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AE 684 Aircraft Materials & Processes

Lecture 11 Aluminum and Its Alloys

Intermetallic compounds
If the bonding attraction of the component materials is sufficiently strong, compounds tend to form. The compounds are single phase solids. In general, these intermetallics tend to be hard and brittle. Intermetallics along grain boundaries can make the material brittle. If they are uniformly distributed in small particles, the alloy can be strengthened.

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Properties of Aluminum Alloys

1. One-third the weight of steel One2. Good thermal and electrical conductivity 3. High strength-to-weight ratio strength-to4. Can be given a hard surface by anodizing and hard coating 5. Most alloys are weldable 6. Will not rust

Properties of Aluminum Alloys

7. High reflectivity 8. Can be die cast 9. Easily machined 10. Good formability 11. Nonmagnetic 12. Nontoxic 13. One-third of the stiffness of steel One-

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Extraction of Aluminum

Alloy Designation
The most commonly used alloy designation system in the United States is that of the Aluminum Association. For wrought alloys, it is based on four digits corresponding to the principal alloying elements

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Alloy Designation
Commercially pure 1000 aluminum (99% min) Copper 2000 Manganese Silicon Magnesium 3000 4000 5000

Alloy Designation
Magnesium and silicon Zinc Other elements Unused series 6000 7000 8000 9000

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Alloy Designation
The second digit in this system designates mill control or lack of same on specific elements, The last two digits have no significance, except in the 1xxx series they coincide with Aluminum content above 99% in hundredths. e.g. 1040 alloy has 99.4% aluminum.

Alloy Designation
The complete specification of wrought aluminum alloys involves a suffix that indicates the degree of cold work or thermal treatments. xxxxxxxx- H1: Strain hardened only xxxxxxxx- H2: Strain hardened and partially annealed

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Temper Designations

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Solubility Limits of Aluminum alloying elements

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Aluminum Copper Equilibrium Diagram

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Typical Heat Treating Cycles

Anodizing of Aluminum

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Strain Hardening

Strain hardening
Strain hardening refers to the Strengthening of a material by increasing the number of dislocations by deformation, or cold working. Also known as work hardening. When we apply a stress greater than the yield strength, dislocations begin to slip. Eventually, the dislocations moving along its slip plane encounters obstacles.

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Cold working
Residual stresses are the Stresses which are introduced in the material during processing. The stresses, rather than causing deformation of die material, remain stored in the structure. Shot peening refers to the Introducing of compressive residual stresses at the surface of a part by bombarding that surface with steel shot. The residual stresses may improve the overall performance of the material.

Recrystallization
A medium-temperature annealing heat mediumtreatment designed to eliminate all of the effects of the strain hardening produced during cold working. Recrystallization temperature. The temperature above which the effects of strain hardening are eliminated during annealing is called The recrystallization temperature. Recrystallization temperature is not a constant for a material but depends on the amount of cold work, the annealing time, and other factors.

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Recovery
A low-temperature annealing heat lowtreatment designed to eliminate residual stresses introduced during deformation without reducing the strength of the cold-worked material cold-

Effect of cold work

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Effect of cold work

A fibrous microstructure is produced as the grains within the metal become elongated. AS percent cold wok increases, both yield strength and tensile strength increase while ductility decreases. There is a maximum amount of cold work that we can do to a metal.

Effect of cold work

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Deformation Processing Techniques

Extrusion: Shaping metal by a process that forces it through the die.

Closed die Forging process shapes hot metal as two dies exert pressure from both sides as they come together.

Rolling, Drawing, Deep drawing

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Stretch Forming, Bending

Effect of cold working

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Effect of Annealing Temperature

Hot Working

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Effect of Alloying elements on the yield strength of copper

Dispersion strengthening
Increasing the strength of a material by mixing together more than one phase. By proper control of the size, shape, amount, and individual properties of the phases, excellent combinations of properties can be obtained.

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Solid solution strengthening

Increasing the strength of a material by introducing point defects into the structure in a deliberate and controlled manner.

Intermetallic compound
Stoichiometric intermetallic compound refers to a phase formed by the combination of two components into a compound having a structure and properties different from either component. The stoichiometric intermetallic compound has a fixed ratio of the components present in the compound.

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Phase Diagram
Solvus.: A solubility line that separates a single solid phase region from a two solid phase region in the phase diagram.

Age hardening
A special dispersion strengthening heat treatment. By solution treatment, quenching, and aging, a coherent precipitate forms that provides a substantial strengthening effect. Also known as precipitation hardening.

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Aging
Artificial aging: Reheating a solution treated and quenched alloy to a temperature below the solvus in order to provide the thermal energy required for a precipitate to form Natural aging: When a coherent precipitate forms from a solution-treated solutionand quenched age hardenable alloy at room temperature, providing optimum strengthening

Solution Heat Treatment

The purpose of solution heat treatment is the dissolution of the maximum amount of soluble elements from the alloy into solid solution. The process consists of heating and holding the alloy at a temperature sufficiently high and for a long enough period of time to achieve a nearly homogenous solid solution in which all phases have dissolved

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Aluminum Copper Phase Diagram

Aluminum Alloys

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