ALUMINUM ALLOY

DEVELOPMENT
FOR THE AIRBUS A380 PART 1
Airbus-Alcan integrated product
teams were set up very early during
the aircraft definition process to
manage the most challenging
airframe development effort ever.
This article outlines how the teams
worked together to support the A380
program by developing new alloys
and investing in new equipment. A
second article to be published next
month will show how this teamwork
led to the development, qualification,
and production of a complete set of
new aluminum alloys for wing and
fuselage structures.
Ph. Lequeu, Ph. Lassince
Alcan Rhenalu, Issoire, France

T. Warner
Alcan CRV, Voreppe, France

n April 27th 2005, the giant Airbus A380

took off from Toulouse airport for a successful maiden flight. Seven years earlier, in April 1998, discussions had
started between Alcan Aerospace (at that time
Pechiney Aerospace) and Airbus for the development of advanced alloys and innovative solutions
for the A3xx, as it was then designated. Seven
years were needed to develop, qualify, and produce a full set of new alloys for wing and fuselage
structures, as well as the equipment to fabricate
such large structures.
This article outlines the work done by various
Alcan Aerospace business units in collaboration
with Airbus to develop alloys and production
methods that led to more than a 50% market share
of the aluminum structures on this aircraft.
Integrated product teams
When the first meetings were held with Airbus
in April 1998, participants agreed to form integrated product teams (IPT) who would select and
develop appropriate alloys and fabrication
methods for the various structures of the giant
aircraft. Two main objectives were assigned to
these IPT teams:

Structures: The objective for

Alcan was to provide all the A380
metallic parts. This goal required investing in equipment that could fabricate large structures compatible
with the large dimensions of the aircraft, particularly for the wings. The
objective for Airbus was to define
maximum part dimensions as a
function of what Alcan was able to propose.
Alloys: The objective for Alcan was to follow
as closely as possible the need for new alloys (and
thus launch or complete the associated development and qualification activities) as well as the
need to extend availability of existing alloys (particularly in the high gauge ranges). The objective
for Airbus was to follow the alloy development
activities, and adapt when needed their design
allowables to Alcan capabilities.
More than 40 such IPT meetings were organized with the various Airbus entities in France,
the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain from
the start of the project to completion of final structural definitions. Considering the large size and
dedicated alloys of the A380 wings, many of the
discussions were held with the Airbus-U.K. wing
teams. Airbus primary subcontractors with design responsibilities were also regularly visited,
including Sabca, Alenia, EADS Germany, Latecore, and others.
The success of these activities is shown by the
fact that close to 100% of the aluminum structure
tonnage is capable of being fabricated in Alcan
Aerospace plants.

The Airbus
A380 is a
double-deck,
four-engine
airliner that can
carry 555
passengers.
It is the largest
passenger
airliner in the
world, with a
length of 240
feet and a
wingspan of 262
feet. Image
courtesy Airbus.

Dimensional issues
It became obvious early on that the large dimensions of the various wing parts, such as wing
panels, spars, and ribs, would require significant
investments in new equipment. Two main wing
dimensional issues versus the available fabrication possibilities of Alcan were seen:
Wing panel length: Maximum achievable
length would have to be 36 meters, compared with
the maximum length capability of about 23 meters at the Issoire plant (Fig. 1). The 36-meter
length was needed because the wing would have
a separate outer wing of a few meters in length.
Inboard spars and ribs: A related issue was
that no stretcher, including the worlds largest in
the Ravenswood plant (acquired by Alcan in 1999),
was able to process such enormous parts, which
Airbus wanted as integrally machined plates.
The available wing stringer length of about 24

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JUNE 2007

33

meters was not an issue, since additional joints

did not penalize wing weight. No major investments were thus needed for these parts.
Investment plans were thus proposed and accepted for extended plate production in the two
major Alcan sites of Issoire, France; and
Ravenswood, W.Va.

Fig. 1 This hot-rolling mill is part of the equipment for lengthening wing
structures to 36 meters at the Issoire plant.
Fig. 2
Hardware and
know how had
to be developed
to cast ingots for
super-size plates
at the
Ravenswood
plant.

Fig. 3 Plate-handling equipment had to be upgraded

to manipulate super-size plates at the Ravenswood plant.

34

Dedicated investments
Most of the work in the Issoire plant was dedicated to extending the maximum length to the
required 36 meters. This included the following,
along with the processing route:
Developing hardware and knowhow to cast
very large ingots in advanced alloys needed for
the volume of metal related to the upper and
lower inner wing panels, as well as to the upper
integrally machined outer wing panel (Fig. 2).
Installing or upgrading the cast-house handling equipment, because larger ingots meant
heavier weights.
Lengthening all necessary equipment in the
plate department. The hot-mill table, heat-solution furnaces, the stretcher, the U.S. inspection
tank, and the contouring machine are examples
of major equipment that was upgraded (Fig. 3).
Installing or upgrading the plate handling
equipment. Safe handling of 36-meter plates required other means than those previously available for shorter lengths. This included dedicated
turn-over equipment for skimming both sides of
the wing panels.
As a result of these investments, ingots of up to
20 tons were successfully produced in advanced
2xxx and 7xxx alloys. Also, long 36-meter wing
panels were processed very rapidly through the
plate department, after optimization of the plate
flow through the plant.
Heavy-gauge parts
Most of the work at the plant in Ravenswood,
W. Va., was dedicated to producing heavy gauge,
high-volume parts, such as inboard spars and ribs.
This included the following, along the processing
route:
Developing hardware and know how to cast
very large ingots in advanced alloys for the biggest
spars and ribs.
Installing or upgrading the foundry handling
equipment, to enable manipulating larger and
heavier ingots.
Improving the worlds largest stretcher (30
Mlb /13600 tonnes) at the Ravenswood plant. Improvements allowed the stretcher to reliably
stretch heavy gauge plates at maximum power.
Installing or upgrading the plate handling
equipment, such as lay-off crane, forks, and similar equipment.
To supply aluminum for the large spars, a significantly larger ingot had to be cast in
Ravenswood. In the late 1990s, the largest production-scale 7xxx alloy cast ingot weighed 22,000
lb. Over the next several years, with the combined
resources of the Ravenswood cast house and the
R&D Casting Research Team located in France,

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JUNE 2007

ingots weighing over 37,000 lb were successfully

produced. Further process improvements led to
excellent recovery and reliability in casting such
a challenging geometry in an advanced 7xxx alloy.
As a result of these investments, very large ingot
sections and lengths were successfully produced
in advanced 7xxx alloys. Also, new plate equipment quickly proved its efficiency in the processing of long and wide wing spars and ribs. The
table shows the new combined plate capabilities
of the two Alcan sites of Issoire and Ravenswood.

Combined plate fabrication capabilities of the two

Issoire and Ravenswood plants

Increased capability
As can be seen, most if not all of the increase in
dimensional capability was driven by the wing
part sizes. Some of these improvements were also
necessary for various fuselage parts. The most significant fuselage applications needing large metal
volumes were integrally machined main frames
(mostly located each side of the doors), cockpit
window frames, wing rib one, and some of the
gear bay walls. All have super-size plate dimensions and are produced in the Ravenswood plant.
The main frame attached to the rear pressure bulkhead was one of the very first fuselage parts to be
machined, from a 7040-T7451 plate produced from
the U.S. plant.
In addition to the multi-million dollar investments in larger (mostly plate) dimensional capabilities, Alcan had also to invest in increased production capacity, to be able to meet anticipated

A380 production rates of about four aircraft per

month. A380 total delivered metallic parts were
in fact estimated to be about ten times those of an
A320, at about 1000 tons per aircraft, thus needing
extra production capacity which has been installed
progressively over the last few years.

Application

Main feature

Comments

Wing Panels

Up to 36 m long
Up to 3 m wide

Width up to 3.8 m
available,with shorter
length

Spars, ribs,
frames etc.

Cross-sections of up to
about 425 000 mm

Examples: 150 x 2800 mm;

200 x 2050 mm

For more information: Michael Niedzinski, Director

of Technology and Standardization, Alcan Aerospace,
8770 West Bryn Mawr, Chicago, IL 60631; tel: 773/3998444; Michael.niedzinski@alcan.com.
The authors thank Airbus for reviewing this article and
authorizing publication of some of their data. They are
also grateful for fruitful discussions and comments to
the development teams of the Issoire, Ravenswood,
and Montreuil-Juign plants (F. Heymes, H. Ribes, K.P.
Smith, S. Jambu) and to the research team of Voreppe
(F. Eberl, J.C. Ehrstrom, A. Danielou, B. Bes).

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35

ALUMINUM ALLOY
DEVELOPMENT
FOR THE AIRBUS A380 PART 2
Airbus-Alcan integrated product
teams were set up in the very early
days of aircraft definition in order to
take up the most challenging airframe
development effort ever. Last month,
Part 1 outlined the way the teams
worked together as well as the
investment efforts made by Alcan
Aerospace to support the A380
program. Part 2 shows how this
teamwork led to the development,
qualification, and production of a
complete series of new alloys for the
wing and fuselage aluminum
structures.

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, four-engine airliner that can carry 555 passengers. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world, with a length of 240
feet and a wingspan of 262 feet. Image courtesy Airbus.
Upper wing covers
(mid wing and partial inner wing): Fatigue

Ph. Lequeu, Ph. Lassince

Alcan Rhenalu, Issoire, France

Upper wing covers

(outer wing):
Compression yield strength, stability

T. Warner
Alcan CRV, Voreppe, France

Lower wing covers

(inner wing):
Damage tolerance

Bird strike
impact
Wing leading edge:
Bird strike impact Upper fuselage:
Crack growth,
Static strength and fatigue residual
(internal pressure)
strength
Bird strike impact

Fin box:
Static strength,
compression

he large size of the A380 aircraft, the corresponding loads, and the targeted structural weight, led to significantly higher
requirements for alloy properties. This
meant that improvements had to be made in the
two major design axes, static performance and/or
damage tolerance. To achieve these goals, the
Alcan-Airbus Integrated Project Teams worked
to both extend and qualify existing alloys, and to
develop new dedicated alloys. Figure 1 shows
the major structural design criteria of A380 wing,
fuselage, and empennage structures, with the associated major alloy characteristics.

Fig. 1 Major structural design criteria and associated alloy characteristics

of A380 wing, fuselage, and empennage. Courtesy of Airbus SAS.

Extension of existing alloys

The long dimensions of some of the A380 structural parts made it necessary to fabricate some of
the existing alloys in thicker gauges or larger crosssections. The Al 7010/7050-T7651 alloy was one
of those considered for extension, primarily for
two applications:
Wing ribs: The 7010/50-T7651 alloy was the
traditional spar and rib alloy/temper of all the most
recent existing Airbus aircraft. The size of the very
large integrally machined inboard ribs (with typical width by length of about 2.3 x 3.8m) and of

some of the highly loaded ribs with thickness up

to 200 mm made it necessary to extend existing
qualification up to this last maximum gauge.
Upper outer-wing: The traditional concept
of stringers riveted to skin was replaced by the
concept of stringers and skin both machined from
plate. An obvious result was a large increase in
the corresponding plate thickness up to 90 mm,
with an envelope size of about 3 x 8 m. Qualification of the corresponding processing route, including casting of a new large ingot, was achieved
by the Ravenswood plant, which was the only one

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JULY 2007

Strength and
fatigue
(ground load
cases)
Strength for
jacking loads

Lower fuselage:
Static strength,
buckling stability,
corrosion resistance

Horizontal
stabilizer box:
Static strength,
compression

Rudders:
Static
strength,
shear

41

Plane-strain fracture toughness KIc,

long-transverse, MPa-m1/2

45
40

35
30

25
425

7010-T7851
7050-T7451
7449-T7651
2050-T84
450

475
500
525
Tensile yield strength,
longitudinal typical, MPa

550

575

Minimum plane-strain fracture

toughness KIc,
longitudinal-transverse, MPa-m

Fig. 2 Property balance of advanced new alloys versus incumbent for intermediate gauge plates with thickness = 50 mm. Data has been normalized by the
density of ref. 7050-T7451.
50
45

40

25

300

2027
2196

35
30

2024

350
400
450
500
550
Minimum longitudinal tensile yield strength, MPa

Apparent plane strain fracture toughness

Kapp, typical long-transverse, MPa-m1/2
(CCT W460, B6.35)

Fig. 3 Property balance of advanced new alloys versus incumbent. Lower

structure extrusion alloys 2196-T8 and 2027-T3511 vs. 2024-T3511.
140
130
120
110

100
90
80
300

350

2024A-T351
2027-T351
2050-T84
7449-T7951
7056-T7951

400
450
500
550
600
Tensile yield strength, typical longitudinal, MPa

650

Fig. 4 Property balance of advanced new alloys versus incumbent for lower
and upper structures of medium gauge plates with thickness=25 mm.

able to stretch such a big plate. A low-residual

stress (LRS) route was adopted and qualified,
which proved very successful, as the alloy demonstrated outstanding response to machining.
Alloy 7449: Extrusions of this alloy were
among the existing (but advanced) semi-finished
products to be somewhat extended. The larger
cross-sections of the wing stringers were validated
through dedicated processing in the Issoire plant.
In addition, although creep forming was the baseline for the A340, cold mechanical forming was
adopted for the A380. The ability to form the alloys in the associated W511 temper, as well as to
achieve the required level of properties, was successfully demonstrated through qualification lots
jointly agreed upon with the M&P Airbus teams.
Alloy 7349: Similar work was needed for the
alloy 7349 small sections that were already in the
fuselage stiffeners, seat tracks, and other parts on
the A340-500/600. The alloy was confirmed for
similar parts on the A380.
42

Wing alloy development

Considering the increased design values of all
the wing structural parts necessary to fulfill the
higher criteria, new alloys had to be developed
for all wing major parts, such as panels, stringers,
spars, and ribs.
For spars, an improvement in both static and
fracture toughness levels versus the incumbent
7010/50-T7651 solution was required. Also, spar
alloys should display good cold expansion ability
and machining behavior. Development loops in
the Ravenswood plant led to the qualification of
a 7040-T7651 high static, high toughness, LRS (low
residual stress) and cold expandable alloy quality.
Thanks to a collaborative effort with the machining subcontractors, 7040-T7651 was selected
for the two largest spars in the world, the inner
front and inner center spars.
For ribs, mostly governed by static strength
and modulus, higher strength was required for
weight reduction. The 7449 alloy, initially developed and industrially produced as very highstrength wing panels for A340-500/600, was tested
in higher gauges up to 100 mm, in an over-aged
T7651 temper (Fig. 2). Alloy 7449-T7651 was selected to fly on all low-gauge (thickness<=100mm)
A380 wing ribs, as well as for the rib caps of the
few composite ribs.
For lower wing stringers, higher strength
was needed. Alloy development work was run
by the R&D teams, leading to the definition of a
zirconium-containing 2xxx alloy, registered at the
Aluminum Association as 2027. As shown in Fig.
3, fracture toughness and fatigue strength were
increased. The 2027-T3511 alloy was then selected
for the A380 lower wing stringers.
For upper wing covers, A380-800F offered the
opportunity to qualify and produce a new alloy,
AA7056. This was because the design requirements
for freighters are slightly different from those of
the passenger version. Wing cover alloys required
much improved fracture toughness, associated
with possibly a slight reduction in the required
static level. Alloy 7056-T7951 was qualified with
an impressive 40% improvement in fracture toughness over 7449, and was selected as baseline for
these A380-800F upper wing panels.
For the lower cover, alloys needed high fracture toughness. Therefore, Alcan developed the
2024A-T351 plate solution, which is produced for
various structural items, and has been extended
recently for service as A330 lower wing panels
(Fig. 4). The zirconium-containing 2027 alloy was
also developed at a later stage with improved
static strength and toughness versus 2024A-T351;
it found application on the lower outer wing panel
of A380-800F, as well as on the lower structure of
the A340-600 center wing box.
For lower wing structures, third-generation
Al-Li alloys were approved for A380-800 and
A380-800F. The alloy of interest for lower wing
structures was 2050-T84, cast in the Alcan Dubuc
(Canada) dedicated foundry; it was recently qualified and has entered production in the Issoire
plant. Figure 4 shows much better strength, higher
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JULY 2007

Alcan Aerospace advanced alloys and their main applications

on the Airbus A380-800 and A380-800F aircraft
Form

Alloy/Temper

A380 application

Comments

Plates

7056-T7951

Upper wing panels

A380-800F

7449-T7951

Upper wing

2024A-T351

Lower wing reinforcement

Heavy
sections

Small
sections

2050-T84

Lower wing reinforcement

2027-T351

Lower outer wing panel

A380-800 F

7010-T7651

Upper outer wing panel,

Heavier gauge wing ribs

Integrally machined

7040-T7451

Fuselage main frames, cockpit

window frames, beams, fittings

7449-T7651

Lower gauge wing ribs

7040-T7651

Wing Spars

7449-T79511

Upper wing stringers

2027-T3511

Lower wing stringers

2196-T8511

Floor-beams

7349-T6511

Seat rails, stiffeners of center wing box

7349-T76511

Fuselage stiffeners

2024HS-T432

Fuselage frames

6056-T78

Fuselage stiffeners

Associated with 6056-T78 sheet

6056-T6

Fuselage stiffeners

Associated with 6156Cl-T6

sheet

2196-T8511
Sheet

Inner front & inner center

6056-T78
6156 Cl -T6

Floor structure, fuselage stiffeners

Pressure bulkhead below cockpit floor
Fuselage panels

toughness, and reduced density of this alloy

versus LW incumbent solutions.
Fuselage alloys
Alcan had to develop a full series of very different alloys for the fuselage structure. The fuselage is a combination of many different parts and
product forms that are subjected to many different
types of load. Airbus chose the Laser Beam
Welding (LBW) technology for welding stiffeners
to skin on several panels.
The 7040-T7451 plate alloy was selected for
several fuselage applications, such as integrally
machined main frames, cockpit window frames,
beams, and fittings. It offers significantly improved static strength and toughness properties
versus the incumbent 7010/7050-T74 solution.
Improved properties are due to the lower (Cu,
Mg) solute content that is optimized at a level just
below the solubility limit, thus making it compatible with high strength and good fracture toughness. Furthermore, the alloy is processed by a technology that results in low residual stress, which
means minimized machining distortion. It also
offers a low-cost alternative to forgings. Alloy
7040-T7451 has been developed and qualified in
both the Ravenswood and Issoire plants for thickness up to 220 mm.
A 6xxx alloy weldable by LBW was required
by Airbus for various lower shell fuselage panels,
as well as for a pressurized bulkhead located
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JULY 2007

under the cockpit in the front nose. Such LBW concepts were selected for their benefit in both cost
and weight.
For the last application, no specific development was needed, since Alcan proposed the low
density (2.70 g/cm3 vs 2.78g/cm3 for 2024) 6056T78 sheet that is already produced for some panels
of A318 single aisle aircraft.
The T78 temper had been developed previously
for an IGC-free sheet material that could function
without cladding. However, a small T78 extrusion
qualification program was needed to show that if
both sheet and stringer were subjected to an identical T78 aging practice, then the welded combination could be successfully post-weld aged.
Alloy 6156 was developed for the lower shell
fuselage application. Damage tolerance behavior
of the 6056 chemistry was too short for the design
criteria, and an HDT version had to be developed:
the result was 6156. Because the alloy needed high
strength, a T6 temper was required; therefore, it had
to be clad in order to avoid intergranular corrosion.
Considering the specificity of the 6156 chemistry, a dedicated chemistry was developed for
the clad material to adjust the corrosion potential
difference between the clad and matrix alloys.
This led to the definition of a clad/matrix alloy
combination that was qualified by Airbus.
Figure 5 illustrates the relative property level
of 6156Clad-T6 sheet and other incumbent alloys,
showing that 6156 displays a 10% toughness ben-

The authors
thank Airbus
for reviewing
the paper and
authorizing
publication of
some of their
data and
figures.
They are also
grateful for
fruitful
discussions and
comments to the
development
teams of the
Issoire,
Ravenswood,
and
MontreuilJuign plants
(F. Heymes,
H. Ribes,
K.P. Smith,
S. Jambu) and
to the research
team of Voreppe
(F. Eberl,
J.C. Ehrstrom,
A. Danielou,
B. Bes).
Interested
readers are
invited to
download
more precise
information on
many of the new
alloys
introduced here
at www.
alcanaerospace.
com/library.

43

Crack-growth resistance Kr, 60 mm,

transverse-longitudinal, MPa-m1/2

200
180

6156 Clad T6

160
140

2024 Clad T351

6056 Bare T78

120
100
250

300
350
Tensile yield strength, long-transverse, MPa

400

Fig. 5 Relative main properties of 6156Cl-T6 and other sheet alloys. The graph
shows the strength and toughness property balance. Sheet specimens were tested
as W = 760 mm CCT panels extracted from sheet approximately 3 mm thick.

efit over 6056-T78. As for the T78 bare solution

mentioned above, a T6 temper had to be qualified
on the associated stiffeners. Alloy 6156 fuselage
panels are currently produced in the Issoire sheet
shop for A340- 500/600 and A380 panels.
Alloy 2024-T432 : Extruded sections were
chosen for many fuselage frames, due to their
weight and material usage efficiencies. Keeping
the appropriate level of strength over the required
forming sequence was a challenge that Alcan took
up with a dedicated new temper 2024-T432, enabling about 10% strength benefit over incumbent
2024 while providing a very satisfactory bendforming behavior. This solution is currently produced by the Montreuil-Juign extrusion plant.
Aluminum-lithium alloys
The availability of Al-Li products was consid-

44

ered to be an opportunity for Airbus on the A380

Early design studies investigated advanced thirdgeneration Al-Li extruded sections for the main
deck floor-beams. For this purpose, Alcan qualified
and produced alloy 2196 in a standard T8 temper.
Alloy AA2196 is the higher-lithium-containing alloy
of the Weldalite family, with density 2.63 g/cm3.
As shown in this section, A380-800 & -800F benefited from many new dedicated wing and fuselage alloys and alloy qualities developed by Alcan,
the applications of which are summarized in the
table. Older alloys such as 2024, 7010, 7050 or 7075
survive only in very small quantities in the aircraft.
Future alloy development
A continued R&D effort, initiated through additional integrated product teams, has led to the definition of still more advanced alloys, including
third-generation Al-Li low density alloys, and probably more important, of innovative concepts. All
these could serve in A380 future activities, if required, as well as on any future airframes. It is believed that such ideas as local tailoring of properties or damage-containment features, associated
with the new advanced low density alloys and with
innovative joining concepts, assure a bright future
for metallic structures in aircraft.
For more information: Michael Niedzinski, Director
of Technology and Standardization, Alcan Aerospace,
8770 West Bryn Mawr, Chicago, IL 60631; tel: 773/3998444; Michael.niedzinski@alcan.com.

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JULY 2007