The information provided in this article is intended for those individuals who want to determine why a casting component failed to perform its intended purpose. It is also intended to provide insights for potential casting applications so that the likelihood of failure to perform the intended function is decreased. The article addresses factors that may cause failures in castings for each metal type, starting with gray iron and progressing to ductile iron, steel, aluminum, and copper-base alloys. It describes the general root causes of failure attributed to the casting material, production method, and/or design. The article also addresses conditions related to the casting process but not specific to any metal group, including misruns, pour shorts, broken cores, and foundry expertise. The discussion in each casting metal group includes factors concerning defects that can occur specific to the metal group and progress from melting to solidification, casting processing, and finally how the removal of the mold material can affect performance.

This article illustrates the relationships among commonly used 2xxx series alloys. It contains tables that list values for composition limits of aluminum-lithium alloys, and aerospace alloys and their temper conditions according to primary design requirements.

Alloy 5454 is an Al-Mg-Mn-Cr solid solution alloy with relatively high strength used for handling chemicals at elevated temperatures in the chemical and process industries. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and fabrication characteristics of this 5xxx series alloy.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, and processing effects on physical and mechanical properties of the extrusion alloy 6042. It provides a comparison of characteristics of the alloy 6042 with related alloys and tempers.

Alloy 2124, aerospace plate alloy, is a high-purity version of 2024. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, fabrication characteristics, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and applications of this series alloy.

Alloys 355.0 and C355.0 are high-strength alloys used in various applications where castings are usually heat treated for maximum strength. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, fabrication characteristics, and application characteristics of these 3xxx series alloys.

This article contains tables that list typical room-temperature physical properties of wrought aluminum alloys in engineering units and metric units.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, fabrication characteristics, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and general applications of free machining aluminum alloys 2011 and 2012. The effect of cutting speed on cutting force for different aluminum alloys is also illustrated.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and applications of Al-Mg die-casting alloy 518.0. A figure presents die cast aluminum casting rotating-beam fatigue curve for 518.0-F alloy.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy and processing effects on mechanical properties of Al-Li plate alloy 2195. A figure provides a performance comparison of 2195-T84 and 2219-T87 alloys.

The extrusion alloy 7349 was developed by Pechiney and introduced in 1994 to provide higher strength properties than incumbent 7x75 and 7150 alloys. This datasheet provides information on composition limits and processing effects on mechanical properties of this aluminum alloy. Performance comparisons of alloys 7349-T6511 with 7175-T76511 and 7349-T7651 with 7175-T77511 are also illustrated.

Wrought heat treatable 7xxx alloys are more responsive to precipitation hardening than the 2xxx series alloys and can achieve higher strength levels, approaching tensile strengths of 690 MPa (100 ksi). This article provides an overview of key metallurgy, properties, and applications of the 7xxx aluminum alloy. It also illustrates the natural aging characteristics of 7050 aluminum sheet alloys at room temperature and relationships among commonly used alloys in the 7xxx series.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, fabrication characteristics, mill-product specifications, processing effects on physical properties, and applications of high-strength alloy 2014. It contains tables that list values of tensile property limits for alloy 2014 flat product, rod, wire, bar, extrusions, and forgings.

The extrusion and sheet alloy 6056 was developed to provide weldable thin extrusions with an excellent balance between high strength and corrosion resistance. This datasheet provides information on composition limits, processing effects on mechanical properties, and applications of this 6xxx series alloy. It provides a material performance comparison of aluminum alloys 6056-T6511 with 2024-T3511 and 6056-T8511 with 2024-T3511.

Alloy 2196 is a higher Li-containing alloy registered in 2000 for various aircraft extrusion parts. This datasheet provides information on composition limits and applications of alloy 2196 and 2296 as well as processing effects on mechanical properties of 2196-T8511 extrusions. A performance comparison of 2196-T8511 extrusion with alloy 2024 is also presented.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, fabrication characteristics, and applications of general engineering alloys 3003 and Alclad 3003.

This datasheet provides information on composition limits, fabrication characteristics, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and application performance of thick plate and forging alloy 7085. It presents the specified minimum strength and fracture properties for plate, die, and hand forgings. The datasheet provides a comparison of the strength, fracture toughness, and fatigue crack growth resistance of alloy 7085 plate with those of the legacy plate alloy 7050. It shows tensile yield and ultimate strength at elevated temperature for various temperatures and exposure times for 7085-T7452 die forgings.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and fabrication characteristics of aluminum alloys 2017, 2017A, and 2117.

This datasheet provides information on composition limits, product specifications, fabrication characteristics, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and applications of extrusion alloy 7003.