DESIGN CRITERIA FOR

ALUMINIUM ALLOY
STRUCTURES

Federico M. Mazzolani
(Chairman of TC 250-SC9)
Department of Structural Analysis and Design
Faculty of Engineering
University of Naples “Federico II”
 DESIGN CRITERIA FOR ALUMINIUM
STRUCTURES IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

‹ How can aluminium and its alloy satisfy

the requirements of civil engineering
structures?

‹ In which applications can they compete

with other structural materials, like
steel?
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Birth of aluminium :

„ 1807 – isolation of AL element

(Sir Humphry Davy – U.K.)
„ 1827 – first aluminium nugget
(Whoeler – Germany)
„ 1854 – first electrolytic reduction
(Henry Sainte Claire – France)
„ 1886 – industrial electrolytic process
(Paul Luis Touissant Héroult – France and
Charles Martin Hall – USA)
 FIRST APPLICATIONS
„ Eagles of the Napoleon III’s insigna
(1851-1870)

„ Dirigible structures:
Schwartz (1897)
Zeppeling (1900)

„ Armaments and equipment for the First

World War (1915-1918)
„ Dirigible structures
(details)
„ Dirigible structures (details)
Presence of aluminium in different surroundings
„ Navy structures
„ Aircraft structures
„ Railway structures
„ Railway structures
„ Railway structures
„ Reservoirs for Railway
„ Reservoirs for Railway
„ Cladding

Aluminium sheets
installed more than a century ago for cladding
the dome of the San Gioacchino church in Rome
 „ Windows

The Empire State Building

in New York was the first
building using anodised
aluminium for windows
„ Decoration

The statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus London

(only recently cleaned and renovated)

 The Atomium was built for the Universal Exhibition of Brussels in 1958,
nevertheless aged over the years.
The Atomium is a structure that is half way between sculpture and architecture,
symbolising a crystal molecule of steel by the scale of its atoms,
magnified 165 billion times.
The aluminium cladding - initially conceived to last six months –
has served its purpose for almost 50 years and is ready for a new life.
Now the Atomium is undergoing renovation:
the original aluminium skin will serve for new purposes.
A thousand aluminium triangular
panels are available for sale
with a certificate of
authenticity for collectors
and Atomium fans.
The remaining 30 tonnes
of aluminium will be recycled.

„ Symbolic works
„ Housing structures
 Markets for Roller roducts Markets for Extrusions

Foilstock
5% 15%
13% 22% Stockists
Building
Packaging (rigid) 18%
12% Transport
Building
Engineering
Engineering 51%
18% Others
11% Transport
19% 16%
Consumer durables

Markets for Ricycled Aluminium Per-capita use by world areas (in kg)
40
35
30
Building 1980
7% 6% 25
13% Transport 1990
20
Engineering 2000
Others 15
10
74%
5
0
Europe USA Japan

Different markets for aluminium products

 [t]
1.60E+06
1.40E+06
1.20E+06
1.00E+06
8.00E+05
6.00E+05
4.00E+05
2.00E+05
THE GROWTH OF ALUMINIUM ALLOYS IN BUILDINGS
0.00E+00
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
 BASIC PREREQUISITES OF ALU-ALLOYS

„ Wide family of constructional materials,covering the range of mechanical

properties of mild steels
„ Corrosion resistance makes normally not necessary to provide protection
coating
„ Weigth reduction (respect to steel is 1 to 3) gives many advantages in
transportation and erection
„ Low elastic modulus increases the sensitivity to deformability and
instability problems
„ The material itself is not prone to brittle fracture
„ Fabrication process by extrusion allows individually tailored shapes to be
designed
„ Either bolting,riveting and welding techniques are available as connection
solution
 BASIC CONDITIONS
FOR COMPETITION WITH STEEL

„ First pre-requisite:
Corrosion resistance ( C )
„ Second pre-requisite:
Lightness ( L )

„ Third pre-requisite:
Functionality of sections
due to extrusion ( F )
„ First pre-requisite:
Corrosion resistance
Details of steel bolted
connections
„Steel detail „Aluminium detail
„ Second pre-requisite:
Ligthness
„ Second pre-requisite:
Ligthness
„ Second pre-requisite:
Ligthness
„ Second pre-requisite:
Ligthness
„ steel hot rolled sections
„ aluminium extruded sections
„ extrusion process
 1.Billets in parking 2. Heating (480°C) 3. Cutting

4. Transfer to extrusion 5. Extrusion 6. Termal treatment

Phases of the extrusion process

 „ Third pre-requisite:
Functionality of sections due to extrusion

“The geometrical properties of cross-section are improved

by designing a shape which simultaneously gives the
minimum weight and the highest structural efficiency”
 „ Third pre-requisite:
Functionality of sections due to extrusion

Sections for electrical towers

 „ Third pre-requisite:
Functionality of sections due to extrusion
“The connecting systems among different
component are simplified,thus improving joint details”

1 2 3 4

2
2
2
4
3
1 1
Sections for crane structures
 „ Third pre-requisite:
Functionality of sections due to extrusion

Building for agriculture

 „ Third pre-requisite:
Functionality of sections due to extrusion

Sections used in the building for agriculture

 „ Third pre-requisite:
Functionality of sections due to extrusion

Industrial building
 „ Third pre-requisite:
Functionality of sections due to extrusion

Section of the upper chord

Section for innovative floor structure
Bolted connections
Welded connections
 C +L
C • L ig h tin g c o n tr o l
• S to r a g e v e sse ls to w e r s
FIELDS OF STRUCTURAL
• L a m p c o lu m n s • F la g p o le s L
• P r o file d r o o f a n d w a ll • A ir c r a ft a c c e s s • C ran e boom s
c la d d in g b r id g e s • L o r r y m o u n te d c r a n e s
• S u p p o r t fo r r a ilw a y • T r a n sm issio n • P it p r o p s
o v e r h e a d e le c tr ific a tio n to w e r s • B r id g e s*
• E n c lo s u r e s tr u c tu r e s fo r • B r id g e in sp e c tio n • M o b ile b r id g e
APPLICATIONS

sew ag e w ork s g a n trie s in sp e c tio n g a n trie s

• S o u n d b a r rie rs
• V e h ic le r e str a in t
syste m s
• S e w a g e p la n t b r id g e s*
• S ilo s*
• T r a ffic s ig n a l g a n tr ie s *
• T r a ffic s ig n a l p o le s *
• O ffs h o r e s tr u c tu r e s
(liv in g q u a r te r s,
b r id g e s)*
• T a n k flo ta tio n
covers
• S c a ffo ld in g s y s te m s
• L adders
• C h e r r y p ic k e rs
• T e le s c o p ic p la tfo r m s
• M a s ts fo r te n ts

C +F+L
• G r a tin g p la n k s F+L
• H e lid e c k s* • A ccess ram p s
C +F • S u p p o r t fo r s h u tte r in g
• D om es over sew ag e • T r a c k w a ys (te m p o r a r y)
ta n k s* • E le v a to r s fo r b u ild in g
• M a r in a la n d in g sta g e s m a te r ia ls
• R o o f a c c e ss sta g in g • S c a ffo ld p la n k s
• D a m lo g s • T re n c h su p p o rts
• C u r ta in w a llin g • G r a v e d ig g in g
• O v e r c la d d in g su p p o r t su p p o rts
syste m s • L o a d in g r a m p s
• P e d e str ia n p a r a p e ts
F • L a n d in g m a ts fo r
• P r e fa b r ic a te d a ir c r a ft
• C h ic k e n h o u se
b a lc o n ie s* • A ccess g an g w ays
str u c tu r e s
• C o n v e yo r b e lt • S h u tte r in g su p p o r t
• W o o d d ryin g k iln s
str u c tu r e s beam s
• S p a c e stru c tu re s
• M o n o r a ils • M ilita r y b r id g e s*
(d o m e s, e tc .)*
• R obot su p p ort • R a d io m a sts
• E x h ib itio n sta n d s*
str u c tu r e s • S h u tte r in g
• S w im m in g p o o l r o o fs *
• S h u tte r in g fo r m • T e le sc o p ic c o n v e yo r
• C a n o p ie s
w ork b e lt str u c tu r e s
• B u s sh e lte r s
• T u n n e l sh u tte r in g • G r a n d sta n d str u c tu r e s
• G r e e n h o u se s/G la ss
h ou ses* (tem p o ra ry)
• B u ild in g m a in te n a n c e
g a n tr ie s
• F a b ric str u c tu r e
fr a m e s
T a b le 1 .1 : T h e m a in s tr u c tu r a l a p p lic a tio n s o f a lu m in iu m a llo y s in s tr u c tu r a l e n g in e e r in g
 FIELDS OF APPLICATION IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
„ Long span roof systems (reticular schemes of plane and space
structures) , where live load is small compared to dead load
„ Structures located in corrosive or humid environments
(swimming pool roofs,river bridges,hydraulic plants,off-shore
superstructures)
„ Structures with moving parts,so that the lightness means
economy during service (moving bridges on rivers or
channels,rotating crane bridges on circular pools in sewage
plants)
„ Special purpose structures for which maintenance operations
are particularly difficult (masts,lighting towers,motorway sign
portals)
„ Structures situated in inaccessible places far from the
fabrication shop,so the transport economy and ease erection are
extremelly important (electrical transmission towers,stair
cases,provisional bridges)
Technical references
Competition between steel and aluminium
Reference from literature

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) wrote :

“Within the course of the last two years … a treasure has been divined,
unearthed and brought to light ... what do you think of a metal as white as
silver, as unalterable as gold, as easily melted as copper, as tough as iron,
which is malleable, ductile, and with the singular quality of being lighter that
glass? Such a metal does exist and that in considerable quantities on the
surface of the globe. The advantages to be derived from a metal endowed
with such qualities are easy to be understood. Its future place as a raw
material in all sorts of industrial applications is undoubted, and we may
expect soon to see it, in some shape or other, in the hands of the civilised
world at large”.
 Reference from literature

Jules Verne (1844-1896),the father of modern science

fiction, wrote “From Earth to the Moon”:

“This valuable metal possesses the whiteness of silver, the

indestructibility of gold, the tenacity of iron, the fusibility of
copper, the lightness of glass. It is easily wrought, is very
widely distributed, forming the base of most of the rocks, is
three times lighter than iron, and seems to have been created
for the express purpose of furnishing us with the material for
our projectile”.
 THANK YOU
VERY MUCH FOR
YOUR KIND
ATTENTION