Home The Industry -Alloys

Alloys

An alloy is a material made up of two or more metals. Alloys are designed and produced have certain specific, desirable characteristics, including strength, formability, and corrosion resistance.

Some of the common elements alloyed with aluminum include copper, manganese, silicon, magnesium and zinc. Typical applications and uses of aluminum alloys include building products (siding and structural), rigid and flexible packaging (foil, food and beverage cans) and transportation (automobiles, aircraft, and railcars).

Chemical composition limits for commercialized alloys are registered with The Aluminum Association, Inc., which reviews and assigns appropriate alloy designations to the set of composition limits. The association maintains “registration records” listing domestic and internationally registered composition limits and their corresponding alloy designations.

These registration records include:

• International Alloy Designations and Chemical Composition Limits for Wrought Aluminum and Wrought Aluminum Alloys, commonly referred to as the Teal Sheets, reflecting the color of the paper on which they are printed;
• Designations and Chemical Composition Limits for Aluminum Alloys in the Form of Castings and Ingots, Pink Sheets, can be ordered from the association’s Bookstore.

It should be noted that The Aluminum Association is the only entity recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) aluminum standards for the registration of aluminum alloy compositions and assignment of alloy designations.