This article summarizes the characteristics, material properties, and typical applications of aluminum alloy wrought products. It describes the most widely used worldwide alloy designation system and discusses five major categories, namely flat-rolled products; rod, bar, and wire; tubular products; shapes; and forgings. The article also discusses three widely used indexes to define the fracture resistance of aluminum alloys: notch toughness, tear resistance, and plane-strain fracture toughness. It also describes three types of corrosion attack of these alloys: general or atmospheric surface corrosion, stress-corrosion cracking, and exfoliation attack.

This article discusses the concepts underlying linear elastic fracture mechanics and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics as well as their importance in characterizing the fracture behavior of the high-strength aluminum alloys. It describes the three methods used for analyzing elastic-plastic fracture, namely R-curve concept, J-integral concept, and crack tip opening displacement method. The article considers the primary measures used to assess the toughness of aluminum alloy castings and wrought alloys: notch toughness, tear resistance, and plane-strain fracture toughness.