aluminum alloy

As we talked before aluminum is a metallic element with a silvery white appearance that is found in abundance in earth’s crust. Though making up almost 8% of the earth’s crust,it does not occur naturally as a free metal as it is too reactive chemically.

Alloy on the other hand is a substance that is a solid made up of two or more elements. It is not a compound as elements do not react to form the compound but rather remain separately within it.

As such, aluminum alloy always has different physical properties than the elements it is made up of. In its pure form, aluminum is not considered useful as a structural material as it has low tensile strength. However, when mixed with other elements, the alloys of aluminum show marked improvement in mechanical properties.

The main alloying elements in the AA system are as follows:
1xx.x series are minimum 99% aluminium
2xx.x series copper
3xx.x series silicon, copper and/or magnesium
4xx.x series silicon
5xx.x series magnesium
7xx.x series zinc
8xx.x series lithium