Remarks on some commercial aluminium alloys

4 Remarks on some commercial aluminium alloys. A1 metal and A1 alloys find several applications this is also reflected in the variety of treatments and processing techniques to which they may be subjected. A recent example may be the semi-solid processing (thixoforming) of high-performance alloys. 

Just as a kind of introduction to the field of commercial aluminium alloys and to give in a broad outline an indication of their applications, the codes of typical A1 alloys are reported here as taken from ASM Handbook, Vol. 2 (Cayless 1990). 

For a discussion on thixoforming processing, mainly applied to alloys Al-Zn-Mg-Cu of the 7xxx series, see Maciel-Camacho etal. (2003) and 6.2.2.3. 

2xxx Cu alloys =5% Excellent strength and machinability poor corrosion resistance. Used for components requiring high strength/weight ratio. 

3 xxx Mn alloys ( 1.2%) Moderate strength, high workability, cooking utensils, heat exchangers, tanks, storage equipments. 

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