【Aluminum Knowledge】High quality aluminum alloy industry chain and its market demand
Aluminum alloy industry chain and its market demand
Aluminum alloy has the characteristics of low density, high strength, good corrosion resistance, and excellent processing performance, making it the most widely used metal structural material in the current military industry. In the fields of aviation, aerospace, and naval vessels that pursue lightweight equipment, high-performance aluminum alloys are essential and important lightweight structural materials.
1 Aircraft Industry Helps Demand for Aviation Aluminum
1. Overview of aviation aluminum materials
Aviation aluminum is a type of ultra-high strength deformed aluminum alloy, which is the most widely used metal material in the aviation industry, especially in passenger aircraft.
Main features:
1) Excellent mechanical and processing properties, good plasticity after solution treatment, and excellent heat treatment strengthening effect;
2) It has high strength and good toughness below 150 ℃, making it an ideal structural material;
3) Low density, light weight, and significant lightweight effect.
Main application areas: wing skin, wing surface stringers, upper and lower edge strips of wing beams, web plates, fuselage stringers, seat rails, keel beams, side frames, fuselage skin, fuselage lower wall panels, main floor stringers, etc;
High strength aluminum alloy is mainly used for aircraft body components, engine compartments, seats, control systems, etc;
Heat resistant aluminum alloy parts are mainly used in engine rooms near electric motors, air exchange systems, etc;
Corrosion resistant aluminum alloy has sufficiently high performance indicators, and its strength, plasticity, impact toughness, fatigue performance and weldability are all very good. It mainly has corrosion resistance and is mainly used for Seaplane.
Large extruded profiles used in aerospace include integral ribbed wall panels, I-beams, wing beams, comb shaped profiles, hollow beam profiles, etc. They are mainly used as load-bearing structural components for aerospace aircraft such as airplanes and spacecraft, as well as special-shaped hollow rotor beams for helicopters and aircraft runways.
Aluminum alloy thick plates are mainly used in aircraft frames, integral wall panels, landing gears, skins, etc.
2 Current Status and Development Trends of Aluminum Materials for Second Aviation Industry
1. The current situation of aviation aluminum materials
At present, the most widely used structures in large aircraft mainly include the high-strength 2000 series (2024/2224/2324/2424/2524, etc.) and the ultra-high-strength 7000 series (7075/7475/7050/7150/7055/7085, etc.).
The 2000 series aluminum alloy belongs to the Al Cu Mg series alloy, known as high-strength hard aluminum, and is the most widely used structural aluminum alloy. Compared to the 7000 series aluminum alloy, it has lower room temperature strength, but better heat resistance, fatigue properties, and especially better resistance to fatigue crack propagation.
The 7000 series aluminum alloy belongs to the Al Zn Mg Cu series alloy, which has high specific strength and hardness, good corrosion resistance, high toughness, and excellent processing performance, and is widely used in large aircraft.
2. The Development Trend of Aviation Aluminum Materials
The design requirements of aluminum alloy for aircraft mainly consider the material's static strength, corrosion resistance, stable high temperature performance, durability, Damage tolerance, good thick plate performance and lightweight effect. The traditional 2000 series and 7000 series aluminum alloys basically have the above properties, and the processing technology is mature and the cost is relatively low. However, the new generation of large aircraft, represented by the new B787 and A380, put forward higher requirements for comfort, safety, economy and other major performance indicators, so the requirements for the performance of the materials used are more stringent. New materials like Aluminium–lithium alloys, rapidly solidified aluminum alloy, advanced composite materials and other new materials gradually pose a threat of substitution.
Aluminium–lithium alloys
Aluminium–lithium alloys is a multi-element aluminum alloy containing lithium. Lithium is the lightest metal element, and for every 1% increase in lithium in aluminum alloys, the density can be reduced by 3% and the modulus can be increased by 5%. In addition to the advantages of light weight, high modulus and high strength, Aluminium–lithium alloys also has excellent fatigue resistance and good low-temperature toughness, and its strength can be comparable to 2024, 7075 and other aluminum alloys. In view of this, Aluminium–lithium alloys has been deeply loved by the aerospace industry. As a new aerospace structural material, it has become a hot spot of research and development in the United States, Britain, France, Russia and other developed countries.
At present, the newly developed Aluminium–lithium alloys mainly include 1460 and Weldalite series alloys with high strength and weldability, 2097 and 2197 alloys with high toughness, and AF/C-489 and AF/C-458 alloys with low anisotropy. These new Aluminium–lithium alloys can be collectively referred to as the third generation Aluminium–lithium alloys
Aluminum based composite materials
Aluminum matrix composites have attracted widespread attention due to its low density, high specific strength and stiffness, high specific elastic modulus, good conductivity, high temperature resistance, oxidation resistance, corrosion resistance, flexible preparation process and many other advantages. Countries have invested a lot of human and material resources in research and development. It is the most studied and most important composite material in Metal matrix composite. Aluminum matrix composites have become an important competitor of aluminum alloys, even Aluminium–lithium alloys. At present, the main developed aluminum based composite materials include SiC/Al, B/Al, BC/AI, Al2O3/Al, etc.
Superplastic formed aluminum alloy
The superplastic forming of aluminum alloys is achieved through deformation and heat treatment with a yield of less than 10% μ These ultra-fine grain alloys can achieve superplasticity under conditions of higher than half melting point and low strain rate, and can form components with light weight, low cost, and complex shape that are difficult to obtain by traditional methods. They also have many advantages such as low forming pressure, long mold life, and the ability to form accurately in one go.
Analysis of the demand for aviation aluminum materials
Aluminum alloy is the most commonly used metal material on passenger aircraft, usually accounting for over 70% of the total weight of the aircraft. Due to its high cost-effectiveness, its current position on passenger aircraft is still very stable; However, in the field of military aircraft, the proportion of aluminum alloys is gradually decreasing with the rapid development of titanium alloys and composite materials. Currently, the usage of aluminum alloys on the most advanced fifth generation fighter F22 is only about 15%.
Figure 33 Proportion of Various Materials in the Airplane
Source: Journal of Aeronautical Materials, Materials Introduction
China's aviation industry is in a period of rapid development, and there is a huge demand gap in both the large commercial aircraft represented by the C919 and the new generation fighter aircraft represented by the J-20. In terms of passenger aircraft, the demand for new aircraft in China is expected to reach around 6500 in the next 20 years, and the demand for high-end aviation aluminum materials is expected to reach 450000 to 550000 tons. In terms of military aircraft, China will add about 1000 fourth/fifth generation fighter jets in the next 10 years, and the demand for high-end aluminum materials is expected to reach 20000 to 30000 tons.
Source: Journal of Aeronautical Materials, Materials Introduction
3 Aluminum materials for three ships
1. Overview of Aluminum profile for Ships
In naval vessels, the most commonly used metal material is hull structural steel, which serves as the key structural carrier for the entire ship, followed by aluminum alloy. Compared with steel, aluminum alloy has the characteristics of low density, high specific strength, non-magnetic, high conductivity and thermal conductivity. It is the preferred material for manufacturing small and medium-sized ship hulls, superstructures and other warehouse surface appliances, especially the best material for manufacturing planing craft, hydrofoil craft, Hovercraft and hydrofoil craft. Because their mass is particularly sensitive to speed, reducing the weight of the hull can effectively increase speed.
There are three main types of applications of aluminum materials on ships:
1) The load-bearing structural components mainly influenced by strength, such as the hull, large ship deck houses, ship bridges, missile launchers, electromagnetic gun tracks, etc.
2) Non stressed or less stressed components, such as various household appliances, fuel tanks, water tanks, storage cabinets, aluminum watertight doors, windows, covers, sanitary facilities, pipelines, ventilation, wind shields, brackets, streamlined covers, and handles. They are mostly made of alloy materials such as 6063, 6082, and 3003.
3) Functional extrusion profile used for manufacturing interior decorations, insulation, and sound insulation materials in warehouses.
2. Application Improvement of Aluminum Alloy on Ships
Since the 1920s, aluminum alloys have been more widely used in warships, including aircraft carriers, cruisers, Corvette, Guided-missile destroyer, submarines, speedboats, gunboats, Landing craft and other construction processes.
Due to its huge volume and mass, aircraft carriers have an urgent need to reduce structural mass due to stability and airworthiness requirements, especially the mass of the superstructure, which is crucial for improving the tactical performance of aircraft carriers. According to preliminary statistics on existing aircraft carriers, the usual amount of aluminum alloy material used for an aircraft carrier is 500-1000 tons. For example, the USS Independence (CVA62) aircraft carrier used 1019 tons of aluminum, the USS Enterprise nuclear powered aircraft carrier (CVA65) used 450 tons of aluminum, and the French USS Forsyth (R99) and USS Clemenceau (R98) aircraft carriers used over 1000 tons of aluminum. The aluminum consumption of China's first aircraft carrier "Liaoning" is estimated to be about 650t, with alloys mostly 5052 and aluminium 6063.
On large surface vessels such as destroyers, the entire structure on the main deck is mostly made of aluminum alloy. The quantity of aluminum alloy used in the above deck structure of the destroyers of different levels of the US Navy is as follows: 251.33 tons of aluminum is used for Destroyer escort (DE); The aluminum consumption of Guided-missile destroyer (DLG) is 811.30 tons; The aluminum consumption of ballistic Guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is 515.88 tons; The ballistic missile nuclear powered destroyer (DLGN) uses 930.35 tons of aluminum. Due to the gradual shift of China's naval strategy from coastal defense to regional denial, the construction and installation of large vessels, including aircraft carriers, have accelerated. With the construction of new aircraft carriers and destroyers, the demand for aluminum alloys for ships will also significantly increase.
Source: China Corrosion and Protection Network
4 Development Trends of Four Aluminum Alloys profile
Aluminum alloys profile play an important role in the lightweight of aircraft and automobiles, and there is a huge demand in the aviation and automotive fields. Especially with the mass production of domestically produced large aircraft C919, the consumption of high-end aviation aluminum materials will rise sharply. In the case of overcapacity in upstream aluminum alloys, the increase in demand for high-end aluminum alloys only benefits downstream aluminum alloy cnc precision processing enterprises, and the future demand for high-end aluminum alloys will be greater.
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