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There are different alloys of aluminum with different properties. Just like steel. And of course it's been used in the aviation industry for a long time as well
by jillesvangurp 2y ago
There are different alloys of aluminum with different properties. Just like steel. And of course it's been used in the aviation industry for a long time as well. Car manufacturers are using aluminum castings in cars these days. And there are engine blocks made out of aluminum as well.
Anyway, this is the ship yard I mentioned. They have a few decades experience making ships out of aluminum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incat
- AceyMan 2y agoAs I understand it, the gotcha with aluminum is: there is no such thing as non-fatiguing stress — whereas, say, steels, have a range of elasticity where it can operate and not lose strength (or get cold-work hardened). With aluminum, any flexion — no matter how little — marginally reduces the strength of the material. Ergo, even under ideal conditions it's saddled with a limited service life.
- HPsquared 2y agoYou just design it so the stress in the material gives a very long fatigue life (as in, how many zeros do you want?). It doesn't have a defined "fatigue limit", but it may as well have.