|
|
Article: Heat treatment of aluminum alloys: aluminum in many forms is used in aircraft and other transportation systems because aluminum alloys are light weight, are easy to bend and machine, can be heat treated to relatively high strengths and the cost of material is low.(THERMAL PROCESSING)
- Article from:
- Industrial Heating
- Article date:
- December 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 BNP Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Aluminum is the most common material used in aerospace applications today, but its use is not limited to aerospace. Because of its light weight and high stiffness, it is commonly used for sporting equipment, and is now being used extensively in automotive applications for structural members and body panels. A notable example is the Audi A8, which is predominately made from aluminum extrusions, aluminum structural members and body panels.
Typically, aluminum alloys used in aerospace structures are the heat treatable grades, such as 2XXX, 6XXX and 7XXX. The 7XXX alloy grades such as 7075, 7040 and 7050 predominate in aerospace structures. Some of the Al-Li alloys ...