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

The extrusion alloy 7005 is used as extruded structural members, where welded or brazed assemblies require moderately high strength and high fracture toughness. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and fabrication characteristics of this 7xxx series alloy.

The high-strength plate alloy 2324 is a modification of 2024 alloy composition and process conditions to increase strength in both plate and extrusions without a loss in fracture toughness and other characteristics. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, as well as the effects of processing on mechanical properties of this 2xxx series alloy. A comparison of fracture toughness of 2324-T39 to 2024-T351 is presented.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and fabrication characteristics of the 2026 alloy.

Alloy 2027 is an Al-Cu-Mg-Mn-Zr alloy providing improved mechanical properties compared with those of alloy 2024. Alloy 2027-T3511 extrusions are typically used for stringers to stiffen wing skin panels machined from damage tolerant 2xxx alloy plates. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy and processing effects on mechanical properties of plate and extrusions of this 2xxx series alloy.

Alloys 6005 and 6105 were developed in the 1960s to be used in place of alloy 6061 in many applications. This datasheet provides information on chemical composition limits, fabrication characteristics, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and applications of medium-strength extrusion alloys 6005, 6005A, and 6105.

Alloy 2055 is an Al-Cu-Li alloy developed as a replacement for high-strength 7xxx and 2xxx alloys in applications such as fuselage stringers and floor beams. This datasheet provides information on its key alloy metallurgy and illustrates the damage tolerance of 2055-T84 extrusions and 7xxx extrusions.

The aerospace extrusion alloy 2065 has excellent corrosion resistance compared with high-strength 7xxx alloys. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy and processing effects on density and mechanical properties of this 2xxx series alloy.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, and processing effects on physical and mechanical properties of extrusion alloy 6351.

Alloy 6463 is a soft extrusion alloy that meets special needs in applications where a bright anodized finish is required. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and fabrication characteristics of this 6xxx series alloy.

Aluminum casting in steel and iron permanent molds is used widely throughout industry, and the vast majority of permanent mold castings are made of aluminum and its alloys. There are several methods used to cast aluminum in permanent molds. This article focuses on permanent mold casting with molten aluminum fed by gravity, low pressure, vacuum and centrifugal pressure, and squeeze casting. It discusses the major variables that affect the life of permanent molds, including pouring temperature, casting shape, cooling methods, heating cycles, storage, and cleaning. The article reviews the basic components of mold coatings: refractory fillers, binder, and carrier. Casting defects and suggested corrective actions for permanent mold casting are summarized in a table. The article concludes with a discussion on thin-wall permanent-mold castings.

Adhesive bonding is a proven technology in the manufacture of automotive assemblies, helping carmakers achieve weight reduction goals without compromising body stiffness, crash performance, and noise-vibration-handling characteristics. This article discusses the advantages and limitations of adhesive-bonded aluminum joints and the procedures used to produce them. It addresses surface preparation, the addition of interfacial coatings and primers, and the application of thermoplastic and thermosetting resins. The article examines the nature and role of the various layers that constitute the joint and explains how each contributes to performance. It also discusses adhesive selection factors, joint design, and testing procedures.

Aluminum components are often plated with other metals to mitigate the effects of corrosion and wear, improve application performance, and extend service life. This article discusses some of the more common aluminum plating processes, including electroplating, immersion plating, and electroless plating, and describes various plating materials and the types of applications in which they are used. It provides critical processing details such as temperatures, ratios, ranges, times, and rates. The article explains how to prepare aluminum components for electroplating, discussing surface roughening, anodizing, and immersion procedures along with expected results.

Aluminum possesses many characteristics that make it highly compatible with recycling. Production of aluminum from scrap has a number of advantages. This article discusses the technology for the recovery, sorting, and remelting of aluminum. It describes the collection and acquisition of aluminum scrap in transportation, packaging, electrical and electronic, and building and construction sectors. The article reviews the technologies used to accomplish comminution for aluminum: shearing, knife shredding, and swing-hammer shredding. It provides a description of the devices used in scrap sorting, such as hand sorting, air classification, magnetic separation, eddy-current separation, heavy-media separation, and sensor-based sorting. The article also describes thermal processing, refining and casting, and dross processing of aluminum. It provides information on reverberatory and electric furnaces used for melting aluminum.

This article presents a summary of aluminum temper designations, and applicable aluminum alloys and product forms for temper designations used in the United States (ANSI H35.1), Europe (EN 515), and internationally (ISO 2107).

This article discusses the properties of aluminum surface and the applications of aluminum alloys. It explains the effects of trace elements on aluminum alloys. The article considers microstructural development of aluminum in terms of the surface and explains how it will impact corrosion resistance and surface treatment. It describes the thermodynamics of equilibrium oxidation processes and non-equilibrium corrosion processes. The article provides a discussion on aluminum oxidation under atmospheric and dynamic conditions. It presents the potential/pH (Pourbaix) diagram for aluminum under atmospheric and dynamic conditions. The article also explains the polarization effects during the formation of stable aluminum oxide under dynamic conditions. It concludes with information on the designation system for aluminum finishes.

The horsepower requirements to cut various metal alloys provide an indication of the relative ease and cost of machining, but several other important factors include cutting tool material, chip formation, cutting fluids, cutting tool wear, surface roughness, and surface integrity. This article reviews these general machining factors as well as specific cutting tool and cutting parameters for the six basic chip-forming processes of turning, shaping, milling, drilling, sawing, and broaching. Best practices for each of the six chip-forming processes are suggested for optimized machining of aluminum alloys. The article lists the inherent disadvantages of machining processes that involve compression/shear chip formation. It discusses the machining of aluminum metal-matrix composites and nontraditional machining of aluminum, such as abrasive jet, waterjet, electrodischarge, plasma arc, electrochemical, and chemical machining.

This article focuses on friction stir welding (FSW), where frictional heating and displacement of the plastic material occurs by a rapidly rotating tool traversing the weld joint. Much of the research activity early on pertained to issues related to understanding the process, such as learning about material flow, heat generation, microstructure development, and many other fundamental issues. The article summarizes the results of the research, describing the aspects of how FSW actually accomplishes sound joints in metals without melting them. It discusses the FSW process variations and the practical aspects of heat generation. The article provides information on the effect of welding on material properties and typical alloys in FSW applications. The alloys include 6061 aluminum, 5083 aluminum, 2xxx aluminum, and 7xxx aluminum alloys. The article concludes with a discussion on FSW equipment.