HISTORY OF ALUMINUM IN THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

POSTED: FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Did you know that Aluminum makes up 75%-80% of a modern aircraft?!

The history of aluminum in the aerospace industry goes way back. In fact aluminum was
used in aviation before airplanes had even been invented. In the late 19th century, the Count
Ferdinand Zeppelin used aluminum to make the frames of his famous Zeppelin airships.

Aluminum is ideal for aircraft manufacture because it’s lightweight and strong. Aluminum
is roughly a third the weight of steel, allowing an aircraft to carry more weight and or
become more fuel efficient. Furthermore, aluminum’s high resistance to corrosion ensures
the safety of the aircraft and its passengers.

Common Aerospace Aluminum Grades

2024 – Typically used in aircraft skins, cowls, aircraft structures. Also used for repair and
restoration.

3003 – This aluminum sheet is widely used for cowls and baffle plating.

5052 – Commonly used to make fuel tanks. 5052 has excellent corrosion resistance
(particularly in marine applications).

6061 – Typically used for aircraft landing mats and many other non-aviation structural end-
uses.

7075 – Commonly used to strengthen aircraft structures. 7075 is a high-strength alloy and
is one of the most common grades used in the aviation industry (next to 2024).

History of Aluminum in the Aerospace

Industry
The Wright brothers
On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers made the world’s first human flight with their
airplane, the Wright Flyer.
 The Wright Brother’s Wright Flyer
At the time, automobile engines were very heavy and didn’t deliver enough power to
achieve take off, so the Wright brothers built a special engine in which the cylinder block
and other parts were made from aluminum.

As aluminum was not widely available and was prohibitively expensive, the airplane itself
was made from a Sitka spruce and bamboo frame covered with canvas. Due to the low
airspeeds and limited lift-generating capability of the plane, keeping the frame extremely
lightweight was essential and wood was the only feasible material light enough to fly, yet
strong enough to carry the required load.

It would take over a decade for the use of aluminum to become more widespread.

World War I
Wooden aircraft made their mark in the earliest days of aviation, but during World War I,
lightweight aluminum began to replace wood as the essential component for aerospace
manufacture.

In 1915 the German aircraft designer Hugo Junkers built the world’s first full metal aircraft;
the Junkers J 1 monoplane. Its fuselage was made from an aluminum alloy that included
copper, magnesium and manganese.
The Junkers J 1

Golden Age of Aviation

The period between World War I and World War II came to be known as the Golden Age of
Aviation

During the 1920s, Americans and Europeans competed in airplane racing, which led to
innovations in design and performance. Biplanes were replaced by more streamlined
monoplanes and there was a transition to all-metal frames made from aluminum alloys.

The “Tin Goose”

In 1925, the Ford Motor Co. went into the airline industry. Henry Ford designed the 4-AT, a
three-engine, all-metal plane using corrugated aluminum. Dubbed “The Tin Goose”, it
became an instant hit with passengers and airline operators.

By the mid-1930s, a new streamlined aircraft shape emerged, with tightly cowled multiple
engines, retracting landing gear, variable-pitch propellers, and stressed-skin aluminum
construction.

World War II
During World War II, aluminum was needed for numerous military applications –
particularly the construction of aircraft frames – which caused aluminum production to
soar.

The demand for aluminum was so great that in 1942, WOR-NYC broadcast a radio show
“Aluminum for Defense” to encourage Americans to contribute scrap aluminum to the war
effort. Aluminum recycling was encouraged, and “Tinfoil Drives” offered free movie
tickets in exchange for aluminum foil balls.

In the period from July 1940 to August 1945, the U.S. produced a staggering 296,000
aircraft. More than half were made predominantly from aluminum. The U.S. aerospace
industry was able to meet the needs of the American military, as well as American allies
including Britain. At their peak in 1944, American aircraft plants were producing 11 planes
every hour.

By the end of the war, America had the most powerful air force in the world.

The modern era

Since the end of the war, aluminum has become an integral part of aircraft manufacture.
While the composition of the aluminum alloys has improved, the advantages of aluminum
remain the same. Aluminum allows designers to build a plane that is as light as possible,
can carry heavy loads, uses the least amount of fuel and is impervious to rust.

The Concorde
In modern aircraft manufacture, aluminum is used everywhere. The Concorde, which flew
passengers at over twice the speed of sound for 27 years, was built with an aluminum skin.

The Boeing 737, the best-selling jet commercial airliner which has made air travel for the
masses a reality, is 80% aluminum.

Today’s planes use aluminum in the fuselage, the wing panes, the rudder, the exhaust pipes,
the door and floors, the seats, the engine turbines, and the cockpit instrumentation.

Space exploration
Aluminum is invaluable not just in airplanes but in spacecraft, where low weight coupled
with maximum strength is even more essential. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first
satellite, the Sputnik 1, which was made from an aluminum alloy.

Skylab Space Station

All modern spacecraft are comprised of 50% to 90% aluminum alloy. Aluminum alloys
have been used extensively on the Apollo spacecraft, the Skylab space station, the Space
Shuttles and the International Space Station.

The Orion spacecraft – currently under development – is intended to allow human

exploration of asteroids and Mars. The manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, has chosen an
aluminum-lithium alloy for Orion’s main structural components.[1]

Magnesio

AEROESPACIAL Y AERONÁUTICA

Debido a los elevados requerimientos de energía y a los extremadamente altos costes de

transporte de equipos fuera de la atmósfera terrestre, la industria aeroespacial ha

reconocido desde hace tiempo los beneficios que se pueden obtener de la reducción de

peso mediante la utilización de aleaciones de magnesio.

Capítulo 2: Estado del arte

41

El coste para mover una aeronave está estrechamente ligado al peso de ésta. Considerando
que el gasto de combustible supone cerca del 30% de los costes del negocio del transporte

aéreo y que se prevé que el tráfico aéreo sea el doble del actual en el año 2030, se entiende

la necesidad del uso de materiales ligeros (ICAO, 2013).

Desde los años 50, las aleaciones de magnesio se han utilizado ampliamente en la

estructura y en los componentes de las aeronaves. Tal es el caso, por ejemplo, del Boeing

707, que empleaba magnesio en una amplia variedad de elementos auxiliares (Melde,

1959). En el ámbito de la industria aeronáutica militar, también tuvo un papel relevante el

magnesio como material estructural. La modificación experimental del Lockheed F-80C

fue

construido íntegramente utilizando magnesio, mientras que en la aeronave militar soviética

TU-95MS se emplearon 1995 kg de magnesio para su fabricación (Ostrovsky y Henn,

2007).

En la Figura 2.6 se muestran ambas aeronaves.

a) b)

Figura 2.6. a) Modelo experimental del Lockheed F-80C y b) aeronave militar TU-95MS
(Ostrovsky y

Henn, 2007).

En la actualidad, las aleaciones de magnesio se utilizan con éxito en aviones, tanto civiles

como militares, y helicópteros, siendo algunas de las más usadas las siguientes: AZ63,

EZ33, HK31, HZ32, QE22A, WE43, ZE41 y ZE63. Su uso como material en el fuselaje ha

ido abandonándose, mientras ha ido aumentando su uso en la fabricación de diversos

Capítulo 2: Estado del arte

42

componentes tales como ruedas de aterrizaje, techos de cabina, estructura de parabrisas y

cajas de engranajes (Froes, 1998)(Polmear, 2005).

Las aleaciones de magnesio han sido también utilizadas en la construcción de diversos

componentes de satélite usados desde los primeros programas espaciales. Las aleaciones

de magnesio para los componentes de satélite son principalmente las AZ31, AZ61 y AZM.

También se utilizan aleaciones de magnesio en numerosas piezas de cohetes espaciales

(principalmente la EZ33) y misiles (Eliezer et al., 1998).

Otros materiales ligeros que están cobrando cada día mayor importancia en este campo,

son los materiales compuestos. Los materiales compuestos de matriz metálica o MMC (del

inglés Metal Matrix Composite) emplean como matriz metálica aleaciones de aluminio, de

titanio o de magnesio reforzadas con fibras continuas o partículas de carburo de silicio,

boro,

grafito o alúmina. El refuerzo selectivo de las estructuras de magnesio con compuestos de

matriz metálica de alto rendimiento ofrece la posibilidad de superar las deficiencias del

magnesio cuando está sometido a elevadas cargas (Hausmann et al., 1998). Los materiales

compuestos con matriz de aleación de magnesio reforzada con carburo de silicio se han

probado con éxito en distintas aplicaciones como, por ejemplo, en la fabricación de discos

de compresor en aviones militares.[2]

Titanio

Since the discovery of titanium in 1791, it has been an exceedingly coveted element in
manufacturing. But it wasn’t until the start of the Cold War that it began its journey into
both the military and commercial aerospace industries. Today, the aerospace industry is the
number one customer for titanium alloy products. There are several properties of titanium
that make it well suited for the aerospace industry: the high strength to weight ratio, its
resistance to corrosion and its high temperature performance.
As the number one customer for titanium, the aerospace industry and the titanium industry
are directly linked to each other economically. With the demand for newer, better planes on
the increase; the demand for titanium is also on the rise. Countries that have considerably
large military budgets, like the United States, have a high demand for titanium and consider
the availability of titanium a matter of national security.

Commercial airplanes today, like the AirBusA380 and BoeingB787, use a great deal more
titanium than previously engineered aircraft. However, the military aerospace industry
consumes the largest amount of titanium. Military aircraft, such as the F-22, F/A-18, C-17,
F-35 and the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, are among some of the military’s assets that
use large quantities of titanium to produce.

With the rising costs of fuel and the recent decline of the economy, the need for more fuel-
efficient aircraft has become a priority. Taking advantage of titanium’s weight-to-strength
ratio, airplanes that are made from titanium parts are lighter than those that are not; and a
lighter airplane consumes less fuel. Titanium has been replacing aluminum parts in aircraft
manufacturing because of its ability to resist heat and corrosion when it comes in contact
with carbon-fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs). Titanium is now used in the fastening
elements, airframe and landing gear of airplanes.

Not just aircraft parts and frames are made from titanium; aircraft engine manufacturers are
also starting to use titanium. The high strength and low density of titanium gives aero-
engine manufacturers the high levels of performance they desire. Jet engine and airframe
parts need to withstand temperatures from subzero to 600 degrees Celsius, making
titanium’s high temperature performance ideal. Engines parts manufactured from titanium
include discs, blades, shafts and casings for the front fan to the rear end of the engine.

Powder metallurgy is another military application of titanium and is restricted to space and
missile applications. The coating of powder metallurgy gives superior corrosion resistance
paired with high strength and low density. Many of the vehicles constructed by NASA to
travel into outer space have been manufactured from titanium.

Titanium has proven to be an invaluable element in many industries, especially the

aerospace industry. The aerospace industry and the titanium industry are very dependent on
each other. As the demand for more planes and more efficient air travel continues to
increase, the outlook for the titanium market should hold steady in the future.[3]
[1] https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/history-of-aluminum-in-the-aerospace-industry/

[2] http://e-spacio.uned.es/fez/eserv/tesisuned:IngInd-Ajsaa/SAA_SARRIA_Adolfo_Jose_Tesis.pdf

[3] https://tmstitanium.com/titanium-and-the-aerospace-industry/

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbotanium

https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=8152 fiber carbon