eliminated, and visual inspection is sufficient.

Lockbolts useful in aluminum

structures are available in aluminum alloys and austenitic stainless steel. They
do, however, require special installation tools, which can be bought or rented.
Information on the design of fasteners for aluminum structures is given in
Section 8.1.
When aluminum weldments are used, consider inspection after installation,
even if the welding was performed in the shop. Shipping and erection stresses
can damage weldments of any material, and aluminum is no exception. Information
on welding and weld inspection can be found in Section 8.2.
Aluminum members and assemblies may be marked in the shop for field
identification by stamping, scribing, or marking with paint or ink. Stamping
should not be used on parts subject to fatigue and when used should be placed
away from highly stressed areas. Because the location of marking may be
difficult for the engineer to control, paint or ink marking may be preferred.
Take care storing aluminum on the job site. Aluminum that is allowed to
stay wet or in contact with other objects will stain. Once stained, the original
appearance cannot be restored. (See Section 3.1.2 regarding water staining.)
No harm is done to the strength or life of the material by surface staining,
so it is generally accepted on concealed components. Water staining of exposed
components, however, can leave the structure ��aesthetically challenged��
(i.e., quite ugly). If sheet material that is to be used on an exposed
surface is left lying flat, either on the ground or in contact with other sheets,
you can expect the owner to develop an attitude. That attitude might be expressed
as ��Somebody�s going to pay!�� On the other hand, this entire scenario
can be avoided by simply storing material properly.
Aluminum should also be protected from splatter from uncured concrete
or mortar, as well as muriatic acid used to clean or prepare concrete and
masonry. Once these are allowed to stand on aluminum surfaces, the resulting
stains cannot be readily removed.
There is no aluminum equivalent to the AISC�s Code of Standard Practice
for Steel Buildings and Bridges (37), which addresses such erection issues as
methods, conditions, safety, and tolerances. The most frequent question is:
which tolerances apply to general aluminum construction? Unless a specific
code, such as ASME B96.1 for welded-aluminum storage tanks (85), applies,
the AISC Code of Standard Practice is a good starting point. Some differences
apply, however, due to differences in properties of steel and aluminum.
For example, thermal expansion and contraction of aluminum is about twice
that of steel, so expect about in. of movement per 100 ft for each 15#F 1�4
change in an aluminum structure (versus about in. in steel), or 2.4 mm per 1�8
10,000 mm for each 10#C change. Also, don�t expect field tolerances to be
any tighter than the cumulative effect of aluminum material and fabrication
tolerances.
A final caution: because of to its relatively high scrap value, aluminum
may need to be secured against what might be charitably termed ��premature
salvage.��