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ESABKNOWLEDGE CENTER.
UnderstandingtheAluminumAlloyDesignationSystem
MARCH26,2014

23
Withthegrowthofaluminumwithintheweldingfabricationindustry,anditsacceptanceasanexcellent
alternativetosteelformanyapplications,thereareincreasingrequirementsforthoseinvolvedwithdeveloping
aluminumprojectstobecomemorefamiliarwiththisgroupofmaterials.Tofullyunderstandaluminum,itis
advisabletostartbybecomingacquaintedwiththealuminumidentification/designationsystem,themany
aluminumalloysavailableandtheircharacteristics.
TheAluminumAlloyTemperandDesignationSystem
InNorthAmerica,TheAluminumAssociationInc.isresponsiblefortheallocationandregistrationofaluminum
alloys.Currentlythereareover400wroughtaluminumandwroughtaluminumalloysandover200aluminum
alloysintheformofcastingsandingotsregisteredwiththeAluminumAssociation.Thealloychemical
compositionlimitsforalloftheseregisteredalloysarecontainedintheAluminumAssociationsTealBook
entitledInternationalAlloyDesignationsandChemicalCompositionLimitsforWroughtAluminumandWrought
AluminumAlloysandintheirPinkBookentitledDesignationsandChemicalCompositionLimitsforAluminum
AlloysintheFormofCastingsandIngot.Thesepublicationscanbeextremelyusefultotheweldingengineer
whendevelopingweldingprocedures,andwhentheconsiderationofchemistryanditsassociationwithcrack
sensitivityisofimportance.
Aluminumalloyscanbecategorizedintoanumberofgroupsbasedontheparticularmaterialscharacteristics
suchasitsabilitytorespondtothermalandmechanicaltreatmentandtheprimaryalloyingelementaddedtothe
aluminumalloy.Whenweconsiderthenumbering/identificationsystemusedforaluminumalloys,theabove
characteristicsareidentified.Thewroughtandcastaluminumshavedifferentsystemsofidentificationthe
wroughthavinga4digitsystem,andthecastingshavinga3digitand1decimalplacesystem.
WroughtAlloyDesignationSystem
Weshallfirstconsiderthe4digitwroughtaluminumalloyidentificationsystem.
Thefirstdigit(Xxxx)indicatestheprincipalalloyingelement,whichhasbeenaddedtothealuminumalloyandis
oftenusedtodescribethealuminumalloyseries,i.e.,1000series,2000series,3000series,upto8000series
(seetable1).

WROUGHTALUMINUMALLOYDESIGNATIONSYSTEM
AlloySeries

PrincipalAlloyingElement

1xx

99.000%MinimumAluminum

2xx

Copper

3xx

Manganese

4xx

Silicon

5xx

Magnesium

6xx

MagnesiumandSilicon

7xx

Zinc

8xx

OtherElements

Table1

Thesecondsingledigit(xXxx),ifdifferentfrom0,indicatesamodificationofthespecificalloy,andthethirdand
fourthdigits(xxXX)arearbitrarynumbersgiventoidentifyaspecificalloyintheseries.Example:Inalloy5183,
thenumber5indicatesthatitisofthemagnesiumalloyseries,the1indicatesthatitisthe1stmodificationtothe
originalalloy5083,andthe83identifiesitinthe5xxxseries.
Theonlyexceptiontothisalloynumberingsystemiswiththe1xxxseriesaluminumalloys(purealuminums)in
whichcase,thelast2digitsprovidetheminimumaluminumpercentageabove99%,i.e.,Alloy1350(99.50%
minimumaluminum).
CastAlloyDesignation
Thecastalloydesignationsystemisbasedona3digitplusdecimaldesignationxxx.x(i.e.356.0).Thefirstdigit
(Xxx.x)indicatestheprincipalalloyingelement,whichhasbeenaddedtothealuminumalloy(seetable2).

CASTALUMINUMALLOYDESIGNATIONSYSTEM
AlloySeries

PrincipalAlloyingElement

1xx.x

99.000%minimumAluminum

2xx.x

Copper

3xx.x

SiliconPlusCopperand/orMagnesium

4xx.x

Silicon

5xx.x

Magnesium

6xx.x

UnusedSeries

7xx.x

Zinc

8xx.x

Tin

9xx.x

OtherElements

Table2

Thesecondandthirddigits(xXX.x)arearbitrarynumbersgiventoidentifyaspecificalloyintheseries.The
numberfollowingthedecimalpointindicateswhetherthealloyisacasting(.0)oraningot(.1or.2).Acapital
letterprefixindicatesamodificationtoaspecificalloy.

Example:AlloyA356.0thecapitalA(Axxx.x)indicatesamodificationofalloy356.0.Thenumber3(A3xx.x)
indicatesthatitisofthesiliconpluscopperand/ormagnesiumseries.The56(Ax56.0)identifiesthealloywithin
the3xx.xseries,andthe.0(Axxx.0)indicatesthatitisafinalshapecastingandnotaningot.
TheAluminumTemperDesignationSystem
Ifweconsiderthedifferentseriesofaluminumalloys,wewillseethatthereareconsiderabledifferencesintheir
characteristicsandconsequentapplication.Thefirstpointtorecognize,afterunderstandingtheidentification
system,isthattherearetwodistinctlydifferenttypesofaluminumwithintheseriesmentionedabove.Theseare
theHeatTreatableAluminumalloys(thosewhichcangainstrengththroughtheadditionofheat)andtheNon
HeatTreatableAluminumalloys.Thisdistinctionisparticularlyimportantwhenconsideringtheaffectsofarc
weldingonthesetwotypesofmaterials.
The1xxx,3xxx,and5xxxserieswroughtaluminumalloysarenonheattreatableandarestrainhardenableonly.
The2xxx,6xxx,and7xxxserieswroughtaluminumalloysareheattreatableandthe4xxxseriesconsistofboth
heattreatableandnonheattreatablealloys.The2xx.x,3xx.x,4xx.xand7xx.xseriescastalloysareheat
treatable.Strainhardeningisnotgenerallyappliedtocastings.
Theheattreatablealloysacquiretheiroptimummechanicalpropertiesthroughaprocessofthermaltreatment,
themostcommonthermaltreatmentsbeingSolutionHeatTreatmentandArtificialAging.SolutionHeat
Treatmentistheprocessofheatingthealloytoanelevatedtemperature(around990Deg.F)inordertoputthe
alloyingelementsorcompoundsintosolution.Thisisfollowedbyquenching,usuallyinwater,toproducea
supersaturatedsolutionatroomtemperature.Solutionheattreatmentisusuallyfollowedbyaging.Agingisthe
precipitationofaportionoftheelementsorcompoundsfromasupersaturatedsolutioninordertoyield
desirableproperties.Theagingprocessisdividedintotwotypes:agingatroomtemperature,whichistermed
naturalaging,andagingatelevatedtemperaturestermedartificialaging.Artificialagingtemperaturesare
typicallyabout320Deg.F.Manyheattreatablealuminumalloysareusedforweldingfabricationintheirsolution
heattreatedandartificiallyagedcondition.
ThenonheattreatablealloysacquiretheiroptimummechanicalpropertiesthroughStrainHardening.Strain
hardeningisthemethodofincreasingstrengththroughtheapplicationofcoldworking.TheTemperDesignation
Systemaddressesthematerialconditionscalledtempers.TheTemperDesignationSystemisanextensionof
thealloynumberingsystemandconsistsofaseriesoflettersandnumberswhichfollowthealloydesignation
numberandareconnectedbyahyphen.Examples:6061T6,6063T4,5052H32,5083H112.

THEBASICTEMPERDESIGNATIONS
Letter

Meaning

AsfabricatedAppliestoproductsofaformingprocessinwhichnospecialcontroloverthermalor
strainhardeningconditionsisemployed

AnnealedAppliestoproductwhichhasbeenheatedtoproducetheloweststrengthconditionto
improveductilityanddimensionalstability

StrainHardenedAppliestoproductswhicharestrengthenedthroughcoldworking.Thestrain
hardeningmaybefollowedbysupplementarythermaltreatment,whichproducessomereductionin
strength.TheHisalwaysfollowedbytwoormoredigits(seetable4)

SolutionHeatTreatedAnunstabletemperapplicableonlytoalloyswhichagespontaneouslyat
roomtemperatureaftersolutionheattreatment

ThermallyTreatedToproducestabletempersotherthanF,O,orH.Appliestoproductwhichhas
beenheattreated,sometimeswithsupplementarystrainhardening,toproduceastabletemper.
TheTisalwaysfollowedbyoneormoredigits(seetable5)

Table3

Furthertothebasictemperdesignation,therearetwosubdivisioncategories,oneaddressingtheHTemper
StrainHardening,andtheotheraddressingtheTTemperThermallyTreateddesignation.
Table4SubdivisionsofHTemperStrainHardened
ThefirstdigitaftertheHindicatesabasicoperation:
H1StrainHardenedOnly.
H2StrainHardenedandPartiallyAnnealed.
H3StrainHardenedandStabilized.
H4StrainHardenedandLacqueredorPainted.
TheseconddigitaftertheHindicatesthedegreeofstrainhardening:
HX2QuarterHardHX4HalfHardHX6ThreeQuartersHard
HX8FullHardHX9ExtraHard

Table5SubdivisionsofTTemperThermallyTreated
T1Naturallyagedaftercoolingfromanelevatedtemperatureshapingprocess,suchasextruding.
T2Coldworkedaftercoolingfromanelevatedtemperatureshapingprocessandthennaturallyaged.
T3Solutionheattreated,coldworkedandnaturallyaged.
T4Solutionheattreatedandnaturallyaged.
T5Artificiallyagedaftercoolingfromanelevatedtemperatureshapingprocess.
T6Solutionheattreatedandartificiallyaged.
T7Solutionheattreatedandstabilized(overaged).
T8Solutionheattreated,coldworkedandartificiallyaged.
T9Solutionheattreated,artificiallyagedandcoldworked.
T10Coldworkedaftercoolingfromanelevatedtemperatureshapingprocessandthenartificiallyaged.
Additionaldigitsindicatestressrelief.
Examples:
TX51orTXX51Stressrelievedbystretching.
TX52orTXX52Stressrelievedbycompressing.
AluminumAlloysAndTheirCharacteristics
Ifweconsiderthesevenseriesofwroughtaluminumalloys,wewillappreciatetheirdifferencesandunderstand
theirapplicationsandcharacteristics.
1xxxSeriesAlloys(nonheattreatablewithultimatetensilestrengthof10to27ksi)thisseriesisoften
referredtoasthepurealuminumseriesbecauseitisrequiredtohave99.0%minimumaluminum.Theyare
weldable.However,becauseoftheirnarrowmeltingrange,theyrequirecertainconsiderationsinorderto
produceacceptableweldingprocedures.Whenconsideredforfabrication,thesealloysareselectedprimarilyfor
theirsuperiorcorrosionresistancesuchasinspecializedchemicaltanksandpiping,orfortheirexcellent
electricalconductivityasinbusbarapplications.Thesealloyshaverelativelypoormechanicalpropertiesand
wouldseldombeconsideredforgeneralstructuralapplications.Thesebasealloysareoftenweldedwith
matchingfillermaterialorwith4xxxfilleralloysdependentonapplicationandperformancerequirements.

2xxxSeriesAlloys(heattreatablewithultimatetensilestrengthof27to62ksi)thesearealuminum/copper
alloys(copperadditionsrangingfrom0.7to6.8%),andarehighstrength,highperformancealloysthatareoften
usedforaerospaceandaircraftapplications.Theyhaveexcellentstrengthoverawiderangeoftemperature.
Someofthesealloysareconsiderednonweldablebythearcweldingprocessesbecauseoftheirsusceptibility
tohotcrackingandstresscorrosioncrackinghowever,othersarearcweldedverysuccessfullywiththecorrect
weldingprocedures.Thesebasematerialsareoftenweldedwithhighstrength2xxxseriesfilleralloysdesigned
tomatchtheirperformance,butcansometimesbeweldedwiththe4xxxseriesfillerscontainingsiliconorsilicon
andcopper,dependentontheapplicationandservicerequirements.
3xxxSeriesAlloys(nonheattreatablewithultimatetensilestrengthof16to41ksi)Thesearethe
aluminum/manganesealloys(manganeseadditionsrangingfrom0.05to1.8%)andareofmoderatestrength,
havegoodcorrosionresistance,goodformabilityandaresuitedforuseatelevatedtemperatures.Oneoftheir
firstuseswaspotsandpans,andtheyarethemajorcomponenttodayforheatexchangersinvehiclesand
powerplants.Theirmoderatestrength,however,oftenprecludestheirconsiderationforstructuralapplications.
Thesebasealloysareweldedwith1xxx,4xxxand5xxxseriesfilleralloys,dependentontheirspecificchemistry
andparticularapplicationandservicerequirements.
4xxxSeriesAlloys(heattreatableandnonheattreatablewithultimatetensilestrengthof25to55ksi)
Thesearethealuminum/siliconalloys(siliconadditionsrangingfrom0.6to21.5%)andaretheonlyseries
whichcontainbothheattreatableandnonheattreatablealloys.Silicon,whenaddedtoaluminum,reducesits
meltingpointandimprovesitsfluiditywhenmolten.Thesecharacteristicsaredesirableforfillermaterialsused
forbothfusionweldingandbrazing.Consequently,thisseriesofalloysispredominantlyfoundasfillermaterial.
Silicon,independentlyinaluminum,isnonheattreatablehowever,anumberofthesesiliconalloyshavebeen
designedtohaveadditionsofmagnesiumorcopper,whichprovidesthemwiththeabilitytorespondfavorablyto
solutionheattreatment.Typically,theseheattreatablefilleralloysareusedonlywhenaweldedcomponentisto
besubjectedtopostweldthermaltreatments.
5xxxSeriesAlloys(nonheattreatablewithultimatetensilestrengthof18to51ksi)Thesearethe
aluminum/magnesiumalloys(magnesiumadditionsrangingfrom0.2to6.2%)andhavethehigheststrengthof
thenonheattreatablealloys.Inaddition,thisalloyseriesisreadilyweldable,andforthesereasonstheyare
usedforawidevarietyofapplicationssuchasshipbuilding,transportation,pressurevessels,bridgesand
buildings.Themagnesiumbasealloysareoftenweldedwithfilleralloys,whichareselectedafterconsideration
ofthemagnesiumcontentofthebasematerial,andtheapplicationandserviceconditionsofthewelded
component.Alloysinthisserieswithmorethan3.0%magnesiumarenotrecommendedforelevated
temperatureserviceabove150degFbecauseoftheirpotentialforsensitizationandsubsequentsusceptibility
tostresscorrosioncracking.Basealloyswithlessthanapproximately2.5%magnesiumareoftenwelded
successfullywiththe5xxxor4xxxseriesfilleralloys.Thebasealloy5052isgenerallyrecognizedasthe
maximummagnesiumcontentbasealloythatcanbeweldedwitha4xxxseriesfilleralloy.Becauseofproblems
associatedwitheutecticmeltingandassociatedpoorasweldedmechanicalproperties,itisnotrecommendedto
weldmaterialinthisalloyseries,whichcontainhigheramountsofmagnesiumwiththe4xxxseriesfillers.The
highermagnesiumbasematerialsareonlyweldedwith5xxxfilleralloys,whichgenerallymatchthebasealloy
composition.
6XXXSeriesAlloys(heattreatablewithultimatetensilestrengthof18to58ksi)Thesearethealuminum/
magnesiumsiliconalloys(magnesiumandsiliconadditionsofaround1.0%)andarefoundwidelythroughout
theweldingfabricationindustry,usedpredominantlyintheformofextrusions,andincorporatedinmany
structuralcomponents.Theadditionofmagnesiumandsilicontoaluminumproducesacompoundof
magnesiumsilicide,whichprovidesthismaterialitsabilitytobecomesolutionheattreatedforimprovedstrength.
Thesealloysarenaturallysolidificationcracksensitive,andforthisreason,theyshouldnotbearcwelded
autogenously(withoutfillermaterial).Theadditionofadequateamountsoffillermaterialduringthearcwelding
processisessentialinordertoprovidedilutionofthebasematerial,therebypreventingthehotcracking
problem.Theyareweldedwithboth4xxxand5xxxfillermaterials,dependentontheapplicationandservice
requirements.
7XXXSeriesAlloys(heattreatablewithultimatetensilestrengthof32to88ksi)Thesearethealuminum/
zincalloys(zincadditionsrangingfrom0.8to12.0%)andcomprisesomeofthehigheststrengthaluminum
alloys.Thesealloysareoftenusedinhighperformanceapplicationssuchasaircraft,aerospace,and

competitivesportingequipment.Likethe2xxxseriesofalloys,thisseriesincorporatesalloyswhichare
consideredunsuitablecandidatesforarcwelding,andothers,whichareoftenarcweldedsuccessfully.The
commonlyweldedalloysinthisseries,suchas7005,arepredominantlyweldedwiththe5xxxseriesfilleralloys.
Summary
Todaysaluminumalloys,togetherwiththeirvarioustempers,compriseawideandversatilerangeof
manufacturingmaterials.Foroptimumproductdesignandsuccessfulweldingproceduredevelopment,itis
importanttounderstandthedifferencesbetweenthemanyalloysavailableandtheirvariousperformanceand
weldabilitycharacteristics.Whendevelopingarcweldingproceduresforthesedifferentalloys,consideration
mustbegiventothespecificalloybeingwelded.Itisoftensaidthatarcweldingofaluminumisnotdifficult,its
justdifferent.Ibelievethatanimportantpartofunderstandingthesedifferencesistobecomefamiliarwiththe
variousalloys,theircharacteristics,andtheiridentificationsystem.
AdditionalInformationSources
ThereareanumberofexcellentreferencesourcesavailableexclusivelyaddressingaluminumweldingOne
beingtheAluminumAssociationsWeldingAluminumTheoryandPracticeandanother,istheAmerican
WeldingSocietyDocumentD1.2StructuralWeldingCodeAluminum.Otherdocumentsavailablefromthe
AluminumAssociationthatassistwiththedesignofaluminumstructuresaretheAluminumDesignManualand
AluminumStandardsandData.Thesedocumentsalongwiththealloydesignationdocumentsmentionedearlier
inthearticlecanbeobtaineddirectlyfromtheAWS,orTheAluminumAssociationasappropriate.
AWSTel:18004439353WebSite:www.aws.org(http://www.aws.org/)
TheAluminumAssociationTel:(301)6450756WebSite: www.aluminum.org(http://www.aluminum.org/)
POSTEDINALUMINUMWELDING(ALUMINUM_WELDING.CFM),TAGGEDWITHGTAW(TAGS.CFM?
TAG=GTAW),HELIARC(TAGS.CFM?TAG=HELIARC),TIG(TAGS.CFM?TAG=TIG)

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