Noteworthy advantages of using

aluminum alloys
• Light weight
• Good machinability
• Good formability
• High electrical / thermal conductivity
• High corrosion resistance
Important alloying elements in
aluminum alloy systems
•Copper (2xxx)
•Manganese (3xxx)
•Silicon (4xxx)
•Magnesium (5xxx)
•Zinc (7xxx)

• Cr, Ti and Zr are used in some

alloys for grain refinement
 Wrought alluminum alloys
There exists an internationally
agreed classification system for wrought alloys.
Classification for wrought aluminium alloys.

8XXX Miscellaneous alloys, e.g. aluminium-lithium alloys

7XXX Al - Zn - Mg alloys
6XXX Al - Mg - Si alloys
5XXX Al - Mg alloys
4XXX Al - Si alloys
3XXX Al - Mn alloys
2XXX Al - Cu alloys
1XXX Al of 99% minimum purity

Each alloy is described by a four digit number

 Designations of wrought aluminum
alloys
Non-heat-treatable alloys
• 1xxx series (super purity & commercial purity aluminum)
• 3xxx series (Al-Mn & Al-Mn-Mg alloys)
• 5xxx series (Al-Mg alloys)
• 8xxx series (Miscellaneous alloys)
Heat-treatable alloys
• 2xxx series (Al-Cu & Al-Cu-Mg alloys)
• 6xxx series (Al-Mg-Si alloys)
• 7xxx series (Al-Zn-Mg and Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys)
Designation of each alloy includes a further
letter and number indicating the temper, or condition of the alloy.
 Denoting the thermal/mechanical
treatment of wrought alloys
• O: annealed
• H: work hardened
• H12: quarter hard; H14: half hard: H18: full hard
• T1: naturally aged after hot working
• T4: solution treated, quenched and naturally aged
• T6: solution treated, quenched and artificially aged
• T8: same as T6, except cold worked before aging
Principle of age-hardening
Age hardening requires a decrease in
solid solubility of the alloying
elements with decreasing
temperature.
The Al-Zn phase diagram shows the rapid decrease
of the solubility of zinc in aluminum with decreasing
temperature.
 5.65 wt% solubility of Cu
in Al at 548C
The solubility drops down
to 0.02 wt% at room
temperature
Precipitation hardening is
thus possible.
Al-Cu phase
diagram (Al-rich side)
 Heat treatment usually involves
the three following stages:
1. Solution treatment at a relatively high
temperature to dissolve the alloying elements.
2. Rapid cooling or quenching usually to room
temperature to obtain supersaturated solid
solution (SSSS) of these elements in aluminum.
3. Controlled decomposition of the SSSS to form
a finely dispersed precipitates, normally
accompanied with ageing at appropriate
temperature(s).
 Heat treatment for precipitation hardening

• Solution heat treatment: at T0, all the solute atoms A are dissolved to form a single-
phase (α) solution.
• Rapid cooling across the solvus line to exceed the solubility limit. This leads to a
metastable supersaturated solid solution at T1. Equilibrium structure is α+β, but
limited diffusion does not allow β to form.
• Precipitation heat treatment: the supersaturated solution is heated to T2 where
diffusion is appreciable – finely dispersed particles rich in element B start forming :
aging.
Precipitation hardening in Al-Cu System
Heat treatment for precipitation hardening

Discs of Cu atoms 1 or 2
monolayers thick
Surface treatments

• Many coatings are commercially used –

organic coatings, chemical conversion
coatings and platings
• Most important are anodizing and hard
coating – coating is aluminum oxide,
electrochemically induced. The coating
provides a good corrosion barrier and
wear resistance.s
Corrosion
• Aluminum is susceptible to pitting and
accelerated corrosion seawater and halide
environments. These environments should be
avoided.
• Pure aluminum has better corrosion resistance
than any of the aluminum alloys. This is because
alloy micro-constituents impair the protective
oxide film.
• To improve the corrosion resistance, Al-Cu and
Al-Zn-Mg alloys are sandwiched between two
pure aluminum sheets and rolled to produce the
composite Alclad.
 Designations of cast aluminum
alloys
Alloy designation Major alloying elements
1xx.x 99.5 min. aluminum
2xx.x Copper
3xx.x Silicon + copper or magnesium
4xx.x Silicon
5xx.x Magnesium
6xx.x Unused series
7xx.x Zinc
8xx.x Tin
9xx.x Other element
Last digit after decimal point indicates the product form (0: casting, 1: ingot)
Casting techniques
The most common aluminium
casting techniques are;
1) Sand casting
2) Die casting - gravity casting
- high pressure die casting
- low pressure die casting
- vacuum die casting
- squeeze casting

Selection of casting process depends upon alloy

composition which is related to controlled characteristics
such as solidification range,fluidity, susceptibility to hot-
cracking.
Castability 3xx.x > 4xx.x > 5xx.x > 2xx.x > 7xx.x
Si,Cu,Mg Si Mg Cu Zn
Modification of
microstructure
• Apart from fast cooling to refine the
microstructure, modification can be carried out
by adding certain alkali fluorides to the melt
prior to pouring.
• Additions of Sr or Na change eutectic
microstructure from needle-like or lamellar
to fibrous.
• A concentration of 0.02% Sr is enough to cause
100% modification to fibrous structure.
Eutectic silicon crystals with
acicular morphology in an
unmodified sample of alloy
A365. Etchant: Keller's
reagent
Eutectic silicon crystals with
fibrous morphology in a
modified sample of alloy A365.
Etchant:Keller's reagent
Why add modifiers
• Controlling silicon morphology
• Improving mechanical properties
• Improving machinability
• Reducing hot tearing
• Reducing heat treatment times
• Controlling porosity distribution
• Improving die filling
• Suppressing primary silicon formation
• Reducing die sticking
Cast aluminium alloys are widely used
for transport applications, e.g., Cast engine
block