Alcoa’s aluminum monopoly continued throughout the 1920s and 1930s—a serious problem when World War II demands far exceeded production capacity. This articles reviews advances in aluminum technology during the war and the postwar period.

Beyond weight savings, aluminum products offer corrosion resistance, weldability, and ease of maintenance for a wide range of marine vessels. Aluminum was recognized as a promising material for marine construction from the early days of the industry. The development of 5xxx alloys and large production capacity made aluminum use more technically and economically possible beginning in the 1950s. The variety of aluminum vessels ranges from small fishing boats and fast ferry catamarans to cruise ships and military vessels. All benefit from aluminum's relatively light weight, low maintenance costs, and easy repairability. Other benefits of using aluminum in marine applications include formability, corrosion resistance, and availability in various product forms.

Among his peers, Zay Jeffries was considered the elder statesman of American metallurgy. This brief article reviews his career, including stints at Alcoa and General Electric, and his fundamental contributions to alloy development.

Thixoforming is a hybrid technology used to manufacture net shape components from a variety of alloys ranging from low melting temperature aluminum and magnesium to steel and Co-base alloys.

Three types of thermal treating processes are commonly applied to magnesium alloys, including annealing, solution heat treatment, and precipitation, or aging.

This case study reviews the considerations in using magnesium thermal spray surfacing to repair a hydraulic pump pad.

Successful part brazing relies on proper joint design, part cleanliness, and correct fixturing of part assemblies. Routine furnace maintenance allows repeatable, quality brazing results over time. This article describes aluminum brazing processes and process control considerations.

This article series explores the indispensable role of characterization in the development of cold spray coatings and illustrates some of the common processes used during coating development.

Computational thermodynamics and CALPHAD modeling prove useful for selecting and developing new magnesium alloys. This article summarizes an ongoing effort to establish a scientific foundation of computational thermodynamics and kinetics of magnesium alloys to achieve accelerated design and optimization of these alloys for weight reduction in the transportation industries.

The application potential of magnesium alloys as lightweight structural materials in aerospace and especially inside the aircraft cabin are hindered by their high surface reactivity at increased temperatures with particular concerns of ignition and flammability during a potential contact with a flame or other heat source. This article describes global efforts to develop ignition-resistant and nonflammable magnesium alloys. A widely explored avenue involves microalloying magnesium with rare earth metals and other elements having a high affinity to oxygen. As demonstrated by experimental alloys, this approach allows shifting the ignition temperature well above the liquidus, not only easing requirements on protective atmospheres during liquid-state processing, but also increasing the safety margin for possible aerospace applications.

The key obstacle to industrial scale magnesium rolling is the element’s inherently poor formability at room temperature. To address this challenge, the search is on for new magnesium alloys that feature improved formability along with novel rolling techniques. This article describes R&D activities at CanmetMaterials aimed at expanding manufacturing capabilities of magnesium-based sheet materials for future applications in transport vehicles.

Thixomolding is an environmentally clean and safe commercial process for semi-solid injection molding of magnesium alloys. The process is similar to plastic injection molding but with higher temperature and faster shot velocity. This article reviews advantages and applications of the process and future outlook for it.

Melt-injection of organic precursors may result in revolutionary technologies for producing ceramic reinforced metal-matrix composite castings.

This article presents a broad overview of key annealing processes such as recovery, recrystallization, and grain growth in magnesium and its alloys. It explores the role of recovery in recrystallization behavior, evolution of recrystallization microstructure and texture, current understanding of grain coarsening in magnesium alloys, and concludes with a perspective on future research.

An in-situ annealing technique combined with electron backscatter diffraction was used to characterize the microstructural evolution of ZE20 magnesium alloy as a function of temperature. This work sets the stage for future experiments to understand and control the recrystallization behavior of commercial alloys.

Automotive designers and heat treaters have many choices when it comes to the materials and processes that will meet their overall needs. This article reviews some of the major trends affecting automotive heat treating.

Simulation of components and joints made of hybrid materials enables innovative designs for corrosion protection in automotive applications. This article gives examples of simulations used to gain insight into the corrosion behavior of riveted joints.

Aluminum-silicon (Al-Si) alloys have good castability in combination with high corrosion resistance, thermal conductivity, and specific strength, making them a strong candidate for many automotive applications. This article describes the processes used in the production of die-cast AlSi9Mg engine brackets for Volvo trucks, the effects of solution treatment temperature on Si particle size, and the benefits of Mg additions on yield strength and heat treatability.

Understanding both the origin and procedures for removing inclusions in magnesium alloys results in castings with enhanced mechanical and corrosion properties. This article provides an overview of typical inclusions found in magnesium and its alloys, various techniques used to determine inclusion content, and methods employed to reduce inclusions and their influence on properties.

Optical or light microscopy uses the visible or near-visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and is one of the oldest characterization techniques. With any cold spray coating, it is the first characterization process used to evaluate and optimize process variables.