What Are Aluminum Alloys and What Are They Used For?
Aluminum is one of the most used metals in the whole world. According to the Statista, about 2.87 million metric tons of aluminum were used only in the US in 2020. In order to understand aluminum alloys, you first need to understand what an alloy is.
An alloy is a blended mixture of different metals which is created to enhance the durability and strength of the material. Aluminum alloys are mostly made by blending aluminum with manganese, tin, silicon, copper, etc. to get the desired material.
Advantages of Aluminum Alloys Over Other Alloys
Aluminum is about one-third the weight of the other most commonly used elements such as brass, copper, steel, and iron. Even scrap aluminum alloys can be recycled and converted into useful materials. Here are some of the advantages of using aluminum alloys.
- A wide array of finishes
- Attractive appearance
- Easy to fabricate
- Virtually seamless
- Ductile at low temperatures
- Electrically conducting
- Complex and integral shapes
- Joinable by different methods
- It’s easy to recycle aluminum
- Uniform quality
- Easy assembly design
- Cost-effective
- Precise and close tolerance
- Freedom of design
- High strength-to-weight ratio
Uses of Aluminum Alloys
About half of worldwide aluminum alloys are used in the transport and construction industry. That’s why you’ll mostly find the use of aluminum alloys in the context of manufacturing corrosion-resistant and lightweight metal parts as well as in engineering.
Automotive and Aerospace
Automotive and aerospace are two of the biggest industries that rely upon aluminum alloys. Here, aluminum alloys can not only reduce the overall weight of the vehicle, but they also improve fuel sustainability and efficiency in the long run as well. Moreover, their durability also adds a safety layer and helps comply with safety regulation requirements most organizations around the world ask to comply with. It allows the manufacturers to come up with solid parts which are also lightweight to improve the performance of the vehicles.
Construction and Building
Another very popular implementation of aluminum alloys is their use in building and construction. Undoubtedly steel is by far the most used material in construction, but aluminum alloys are also very close to that. It’s of utmost importance to ensure safety as well as strength while building a modern structure and skyscraper. Because of aluminum’s certain properties, such as natural insulation, low flammability, high corrosion resistance, using aluminum alloys is a perfect choice. In places where the outbreak of fire is possible, using aluminum and its alloys has been highly rated in recent years. As compared to the same mass of steel, aluminum and most of its alloys take about two times more heat to raise their temperature. Moreover, neither does it cause toxic fumes or smoke, nor does it burn in the air.
Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Aluminum alloys are also used in electronic and electrical engineering. One of the biggest reasons why it’s used in these fields is that it doesn’t cause magnetic interference. Unlike other metals, aluminum isn’t ferromagnetic, which makes it a great choice for electrical shielding, electronic manufacturing, and other similar applications.
Other Uses
Other than being extremely durable, aluminum alloys are also less flammable, especially when mixed with magnesium. As mentioned earlier, they are also corrosion resistant. That’s why it comes as no surprise that some highly classified institutes like NASA use aluminum alloys in many applications.
If you have ever seen sea divers who study the behavioral characteristics of different fishes, especially sharks, the cages that they use are also made of aluminum alloys. Keep in mind that one bite of a shark (one of the deadliest animals ever existed) can easily crush the bones of whales. These cages keep them from reaching scientists and researchers.
This application also shows that those cages are corrosion resistant as well because seawater is highly corrosive. Moreover, aluminum also has great buoyancy as well which means that it feels even lighter in the water.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, a breakdown of multiple faces of a single element. Aluminum alloys bring so much versatility for producers and manufacturers, and with time they’re also becoming increasingly popular. The applications that we mentioned in this article are only some of the most common ones where aluminum alloys are used. We hope that this guide will allow you to understand why aluminum is one of the most important gifts of nature to humanity.
References:
https://www.weerg.com/en/blog/aluminum-properties-and-advantages-of-aluminum-0-0
