Aluminium - Information on the wide ranging possibilities of Aluminium.

At Metal Supplies all of our Aluminium including our vast Box Section, Tube, Sheet and Angle range is available X-stock for immediate dispatch. We also offer our quick turnaround cutting service to both our commercial and domestic customers. So please take the time to use the drop down menu on the left to view our standard Aluminium product range; However many Specialist Products, Complementary Services and Non-Standard sizes are also available.

As an incite into the wide ranging possibilities of Aluminium, we have compiled some basic information on a selection of our most popular grades and complementary services, which are available in various forms such as:

Rounds  Flats  Tubes  Box Sections  Sheets  Plates  Floor Plates  Angles  Channels & Squares.

At Metal Supplies we have the different grades and complementary services for Aluminium, to suit the environment to which the material will be subjected in its lifetime, our friendly Sales Team has a wealth of experience; We are not just there to sell to you! So for more help and advice, call us today Free on 0845 078 0909 or send us an email: Sales@Metal-Supplies.com or why not fill in our online enquiry form on our contact page.

Aluminium is the most widely used non-ferrous metal; Pure Aluminium is encountered only when corrosion resistance and/or workability is more important than strength or hardness. Aluminium is a soft, durable, lightweight, malleable metal with an appearance ranging from silvery to dull grey, depending on the surface roughness.

Aluminium is a good thermal and electrical conductor, by weight better than Copper. Aluminium is capable of being a superconductor, with a superconducting critical temperature of 1.2 Kelvin and a critical magnetic field of about 100 gauss.

Aluminium has about one-third the density and stiffness of steel, its ductile, and easily machined, cast and extruded. Aluminium is also nonmagnetic and nonsparking. Its insoluble in alcohol, though it can be soluble in water in certain forms. Corrosion resistance can be excellent due to a thin surface layer of Aluminium oxide that forms when the metal is exposed to air, effectively preventing further oxidation.

The strongest aluminium alloys are less corrosion resistant due to galvanic reactions with alloyed Copper. This corrosion resistance is also often greatly reduced when many aqueous salts are present however, particularly in the presence of dissimilar metals.

Pure Aluminium has a low tensile strength of 7–11 MPa, but when combined with thermo-mechanical processing, Aluminium alloys strengths and durability vary widely, not only as a result of the components of the specific alloy, but also as a result of heat treatments and manufacturing processes. However they do display a marked improvement in mechanical properties, especially when tempered, ranging from 200 MPa to 600 MPa.

Aluminium readily forms alloys with many elements such as Copper, Zinc, Magnesium, Manganese and Silicon (e.g. Duralumin). Today, almost all bulk metal materials that are referred to loosely as "Aluminium," are actually alloys. They are much lighter and more corrosion resistant than plain Carbon Steel, but not quite as corrosion resistant as pure Aluminium.

Bare Aluminium alloy surfaces will keep their apparent shine in a dry environment due to the formation of a clear, protective oxide layer. Galvanic corrosion can be rapid when Aluminium alloy is placed in electrical contact with Stainless Steel or other metals with a more negative corrosion potential than the Aluminium alloy, in a wet environment.

Aluminium alloy and Stainless Steel parts should only be used together in water-containing systems or outdoor installations if provision is made for either electrical or electrolytic isolation between the two metals. One important structural limitation of Aluminium alloys is their fatigue strength.

Unlike steels, Aluminium alloys have no well-defined fatigue limit, meaning that fatigue failure will eventually occur under even very small cyclic loadings. This implies that engineers must assess these loads and design for a fixed life rather than an infinite life.

Another important property of Aluminium alloys is their sensitivity to heat. Workshop procedures involving heating are complicated by the fact that Aluminium, unlike steel, will melt without first glowing red. Forming operations where a blow torch is used therefore requires some expertise, since no visual signs reveal how close the material is to melting.

Aluminium alloys, like all structural alloys, also are subject to internal stresses following heating operations such as welding and casting. The problem with Aluminium alloys in this regard is their low melting point, which make them more susceptible to distortions from thermally induced stress relief. Controlled stress relief can be done during manufacturing by heat-treating the parts in an oven, followed by gradual cooling, in effect annealing the stresses.