Aluminium & Aluminium Alloys

Part 1
Intro
 Historical Facts
50 A.D. Plinius the Elder described natural alum stone (Al-S
compound) as “alumen“ .
Al stone used by Egyptians as binder for paint sand dyes as
early as 1000 B.C.
1750 Andreas Sigismund Marggraf discovered the basic of
aluminium : Alumina, a compound of oxygen and an unknown
metal.
1809 Sir Humphrey Davy extracted aluminum from alumina and
called it “aluminum“. The metal re-converted to alumina in a
fraction of a second
1825 Hans Christian Oerstedt: first person to prepare the pure
metal. He passed the information to Friedrich Wöhler, who
was first to describe some physical and chemical properties
1854 Robert Wilhelm Bunsen extracted aluminum using the
electrolysis
 Historical Facts
1854 Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Devoville takes the first step
towards the commercial production of aluminum
1886 Paul Louis Toussaint Héroult(F) and independently Charles
Martin Hall (USA) filed patents for “fused-salt electrolysis“
→Hall–Héroult Process. Process was made possible by the
invention of the dynamo 20 years earlier byWerner von Siemens,
and the development of the Bayer Process for producing
Alumina from bauxite (contains 50% alumina together with iron
oxide and silicon oxide).
1906 Alfred Wilm (D) discovers by chance that small quantities of
copper, manganese, magnesium and silicon led to significant
improvements of the mechanical properties → structural
applications of aluminum(alloys)
Today Second mostwidelyusedmetal aftersteel
General Facts
• Aluminium ore : bauxite
• Low density
• The third most abundant
element (after oxygen and
silicon), and the most
abundant metal, in the
Earth's crust
• Recyclibility
 Production
• Typical route
Recycled /
Scrap Al

Melting
Wrought
Bauxite Extraction and Forming
product
Casting

Cast product Heat treatment

Heat treated Cast &

Wrought Products
 Production
1. Bauxite [AlO(OH)+Fe2O3+SiO2]  grinding to
fine powder
2. The Bayer Process
– Al(OH)3+ NaOH  Na(Al(OH)4) @ 180 °C, 7 bar
• Fe2O3 does not react with caustic soda
• NaOH+ 2 Al(OH)3 + SiO2  Na2(Al2SiO6) + 4 H2O ! Loss
of Al !
3. Isolation
– Mix with water, decrease T to 60 °C: Na(Al(OH)4)sol
 Al(OH)3cryst+ NaOH
 Production
4. Calcination
– Aluminum hydroxide is heated in rotary kiln to
1200 °C
– 2 Al(OH)3  Al2O3+ 3 H2O
Production
Production : Alumina Production
 Production
5. Fused-Salt Electrolysis(Hall-Heroult)
– Electrolytic reduction of Alumina to metallic
Aluminum
• 2 Al3++ 3 O2-+ 2 C  2 Al + CO2 + CO
• Melting point of Alumina(2000 °C) is reduced by
addition of molten Cryolite to 950 °C
Primary Al Production
 Production
• Foundry/Casting
– Final products : sand casting, die casting,
investment casting, etc

– Secondary products: billet, blooms, ingot

 Production
• Problems during melting
– With time at temperature, adsorption of hydrogen results
in increased dissolved hydrogen content up to an
equilibrium value for the specific composition and
temperature
– With time at temperature, oxidation of the melt occurs; in
alloys containing magnesium, oxidation losses and the
formation of complex oxides may not be self-limiting
– Transient elements characterized by low vapor pressure
and high reactivity are reduced as a function of time at
temperature; magnesium, sodium, calcium, and strontium,
upon which mechanical properties directly or indirectly
rely, are examples of elements that display transient
characteristics.
 Production
• Melt treatment
– “Cleaning”
– Applied during melting process, especially in cast Al alloys.
– Cleaning slag, dross, or other unwanted impurities
– Degassing, filtration, flux
– Why?
• Trace elements, causing off specification or inconsistent casts.
• Alkali metals, causing cracking and missed specifications.
• Hydrogen, causing porosity and density complaints.
• Inclusions, causing downstream processing complications.
• Product inconsistency due to either chemical or thermal variations
during casting.
 Production
• Flux
– Covering fluxes which form a molten layer to protect the melt
from oxidation and hydrogen pick-up
– Drossing-off fluxes which agglomerate the oxides allowing easy
removal from the surface of the melt
– Cleaning fluxes which remove non-metallics from the melt by
trapping the oxide particles as they float out
– Fluxes which “modify” the alloy, by introducing sodium,
improving its microstructure
– Exothermic fluxes which ensure that aluminium liquid trapped in
the dross layer is returned to the melt
– Fluxes for reclaiming swarf, skimmings and turnings, giving a
high metal yield
– Fluxes for the removal of oxide build-up from furnace walls
 Production
• Degassing
– Remove dissolved H2
 Production
• Combination of
degassing & fluxes
 Production
• Impurities...from where?
– From the refined alumina we
obtain elements such as Si, Fe,
and traces of Ti, Ca, V, B, etc.
– From the coke blend used to
make the anodes we pick up
further traces of Ti, V, Ca, Si, Fe,
etc.
– From the carbon plant
operations, we attract traces of
Si, P, Fe, Mn – mainly from the
anode but also from the cast iron
thimbles and the steel stubs on
the anode rod assemblies
 Production
• Problems due to unclean Al melts
– reduction in mechanical properties of the casting
– poor machinability and high tool wear
– loss of fluidity and feeding properties
– increased gas porosity
– poor surface quality and lack of pressure tightness
 Production
• Forming
– Use secondary products
– Plastic deformation : rolling, extrusion, etc
– Sheet, profile
Production
 Classification
Aluminium Alloys

Cast Aluminium Wrought

Aluminium

Heat Non Heat Heat Non Heat

treatable treatable treatable treatable
 Designation
• Aluminium Association
• Different for cast and wrought aluminium
alloys
• Using numbers as designation, for example :
2024, A356, 6061,
 Designation
• Wrought Aluminium
 Designation
• Cast aluminium
– A letter before the
numerical
designation indicates
a modification of
theoriginal alloy or
an impurity limit.
These serial letters
are assigned in
alphabetical
sequence starting
with A, but omitting
I, O, Q, and X,
– Ex. A357, A357
 Basic Temper Designation
• F, as fabricated: Applies to wrought or cast products made by shaping processes in
which there is no special control over thermal conditions or strain-hardening processes
employed to achieve specific properties. For wrought alloys there are no mechanical
property limits associated with this temper, although for cast alloys there generally are.
• O, annealed: Applies to wrought products that are annealed to obtain the lower
strength temper, usually to increase subsequent workability. The O applies to cast
products that are annealed to improve ductility and dimensional stability and may be
followed by a digit other than zero.
• H, strain hardened: Applies to products that have their strength increased by strain
hardening. They may or may not have supplementary thermal treatments to produce
some reduction in strength. The H is always followed by two or more digits.
• W, solution heat treated: Applies only to alloys that age spontaneously after solution
heat treating. This designation is specific only when digits are used in combination with
W to indicate the period of natural aging, for example, W 1⁄2 hr.
• T, thermally treated to produce stable tempers other than F, O, or H: Applies to products
that are thermally treated, with or without supplementary strain hardening, to produce
stable tempers. The T is always followed by one or more digits.
 Subdivisions of the Basic H Tempers
• H1, strain hardened only: Applies to products that have been strain hardened
to obtain a desired level of strength without a supplementary thermal
treatment. The number following H1 indicates degree of strain hardening.
• H2, strain hardened and partially annealed: Applies to products that have
been strain hardened more than the desired final amount, and their strength
is reduced to the desired level by partial annealing. The number added to H2
indicates the degree of strain hardening remaining after partial annealing.
• H3, strain hardened and stabilized: Applies to products that have been strain
hardened and then stabilized either by a low temperature thermal treatment,
or as a result of heat introduced during fabrication of the product.
Stabilization usually improves ductility. The H3 temper is used only for those
alloys that will gradually age soften at room temperature if they are not
stabilized. The number added to H3 indicates the degree of strain hardening
remaining after stabilization.
• H4, strain hardened and lacquered or painted: Applies to products that are
strain hardened and that have been subjected to heat during subsequent
painting or lacquering operations. The number added to H4 indicates the
amount of strain hardening left after painting or lacquering
 Subdivisions of the Basic T Temper
• T1, cooled from elevated temperature shaping process and naturally aged to a
substantially stable condition: Applies to products (a) that are not cold worked after
cooling from an elevated temperature shaping process or (b) for which the effect of
cold work in flattening or straightening may not be recognized in mechanical property
limits
• T2, cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process, cold worked, and naturally
aged to a substantially stable condition: Applies to products (a) that are cold worked
to improve strength after cooling from an elevated temperature shaping process or
(b) for which the effect of cold work in flattening or straightening is recognized in
mechanical property limits
• T3, solution heat treated, cold worked, and naturally aged to a substantially stable
condition: Applies to products (a) that are cold worked to improve strength after
solution heat treatment or (b) for which the effect of cold work in flattening or
straightening is recognized in mechanical property limits.
• T4, solution heat treated and naturally aged to a substantially stable condition:
Applies to products (a) that are not cold worked after solution heat treatment or (b)
for which the effect of cold work in flattening or straightening may not be recognized
in mechanical property limits
• T5, cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process, then artificially aged:
Applies to products (a) that are not cold worked after cooling from elevated
temperature shaping process or (b) for which the effect of cold work in flattening or
straightening may not be recognized in mechanical property limits
 Subdivisions of the Basic T Temper
• T6, solution treated, then artificially aged: Applies to products (a) that are not cold
worked after solution treatment or (b) for which the effect of cold work in
flattening or straightening may not be recognized in mechanical property limits
• T7, solution heat treated and overaged/stabilized: Applies to (a)wrought products
that are artificially aged after solution heat treating to increase their strength
beyond the maximum value achievable to provide control of some significant
property or characteristic or (b) cast products that are artificially aged after
solution treatment to provide stability in dimensions and in strength
• T8, solution heat treated, cold worked, then artificially aged: Applies to products
(a) that are cold worked to improve strength or (b) for which the effect of cold
work in flattening and straightening is recognized in mechanical property limits
• T9, solution heat treated, artificially aged, then cold worked: Applies to products
that are cold worked to improve strength
• T10, cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process, cold worked, then
artificially aged: Applies to products (a) that are cold worked to improve strength
or (b) for which the effect of cold work in flattening or straightening is recognized
in mechanical property limits
 Assigned O-Temper Variations
• O1, thermally treated at approximately the
same time and temperature required for
solution heat treatment and slow cooled to
room temperature: Applicable to products
that are to be machined prior to solution heat
treatment by the user. Mechanical property
limits are not applicable
 Applications

Transportation

Electrical Construction

Aluminium
Domestic Packaging
Appliance

Chemical
 Applications

Global end-use markets for finished

aluminium products, 2007.
Source: International Aluminium
Institute

“Everything that moves”

Applications
Applications
Applications
Lifetime