Aluminium and its alloys

EF420 Lecture 11 John Taylor

Features
Large growth in use since 1950 (6 times) Abundant metal - 8% of earths crust Light weight SG = 2.7 Moderate to high strength (depending on alloy) Conductivity high (pure metal & low alloys) Corrosion resistant (Al2O3 coating) Reflectivity high Non-magnetic

Extraction
Al2O3 obtained from bauxite by the Bayer process Al2O3 reduced electrolytically by the HallHeroult process to make aluminium

The large energy requirement for this process is the major proportion of the cost of aluminium, even with cheap energy sources.

Fabrication
Ductile metal easily fabricated by rolling and extrusion

Commercially pure metal can undertake a cold reduction of 80 - 90% without annealing Anneal at 350C

Machineability is good, but limited by the tendency to gall

Aluminium products
Cast alloys Wrought products

Sheet, plate, foil Rod, bar, wire, tube Standard and special extruded shapes Forgings, impacts (combined extrusion and forging)

Powder metallurgy (dispersion strengthened) products

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Structural applications
Static building structures AS1664 series Scaffolding and ladders Transportation

Aerospace, road (trucks, buses, trailers), railway Non-sparking tools, roofs to tanks, chemical process vessels, jigs, patterns, instruments Structure of appliances: refrigerators, furniture, cooking utensils

Machinery and industrial equipment

Consumer durables

Thermal and electrical

Electrical

Pure Al has 200% of the conductivity of copper weight for weight Conductors, heat sinks, capacitors, wave guides, antennas Mirrors, search lights, loft insulation

Reflectors

Miscellaneous applications
Packaging

Drink cans, foil, hermetically sealed packs

Powders and pastes

Reflective paint, printing inks, pyrotechnics, thermit welding

Limits of use
Temperature range of -240C to +200C for normal alloys Up to 350C for special alloys Up to 480C for short periods for dispersion strengthened alloys Low modulus of elasticity, requires stiffening Inferior wear, creep, & fatigue properties to steel
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Aluminium alloy designations

Aluminum Association (USA) and adopted in Australian standards Alloy designation systems for wrought products and cast alloys UNS numbers - A followed by AA number Temper designation system for wrought products Some proprietary alloys
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Wrought alloy designations

Alloy Group Pure aluminium (99.00% min) Al-Cu Al-Mn Al-Si Al-Mg Al-Mg-Si Al-Zn Al + other element Designation 1xxx 2xxx 3xxx 4xxx 5xxx 6xxx 7xxx 8xxx

Alloy types and properties

Strain hardened alloys (plus solid solution hardening) Precipitation (age) hardened alloys Dispersion strengthened alloys Yield strength from 28 MPa for 1050-O to 455 MPa for 2024-T815 Strength increases at low temperature No ductile-brittle transition

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Strain hardened alloy tempers

Code -O -F -H1x -H2x -H3x Description Annealed As fabricated (no mechanical property limits) Strain hardened Strain hardened and partially annealed Strain hardened and stabilised
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Second and third digits

x usually is a digit between 0 and 9, but may be 2 digits If x = 8, there has been the equivalent of a 75% cold thickness reduction after anneal Other x numbers represent a proportional amount of strain A 3rd digit indicates a special variation

eg 5083-H116 indicates this material has had a special heat treatment to reduce exfoliation attack

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Precipitation (age) hardening

T (deg C)
Liquid L+a a

Solution treatment - a + b alloy is heated into a temperature range to dissolve all B. Quenching retains B in solution (supersaturated)

Soft & ductile condition

a+b

Aging - holding solution treated alloy at a temperature at which fine precipitates of b are formed

Pure A

Percentage B

Strengthened condition
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Composition effects
Alloys with low levels of B will only display a weak age hardening effect Alloys with a high level of b, which cannot be dissolved on solution treatment only display a weak hardening effect Alloys with with intermediate levels of B have the highest strengthening effect These alloys only display a narrow temperature range for the single phase (a) phase field These alloys also have a wide solidification range, are likely to crack during welding, and therefore have low weldability and castability

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Age hardening alloy tempers

-O and -F tempers as above -W: solution treated, but naturally aged -T1 to -T10: indicates a combination of hot work, cold work, solution treatment, and aging

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Temper designations
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 Hot work, then naturally age Hot work, cold work, then naturally age Solution treat, cold work, then naturally age Solution treat, then naturally age Hot work, then artificially age
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Temper designations
T6 T7 T8 T9 T10 Solution treat and artificially age Solution treat and stabilise (over age) Solution treat, cold work, then artificially age Solution treat, artificially age, then cold work Hot work, cold work, then artificially age
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1000 Series alloys

Pure Al, can be work hardened Corrosion performance excellent Electrical and thermal conductivity excellent

eg 1060: 99.6%Al min. 62 IACS

Yield strength up to 145 MPa (1050-H18) Food, chemical, heat exchangers, electrical wiring, capacitor foil Weldable

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2000 Series alloys

Up to 6.3% Cu Eg 2014: 4.4Cu-0.8Si-0.8Mn-0.5Mg Precipitation hardened

130 to 230C aging temperature - T6 RP0.2 410 MPa typical

Aircraft structure and mechanical components, vehicle body panels Weldability poor to fair depending on alloy

3000 Series
Up to 1.2Mn + Fe in some alloys

Eg 3004: 1.2Mn-1.0Mg

Strength from fine particles (Mn,Fe)Al6 which pin grain boundaries Excellent formability and weldability, very high corrosion resistance Work hardened up to 250 MPa yield typical

3004-H38

Cans, chemical vessels, industrial roofing, culvert pipe

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5000 Series alloys

Mg up to 5.1% in solution increases work hardening rate

Eg 5083: 4.4Mg-0.7Mn-0.15Cr

Work hardened up to 260 MPa yield

5083-H116: RP0.2 228 MPa typical

Excellent weldability, moderate strength, Good corrosion resistance

5000 series alloy applications

Very popular alloys Marine, auto and aircraft applications Pressure vessels, cryogenics Communication towers Armour plate Some alloys prone to exfoliation or stress corrosion if Al8Mg5 forms in grain boundaries

Avoid high Mg over 65C

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6000 series
Combination of Mg and Si allows precipitation hardening with Mg2Si precipitates Eg 6061: 1Mg-0.6Si-0.3Cu-0.2Cr

6061-T6: RP0.2 276 MPa typical

Easily workable alloy with excellent strength, corrosion resistance Limited to excellent weldability (alloy dependant) Available as sheet, plate, extrusions Applications as 5000 series

Alclad
Many multiphase alloys have inferior corrosion resistance These alloys are available as Alclad sheet or plate This material has a thin layer of pure aluminium roll bonded to one or both surfaces to provide corrosion resistance Fabrication must be undertaken so as to maintain the integrity of this coating
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Dispersion strengthened
Precipitates resist dissolution at high temperatures (up to 340C) Powder metallurgy (P/M) products SAP - sintered aluminium product (Al2O3) Metal matrix composites Rapid solidification (RS-P/M) hypereutectoid iron alloys (plus other systems) Mechanical alloying

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Dispersion strengthening
Proprietary and standard alloys Can be welded but with some loss of properties Aerospace applications

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Aluminium lithium
1 to 4% Lithium raises strength, raises elastic modulus by up to 6%, lowers density by up to 4% Strengthened by Al3Li, Al2CuMg, AL2CuLi precipitates on aging (depending on composition)

Up to 585 MPa yield typical

Good weldability as well as high strength Inferior toughness, ductility & stress corrosion performance Aerospace applications
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Fabrication
Machineability better than steel Cold and hot workability excellent Complex extrusion forms common Joined by fusion and non-fusion welding, brazing, soldering, adhesive bonding and mechanical methods

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Cutting and machining

Plasma cutting - edges require further dressing Shearing Sawing

Extra clearance for chip release Power plane or rotary tungsten burrs

Planing and milling

Filing and scraping

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Joining processes
GTAW and GMAW are the most common processes OFW and MMAW require powerful fluxes Resistance and pressure processes can be used for many alloys Brazing and soldering some application Adhesives and mechanical fastening widely applicable

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Weldability
Depends on welding process and alloy composition Varies from readily weldable (eg wrought alloys by GTAW or GMAW) to not recommended (eg brazing of 2014)

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Fusion welding
Tenacious oxide film Prone to contamination by O2, N2, H2 High conductivity, low melting temperature Slags are tenacious, corrosive Welds tend to under match strength Solidification cracking, particularly of many heat treatable alloys

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GTAW technique
Power type

AC sine or square wave for cleaning action

Zirconiated tungsten electrode Shielding gas

Argon or argon helium

High current for thicker materials

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GMAW technique
Fine electrode wire tends to suffer feeding problems Feeders and guns

Push type limited to thicker wires and short cables Push-pull Spool guns

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Metal transfer
Spray transfer

High current works in all positions

Pulsed GMAW

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Technique
Porosity

Cleanliness

Preheat

Overcome high conductivity

Avoid solidification cracking

Weld craters

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Weld filler selection

Avoidance of cracking Tensile strength of weld Weld ductility Service temperature Corrosion resistance Colour match after anodising

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Solidification cracking
Use matching filler for strain-hardened grades

Dont mix 4000 series and 5000 series alloys (Mg2Si eutectics formed) Dont mix 5000 series and 2000 series alloys No autogenous welding Avoid high dilution Medium copper grades are unweldable

Many heat treatable grades are hot short

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Crack sensitivity

5 6 7 Percentage Copper

5 6 7 Percentage Magnesium
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HAZ cracking
Liquation cracking can occur in the HAZ of age hardenable grades

Keep arc energy low Choose fillers with a low solidification temperature

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Weld metal properties

Matching weld to base material is easy for strain hardened grades, but less easy for heat treatable grades Careful selection gives optimum properties

4346 filler for 6061-T6 heavy sections for highest strength when solution treated and aged 1000 and 5000 series fillers for high ductility Avoid filler with more than 3% Mg (5183, 5356, 5556, and 5654) for temperatures over 65C to avoid sensitisation to SCC

HAZ properties
Heat of fusion welding causes softening of work hardened grades

Effect is most pronounced where work hardening is highest (H6, 7, 8 and 9 tempers) Age hardened grades (T6) have the most pronounced effect If possible use the solution treated grade (6061-T4) and age after welding

Softening of heat treated grades can also occur

Effect of temper
HV 110

6061-T4, PWA
100 90 80 70 60 0 5 10 15 20 Distance from fusion line mm
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6061-T6, PWA

6061-T6, AW

6061-T4, AW

Solid phase welding

Cold welding - 75% thickness reduction at lap joint Ultrasonic welding - 1.5mm lap joints Explosion welding - cladding and lap joints Friction welding - Low weldability alloys and dissimilar combinations, Friction-stir welding

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Brazing
Restricted range of alloys

1000, 3000, 5000 with <2% Mg, 6000

Al-Si filler materials Torch, dip, furnace or vacuum processes Clean parts by etching Fluxes are fluoride and chloride salts

Residues MUST be removed

Temperature control is critical

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References
AS/NZS 1734: Sheet and plate AS/NZS 1865: Wire, rod, strip AS/NZS 1866: Extrusions AS/NZS 1664: Design rules AS/NZS 1665: Welding WTIA Technical Note 2 AWS Handbook Volume 3 ASM Handbook Volumes 3 and 6 Metals and Alloys in the Unified Numbering System: Society of Automotive Engineers (USA)