Making sustainable aluminum by recycling scrap: The science of “dirty” alloys

There is an increasingly urgent need of lightweight components in aerospace industry, among which aluminum (Al) alloys have been the optimal materials of choice for aircraft structural parts since being used in the Junkers F.13 aircraft in the 1920s. Compared to other metal materials, Al alloys have a lower density, and the use of Al alloys reduces the total weight of the aircraft and improves fuel efficiency and load capacity. Meanwhile, the strength and hardness of Al alloys with alloying and heat treatment can be significantly enhanced for uses in high loads and vibration environments. Furthermore, in the harsh aerospace environment, aircraft may receive various climatic conditions and chemical corrosion. Due to good corrosion and fatigue resistance, Al alloys demonstrate excellent performance under these conditions, ensuring the long–term service life of aircraft. In addition, Al alloys have good recyclability, and they can be recycled to reduce resource consumption and environmental load, in line with the principle of sustainable development. In recent years, although composites have been widely used in aerospace, high–strength Al alloys are still in an indispensable position. Therefore, this article reviews the progress and applications of Al alloys commonly used in aerospace. The common strengthening methods and advanced manufacturing and processing technologies of Al alloy are also discussed, which can provide references for the development of advanced high–performance aviation Al alloys in the future. 

Development and applications of aluminum alloys for aerospace industry

Cold spray technology provides protective coatings, additive manufacturing and repair to a wide array of industrial sectors. Alternative tags for cold spray include, kinetic metallisation, kinetic fusion, hypersonic spray, gas dynamic cold spray, cold spray printing, and cold spray additive manufacturing. These processes employ the same physics principles of accelerating micrometre-sized particles to supersonic velocities that impact and adhere onto a suitably prepared substrate. Numerical modelling has been used extensively to study particle impact modelling. The prediction of critical velocity, deformation mechanism and, more recently, residual stresses have been areas of interest that have been evaluated by numerical methods such as Lagrangian, Eulerian, Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics, Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian, and Molecular Dynamics. The crucial findings of these models are summarised, and their comparative outcomes assessed with a critical analysis of their merits and weaknesses. The process parameters applied in the simulations such as particle diameter, impact velocity, pre-heat temperature and material chemistry is compiled. The experimental techniques used for residual stress measurements; such as X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, material removal, curvature measurement and deformation techniques, are concisely reviewed from the context of being applied to cold spray deposits.

Numerical modelling of particle impact and residual stresses in cold sprayed coatings: A review

Predicting ballistic impact failure of aluminium 6061-T6 with the rate-independent Bao–Wierzbicki fracture model

Review of current trends for metal-based sandwich panel: Failure mechanisms and their contribution factors

Perforation and penetration of aluminium target plates by armour piercing bullets

Fatigue crack propagation in a helicopter component subjected to impact damage

Numerical Calculation of Crack Parameters for Propagation Assessment in a Complex Component with Residual Stresses

Al6061-T6 aluminium single layer plates, of different thickness, impacted by two different 7.62 mm Armour Piercing projectiles are studied from a metallographic point of view. The material behaviour after ballistic impact is investigated by optical and scanning electron microscopy as well as by micro-hardness tests. The study allows one to highlight the physical phenomena that happen during the impact: the formation of adiabatic shear bands (ASB), the evolution of softening and hardening phenomena, the creation of petalling, plugging and the formation of a melted film between the target and the penetrator as well as the localised failure mechanism. The thermo-mechanical effects on the target and the penetrator material have been examined in order to investigate in the physical phenomena ruling the ballistic damage; the differences between the two types of impactors are also highlighted. Among interesting findings, it has been noticed that a complete penetration is less detrimental and tungsten core projectile seems more damaging for the structural integrity of Al6061-T6 plates. A complete penetration allows the material to better dissipate the plastic deformation energy induced by bullet whereas the arrest increases localised material softening effect resulting in the formation of ASB. Although the creation of numerical models is not the aim of the present paper, the findings could be useful for the building of a modelling approach capable of replicating all the involved phenomena in details.

Metallographic characterisation of Al6061-T6 aluminium plates subjected to ballistic impact

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Perforation and penetration of aluminium target plates by armour piercing bullets

Fatigue crack propagation in a helicopter component subjected to impact damage

Numerical Calculation of Crack Parameters for Propagation Assessment in a Complex Component with Residual Stresses

Metallographic characterisation of Al6061-T6 aluminium plates subjected to ballistic impact