Marine industry are mainly aluminum-copper alloy, aluminum-magnesium alloy and aluminum-silicon alloy. Aluminum-copper alloy is widely used in Chinese and Russian ships, but its poor corrosion resistance to sea water hinders its development in Marine industry. Aluminum magnesium alloy is mainly used in hull shell, pump conduit, pump shell and machine base bracket, brand 5083, 5086, 5456, 5466 and so on. Al-si alloy structure moderate strength, good fluidity, strong filling ability, easy to produce high density, complex structure parts, such as high pressure valve parts, cylinder block, pump, reducer housing, turbine blade, etc. [3]
Chemical Industry
Aluminum has good thermal conductivity, aluminum and aluminum alloy are widely used in the production of chemical equipment heat exchange equipment, corrosion resistant concentrated nitric acid storage tank, adsorption filter, fractionation tower, pipeline and many lining. Cast aluminum alloy has good fluidity, strong filling ability, small shrinkage rate, not easy to form cracks, good corrosion resistance (the surface can form aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide protective film), light weight, good mechanical properties, a large number of used in the manufacture of complex structure of anti-corrosion parts, such as cylinders, pipe fittings, valves, pumps, pistons, etc. Aluminum has many special uses in chemical production [7]. Aluminum does not produce sparks, aluminum alloy can be produced containing volatile materials containers; Aluminum is non-toxic, will not cause food deterioration, does not affect the appearance of goods, do not corrode goods, therefore, aluminum alloy is widely used in the production of food chemical industry related equipment. [3]
Packing of metal
Aluminum alloy can be used for metal packaging, it has the following excellent characteristics: good mechanical properties, light weight high compressive strength, durable, easy to store and transport goods; Good barrier performance, can block the sun, oxygen and humid environment to the destruction of articles, can extend the shelf life of articles; Good texture, aesthetic feeling, aluminum alloy used as packaging has a unique metallic luster, good touch, beautiful, improve the quality of goods; Non-toxic and easy to recycle, can be recycled, save resources, reduce environmental pollution. Aluminum alloy is widely used in beer, beverage and other food cans, most of which are formed by stamping and drawing. Aluminum foil utensils are beautiful, light in weight and good in heat transfer. They are used for the packaging of fast food and have the functions of freshness preservation, flavor preservation and non-toxicity. They are used by more and more food industries. Aluminum alloy metal hose can be extruded deformation, the contents can be extruded to use, simple and convenient, often used for paste cosmetic packaging.
Other Industries
Aluminum alloy has high specific strength, light weight, good fluidity, strong filling ability, good corrosion resistance, low melting point, and is widely used in tractor, locomotive parts, electronic products, medical equipment, building decoration and other industries. Aluminum alloy has excellent ductility and is widely used in daily necessities industry and food industry. In the field of power transmission, aluminum alloy wire has low cost, light weight, good corrosion resistance, heat transfer and conductive, wear resistance, so it has been paid more and more attention. In the field of power transmission, aluminum alloy is used the most, and up to 90% of high-voltage conductor materials are aluminum products [10]. Aluminum-silicon alloy can be used as a good deoxidizer, reduce the sensitivity of steel to produce subcutaneous bubbles, steel deoxidization improve the quality of steel, aluminum-silicon alloy market consumption is large, the national annual demand reaches one million tons.
Scientific Research
In 2022, Austrian scientists developed a new aluminum alloy that is 100 times more resistant to radiation than the 6061 aluminum alloy widely used in spacecraft.
