Alloys

Alloys for Airframe Components
The aircraft airframe has been the most demanding application for aluminum alloys; to chronicle the development of the high-strength alloys is also to record the development of airframes. Duralumin, the first high-strength, heat treatable aluminum alloy, was employed initially for the framework of rigid airships, by Germany and the Allies during World War I.Duralumin was an aluminum-copper-magnesium alloy; it was originated in Germany and developed in the United States as alloy 17S-T (2017-T4). It was utilized primarily as sheet and plate.
Alloy 7075-T6 (70,000-psi yield strength), an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy, was introduced in 1943. Since then, most aircraft structures have been specified in alloys of this type. The first aircraft designed in 7075-T6 was theNavy’s P2V patrol bomber. A higher-strength alloy in the same series, 7178-T6 (78,000-psi yield strength), was developed in 1951; it has not generally displaced 7075-T6, which has superior fracture toughness. Alloy 7178-T6 is used primarily in structural members where performance is critical under compressive loading.
Alloy 7079-T6 was introduced in the United States in 1954. In forged sectionsover 3 in. thick, it provides higher strength and greater transverse ductility than 7075-T6. It now is available in sheet, plate, extrusions, and forgings.
Alloy X7080-T7, with higher resistance to stress corrosion than 7079-T6, is being developed for thick parts. Because it is relatively insensitive to quenching rate, good strengths with low quenching stresses can be produced in thick sections.Cladding of aluminum alloys was developed initially to increase the corrosion resistance of 2017-T4 sheet and thus to reduce aluminum aircraft maintenance requirements. The coating on 2017 sheet - and later on 2024-T3 - consisted of commercial-purity aluminum metallurgically bonded to one or both surfaces of the sheet.
Electrolytic protection, present under wet or moist conditions, is based on theappreciably higher electrode potential of commercial-purity aluminum compared to alloy 2017 or 2024 in the T3 or T4 temper. When 7075-T6 and other Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys appeared, an aluminum-zinc cladding alloy 7072 was developed to provide a relative electrode potential sufficient to protect the new strong alloys.
However, the high-performance aircraft designed since 1945 have made extensive use ofskin structures machined from thick plate and extrusions, precluding the use of alclad exterior skins. Maintenance requirements increased as a result, and these stimulated research and development programs seeking higher-strength alloys with improved resistance to corrosion without cladding.
Aluminum alloy castings traditionally have been used in nonstructural airplane hardware, such as pulleybrackets, quadrants, doublers, clips, ducts, and wave guides. They also have been employed extensively in complex valve bodies of hydraulic control systems. The philosophy of some aircraft manufacturers still is to specify castings only in places where failure of the part cannot cause loss of the airplane. Redundancy in cable and hydraulic control systems "permits" the use of castings.
Castingtechnology has made great advances in the last decade. Time-honored alloys such as 355 and 356 have been modified to produce higher levels of strength and ductility. New alloys such as 354, A356, A357, 359 and Tens 50 were developed for premium-strength castings. The high strength is accompanied by enhanced structural integrity and performance reliability.
Electric resistance spot and seam weldingare used to join secondary structures, such as fairings, engine cowls, and doublers, to bulkheads and skins. Difficulties in quality control have resulted in low utilization of electric resistance welding for primary structure.
Ultrasonic welding offers some economic and quality-control advantages for production joining, particularly for thin sheet. However, the method has not yet been developed...