This chapter describes how aluminum sheet and foil alloys are processed to produce functional, economical packages that meet the various industry performance criteria. The focus is on the key customer requirements for three main application segments: foil, cans, and impact extrusions. A huge range of products in this industry segment is also illustrated. The need for sustainable production and recyclability is also discussed.

This chapter provides an overview of the rolling and finishing processes required to create a sheet, plate, or foil product from a direct chill (DC) cast ingot. The flow paths, equipment, and operations are described with a view to the basic evolution of the microstructure, surface characteristics, and dimensions.

Aluminum alloy products offer architectural and building solutions that exploit the benefits inherent in this metal: light weight, excellent durability, low maintenance, and thermal management opportunities. This chapter discusses the major applications for aluminum building products and related competitive materials. The commonly used alloys and tempers and their performance benefits are outlined for extruded profiles, rolled sheet and foil, and die cast products.

Metal-matrix composites (MMCs) work at higher temperatures than their base metal counterparts and can be engineered for improved strength, stiffness, thermal conductivity, abrasion and/or creep resistance, and dimensional stability. This chapter examines the properties, compositions, and performance-cost tradeoffs of common MMCs, including aluminum-matrix composites, titanium-matrix composites, and fiber-metal laminates. It also explains how fiber-reinforced composites and laminates are made, describing both continuous and discontinuous fiber matrix production processes.

This chapter describes the attributes of aluminum products that are critical for key structural applications. It covers the selection criteria and evaluations performed by the aluminum supplier or customer: physical attributes, mechanical properties (tensile, fracture, and fatigue), and corrosion.

This chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of metal matrix composites and the methods used to produce them. It begins with a review of the composition and properties of aluminum matrix composites. It then describes discontinuous composite processing methods, including stir and slurry casting, liquid metal infiltration, spray deposition, powder metallurgy, extrusion, hot rolling, and forging. The chapter also provides information on continuous-fiber aluminum and titanium composites as well as particle-reinforced titanium and fiber metal (glass aluminum) laminates.

This introduction presents an overview of the discovery of aluminum, the origins of the aluminum industry, and the evolution of the industry.

Pitting is the most common corrosion attack on aluminum alloy products. This chapter explains why pitting occurs and how it appears in different types of aluminum. It discusses pitting rates, pitting potentials, and pitting resistance as well as testing and prevention methods. It also discusses the problem of crevice corrosion and how it is influenced by crevice geometry and operating environment. The discussion covers the most common forms of crevice corrosion, including water staining, poultice corrosion, and filiform corrosion, along with related testing and prevention methods.

This chapter discusses the ambient-temperature corrosion characteristics of aluminum metal-matrix composites (MMCs), including composites formed with boron, graphite, silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, and mica. It also discusses the effect of stress-corrosion cracking on graphite-aluminum composites and the use of protective coatings and design criteria for corrosion prevention.

The manufacture of all aluminum wrought products begins with an ingot or a continuous strip solidified from the liquid state. During molten metal processing (MMP), aluminum undergoes a series of operations that are described in this chapter including melting and alloying, recycling, molten metal treatment, control of inclusions, ingot grain refinement, and direct chill (DC) or continuous casting.

Aluminum is the second most widely used metal in the world. It is readily available, offers a wide range of properties, and can be shaped, coated, and joined using a variety of methods. This chapter discusses some of the key attributes of wrought and cast aluminum alloys and the classifications, designations, and grades of available product forms. It also explains how aluminum alloys are used in aerospace, automotive, rail, and marine applications as well as in building and construction, electrical products, manufacturing equipment, packaging, and consumer durables such as appliances and furniture.

This chapter addresses the implications for increased aluminum usage on major issues such as climate change and solid waste management. The chapter also considers three approaches for decarbonizing aluminum-product production.

This chapter discusses the process, principles, and modeling of the diffusion brazing system. The applications of diffusion brazing to wide-gap joining and layer manufacturing are also discussed.

Many metallic components, such as retorts in heat treat furnaces, furnace heater tubes and coils in chemical and petrochemical plants, waterwalls and reheater tubes in boilers, and combustors and transition ducts in gas turbines, are subject to oxidation. This chapter explains how oxidation affects a wide range of engineering alloys from carbon and Cr-Mo steels to superalloys. It discusses the kinetics and thermodynamics involved in the formation of oxides and the effect of surface and bulk chemistry. It provides oxidation data for numerous alloys and intermetallics in terms of weight gain, metal loss, depth of attack, and oxidation rate. It also discusses the effect of metallurgical and environmental factors such as oxygen concentration, high-velocity combustion gas streams, chromium depletion and breakaway, component thickness, and water vapor.

Metal-matrix composites can operate at higher temperatures than their base metal counterparts and, unlike polymer-matrix composites, are nonflammable, do not outgas in a vacuum, and resist attack by solvents and fuels. They can also be tailored to provide greater strength and stiffness, among other properties, in preferred directions and locations. This chapter discusses the processes and procedures used in the production of fiber-reinforced aluminum and titanium metal-matrix composites. It explains how the length and orientation of reinforcing fibers affect the properties and processing characteristics of both aluminum and titanium composites. It also provides information on fiber-metal laminates and the use of different matrix metals and reinforcing materials.

Several specialized instruments are available for the metallographer to use as tools to gather key information on the characteristics of the microstructure being analyzed. These include microscopes that use electrons as a source of illumination instead of light and x-ray diffraction equipment. This chapter describes how these instruments can be used to gather important information about a microstructure. The instruments covered include image analyzers, transmission electron microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, electron probe microanalyzers, scanning transmission electron microscopes, x-ray diffractometers, microhardness testers, and hot microhardness testers. A list of other instruments that are usually located in a research laboratory or specialized testing laboratory is also provided.

This chapter provides an overview of the alloy and temper designations adopted for aluminum cast and wrought products. It explains the naming system and how to identify the main alloying elements and basic strengthening mechanism from any given alloy and temper designation. The chapter provides additional detail on the strengthening and softening mechanisms that allow aluminum alloys to attain a range of engineering properties. The strength of aluminum alloys can be controlled by three methods: solid-solution hardening by alloying, work hardening by plastic deformation, and precipitation hardening with appropriate alloying and heat treatment.