MME 293

Lecture-12

Aluminium and its Alloys

Sudipta Mondal
Lecturer
Dept. of MME
 Properties of pure aluminium
 Aluminium’s unique properties
 Light weight (2.7 g/cc)
 High strength (45 – 700 MPa)
 High thermal and electrical conductivities
 Good resistance to corrosion
make it an ideal material for use
in conventional and novel applications
 Aluminium has become increasingly important in the production of
 Automobiles and trucks
 Development of transportation infrastructures
 Production of defense & aerospace equipment
 Production of durable consumer products
 3rd most abundant element in the
Earth’s crust
 3rd group of chemical element in the
periodic table. Atomic number 13 and
atomic weight 26.9815 (based on 12C). No
natural isotope exists.
 Silver-white colour.
 Construction of buildings
 Transmission of electricity
 Packaging of food and beverages
 Manufacture of machinery and tools
Grades of pure aluminium

Most common impurities:

Fe, Si, Cu, Zn and Sn
 Aluminium alloys & temper
designations

Two major categories of alloys:

1. Cast alloys
2. Wrought alloys

A further differentiation of each category

(based on the primary mechanism of property development):
3. Heat-treatable alloys
4. Non-heat-treatable alloys
 Strengthening Mechanisms
 The predominant objective in designing aluminium alloys is to increase strength,
hardness, and resistance to wear, creep, stress relaxation, or fatigue.

 Obtaining of these properties depends on a complex interaction of chemical

composition and microstructural features developed during solidification, thermal
treatments, and (for wrought products) deformation processing

 Two most common methods for increasing the strength of aluminium alloys:
 Disperse second-phase constituents or elements in solid solution and cold work the alloy
(non-heat-treatable alloys)
 Dissolve the alloying elements into solid solution and precipitate them as coherent
submicroscopic particles (heat-treatable or precipitation-hardening alloys)
 Cast aluminium alloys
1xx.x Al, 99.00% or greater Cu Common aluminium alloys casting
2xx.x Si with added Cu and/or Mg Si techniques
3xx.x Mg
4xx.x Zn 1) Sand casting
5xx.x Sn 2) Die casting
7xx.x Other elements - gravity casting
8xx.x Unused series - high & low pressure die casting
9xx.x - vacuum die casting
6xx.x - squeeze casting

 Selection of casting process depends upon alloy composition which is related to

controlled characteristics such as solidification range, fluidity, susceptibility to hot-
cracking.

Castability
3xx.x > 4xx.x > 5xx.x > 2xx.x > 7xx.x
Al-Si-Cu- Al-Si Al-Mg Al-Cu
 Al-Cu alloy (2xx.x series)
 The maximum solubility of copper in aluminum is 5.65
percent at 1018 F, and the solubility decreases to 0.45
percent at 572°F. Therefore, alloys containing between
2.5 and 5 percent copper will respond to heat
treatment by age hardening. Solution treatment is
carried out by heating the alloy into the kappa (K)
single-phase region followed by rapid cooling.
Subsequent aging, either natural or artificial, will allow
precipitation of the θ phase, thus increasing the
strength of the alloy. These alloys may contain smaller
amounts of silicon, iron, magnesium, manganese,
chromium, and zinc.

• aircraft structures, rivets, hardware, truck wheels and

screw-machine products.
 The presence of Cu increases fluidity, so these are
preferred for thin-section castings such as housings,
cover plates, and hydraulic brake pistol
 Al-Si alloys (3xx.x and 4xx.x series)

 Most important group and

constitute for 85-90% of the
total aluminium casting.

• Eutectic (11.7%Si) is formed just

over 1% Si addition, which contains
a coarse microstructure of large
plates or needles of Si in a
continuous Al matrix.

• Large Si plates lower ductility and

brittleness.

aluminum-silicon equilibrium phase diagram

• At eutectic point, Coarse microstructure of large plates or needles of Si in continuous Al matrix
 Use of grain refiners and modifiers

• Grain refiners are added to produce a fine equiaxed grain structure.

• Grain refinement also improves resistance to hot tearing, decreases porosity and
increases mass feeding.
• Aluminum alloys are grain refined by the addition of typically from 0.02 to 0.15% Ti or Ti-B
mixtures in the range of 0.01-0.03% Ti and 0.01 % B.

• Modification of eutectic silicon (for hypo, and eutectic alloys) or primary silicon (for
hypereutectic alloys) is necessary to remove the adverse effects of needles/ platelets of
silicon particles.

• Additions of Sr or Na (about 0.01 – 0.02%) change eutectic microstructure from needle-

like to fibrous.

• Additions of P (0.003 – 0.015%) is added to control the primary chunky silicon particles
in hypereutectic alloys.
 Non-heat-treatable alloys

 Strengthening occurs from

 Solid solution formation (Al-Mg series, 5xxx)
 Second-phase microstructural constituents (alloys having Fe, Ni, Ti, Mn, Cr)
 Dispersoid precipitates that retard grain growth (due to addition of Mn and/or Cr)
 Strain hardening

 Alloys of this groups are:

 Wrought alloys
• 3xxx and 5xxx groups containing Mn, Mg, and/or Cr
• 1xxx aluminiums, and
• Some alloys of 4xxx groups containing only Si
 Cast alloys
• 4xx.x or 5xx.x groups containing Si or Mg
• 1xx.x aluminiums
 Heat-treatable alloys

 Commercial heat-treatable aluminium alloys are mostly ternary or quaternary

systems.

 The most prominent systems are:

 2xxx and 2xx.x groups (Al-Cu-Mg, Al-Cu-Si, Al-Cu-Mg-Si systems)
 6xxx system (Al-Mg-Si system)
 3xx.x groups (Al-Si-Mg, Al-Si-Cu and Al-Si-Mg-Cu systems)
 7xxx and 7xx.x groups (Al-Zn-Mg-Cu system)
 Corrosion Characteristics
Inherent corrosion resistance of Al
• Oxide film formation on surface
• <1 micron
• The high corrosion resistance of aluminum is due to the self-protecting, thin,
invisible oxide film that forms immediately on exposing surfaces to the
atmosphere. This film protects the metal from further corrosion. If the oxide film
is removed in any environment, a new film will appear immediately and the
metals will remain fully protected.

Anodizing
A relatively thick oxide coating on Al and Al alloys may be produced by placing
the metal into an aqueous solution containing 15-25% H2SO4. this process is
called anodizing. It produces a clear and transparent coating containing
submicroscopic pores that are usually sealed before use to prevent absorption
and staining.
 Alclad sheet

Pure Al on high strength Al alloys

By hot rolling

Known as cladding

Cladding is anodic to core alloy

Aluminium coatings on steel

Hot dipping ,spraying

High temperature

Corrosive environment