2024 Aluminium – A high strength alloy

2024 Aluminium contains copper, magnesium, and manganese, all of which dramatically increase the strength of an aluminium alloy. On the downside, the high percentage of copper means the alloy isn’t good at resisting corrosion. It usually contains tiny amounts of impurities including silicon, iron, zinc and titanium but these don’t affect its properties.

What is aluminium 2024?

2024 Aluminium is easy to machine and comes with good workability. This means it can be both cut and extruded. It’s weldable using friction welding, flash, spot, or seam welding and comes with decent heat treatable properties. The alloy is available in T3, T4 and T8 tempers as well as annealed.

2024 Aluminium is more at risk of corrosion than most aluminium alloys. This is addressed by coating the bare alloy with corrosion-resistant metal, a process called galvanizing or cladding, sometimes with pure aluminium and sometimes with another alloy. Type 2024 Aluminium’s unusual strength comes partly from its composition, and partly from the way it’s heat treated or tempered.

• Density 2.77g/cm3 (0.100 lb/in3), slightly higher than pure aluminium
• Ultimate Tensile Strength 469 Mpa (68000 psi)
• Tensile Yield Strength 324 Mpa (47000 psi)
• Shear Strength 283 Mpa (41000 psi)
• Fatigue Strength 138 Mpa (20000 psi)
• Modulus of Elasticity 73.1 Gpa (10600 ksi)
• Shear Modulus 28 Gpa (4060 ksi)
• Electrical conductivity 30% IACS
• Melting point 500°C (932 °F)

How is 2024 Aluminium Made?

Alcoa developed the 2024 Aluminium alloy in 1934. Like all alloys, the manufacturing process involves adding other elements to pure aluminium.

• Aluminium 2024 contains 4.4% Copper, 1.5% Magnesium, 0.6% Manganese
• Silicon – no minimum, maximum 0.5% by weight
• Iron – no minimum, maximum 0.5%
• Chromium – no minimum, maximum 0.1%
• Zinc – no minimum, maximum 0.25%
• Titanium  -no minimum, maximum 0.15%
• Other elements – no more than 0.05% each, total 0.15%

Why was 2024 Aluminium Invented?

Aluminium 2024 was created to provide a light, easy to work metal with outstanding strength. It’s perfect for applications requiring a very high strength to weight ratio, plus good fatigue resistance.

What is 2024 Aluminium Used for?

Type 2024 aluminium’s high strength and potential for galvanising / cladding means it’s a top choice for aircraft and vehicle applications. The good fatigue resistance it offers, especially in thick plate, makes it a popular alloy for the aerospace and military sectors, often used for fuselages in aircraft as well as wing tension members. It’s also widely used for lorry wheels, gears, cylinders and pistons.

What affects the price of 2024 Aluminium?

Supplies of aluminium have an impact on the price. The supply of the other raw metals needed to create the alloy can also impact availability, along with political issues like trade wars and sanctions. As the battle to slow climate change continues environmental issues are changing the way metals are mined and made, which could impact future prices. Supply chain issues like the grounding of the Ever-Given and blocking of the Suez canal, plus pandemics, can impact delivery timescales and cause shortages.

To learn more about 2024 Aluminium, click here

Buy Aluminium 2024

We stock quality metals and alloys, including the popular 2024 Aluminium . If you need clear, sensible, practical advice, we’re always happy to offer our expertise.

Speak to Metalex about your Aluminium 2024 requirement.

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