Materials: Non-Ferrous Metals
Aluminum
Pure aluminum is a silvery-white
metal with many desirable characteristics.
It is light, nontoxic (as the metal), nonmagnetic
and nonsparking. It is easily formed, machined,
and cast. Pure aluminum is soft and lacks
strength, but alloys with small amounts
of copper, magnesium, silicon, manganese,
and other elements have very useful properties.
Aluminum is an abundant element in the earth's
crust, but it is not found free in nature.
The Bayer process is used to refine aluminum
from bauxite, an aluminum ore. Because of
aluminum's mechanical and physical properties,
it is an extremely convenient and widely
used metal.
Some Common Uses -
Building & Construction
Industry:
- door and window frames
- wall cladding, roofing,
awnings
Manufacture of Electrical
Products:
- high tension power lines,
wires, cables, busbars
- components for television,
radios, refrigerators and air-conditioners
Packaging & Containers:
- beverage cans, bottle
tops
- foil wrap, foil semi-rigid
containers
Cooking Utensils:
Aeronautical, Aviation
& Automotive Industries:
- propellers
- airplane and vehicle
body sheet
- gearboxes, motor parts
Leisure Goods:
- tennis racquets, softball
bats
- indoor and outdoor furniture
Properties -
- very lightweight (about
1/3 the mass of an equivalent volume of
steel or copper) but with alloying can
become very strong.
- excellent thermal conductor
- excellent electrical
conductor (on a weight-for-mass basis,
aluminium will conduct more than twice
as much electricity as copper)
- highly reflective to
radiant energy in the electromagnetic
spectrum
- highly corrosion resistant
in air and water (including sea water)
- highly workable and can
be formed into almost any structural shape
- non-magnetic
- non-toxic
See
Also Reference Tables -
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