Benefits of aluminium

Aluminium, the third most abundant element in Earth’s crust. Aluminium is a chemical element (symbol Al) and it is a ductile metal in the boron group. In this article we inform you about the benefits of aluminium and aluminium series.

 

The benefits: 

  • Aluminium is a very light and strong metal. This is one of the main reasons why aluminium is being used in so many different transportation industries. For example, a lot of aluminium is being used in trucks and containers. A lot of weight is being reduced because of the usage of aluminum. Because of this saving, more load could be transported.
  • Aluminium is recyclable. Aluminium that has already been recycled is called secondary aluminium. Recycling aluminium saves a lot of energy, because only 5-8% of the energy, needed for primary aluminium, is needed to produce secondary aluminium. Another advantage of secondary aluminium is quality, because it remains the same as primary, all the properties retain. Aluminium is environmentally and economically sustainable because recycling is relative low-cost, the rate of scrap recovery is high and there is an abundance of its ore.
  • Aluminium is corrosion resistant. Aluminium generates a natural protective coating. When the aluminium comes into contact with an oxidising environment the protective coating will be generated. This layer protects the surface from corrosion. Anodising is a method to improve the corrosion resistance.
  • The unique characteristics of aluminium are excellent for the extrusion process. Because of its ductility it is easy to extrude while the malleability of aluminium allows it to be formed and pressed into complex shapes even after the extrusion process.

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Aluminium extrusion and applications

Because of the high conductivity of heat and electricity, aluminium can be found in: Air conditioning, heat sinks and radiators. Low weight and high strength benefit the following industries: railway, automotive, aeronautical and marine. We told you about the corrosion resistance of aluminium, that’s the reason why they use aluminium for mining architecture, cables, wires, automotive and parts for the army.

Ofcourse aluminium could be used for more!

Aluminium series

The table below shows the different aluminium series and their properties divided in strength, formability, corrosion resistance and weldability.

 series en eigenschappen juist

Series 4 & 8 excluded

Video about aluminium extrusion in combination with Adex spreading technology

video about production of aluminium extrusion dies at adex