The Advantages and Disadvantages of Aluminium As a Material

Aluminium is an important material with the common symbol Al on it and is made from the element chromium. Aluminium is usually an oxide of iron, but sometimes it comes in contact with phosphorus or sulfur. Aluminium has quite a high density, lower than those of many other common alloys, at about one quarter that of stainless steel. When exposed to air, it forms an extremely protective layer of oxide on its surface, which makes it useful as aircraft material. You’ll need to have some Bending Machines from Cotswold Machinery Sales for that.

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The oxide coating makes aluminium a very flexible metal, which makes it easy to mould into different shapes. Because of its great flexibility, aluminium is used in everything from aeroplanes to bicycles, boats, cars, trains, even houses: although this type of metal is also suitable for making large skyscrapers, it is now more commonly used as lightweight structural metal for modern architecture, because of its great compressive strength. When you consider how lightweight metal is generally considered to be, you will realise that aluminium is one of the strongest and most durable materials you can use in your everyday life. If you are worried that a car will one day fall from the sky because it snapped under a skidding vehicle, then you should buy yourself a set of aluminium frame cars.

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Unfortunately, Aluminium, although a very flexible metal, also has its limitations; if you put a load of Aluminium on top of a particularly soft surface, then it will bend and create a stress crack. Aluminium fatigue, caused by constant compression, can easily damage your vehicle’s integrity over time. Even though aluminium is stronger than stainless steel, it cannot take a lot of punishment.

Author: Richard Brown

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