How would this work?
Its alot lighter than steel and cheaper than titanium.
Anyone have experiances?
Are there any downslides?

 

It would melt? lol, i dunno...

 

it will corrode VERY easily.

 

Thats the first thing that came to my mind.. But maybe it would be close enough to not melt. I dont know that youd save a whole lot of weight. id guess maybe a few pounds max.

 

expansion.

not very strong unless it's thick ( = weight)

corrosion could be stopped with different techinques.

titanium is a better choice...or thin steel.

 

The aluminum wont melt
So the aluminum the expanded under heat?
It can easily be HPC to counter corrosion.

 

well the gases that come off of aluminum and the gases that come out of the car are very toxic. As soon as aluminum hits air, it instantly starts corroding. also salty weather would tear it up worse than steel.

 

Well, if aluminum gives off toxic gas, then I hope you all don't open your hoods. And NEVER eat anything that was ever wrapped in aluminum foil!

Just about any metal corrodes as soon as it hits air. Al forms a pretty tough oxide which prevents oxygen from getting to the fresh metal underneath. OTOH, oxygen can get right through iron oxide.

Steel is usually better than aluminum for fatigue & ductility. I bet that has something to do with it...

 

correct. did you also know that the plastics used on the dashboard emit a gas? and that is why your front windsheld is hazy at times? that is the plastic corroding. aluminum emits a gas as well. at a mere temp of 190* it doesnt nearly as much as it would near the 1300* mark.

aluminum foil is not all aluminum, it has a tin base, thats what keeps it very pliable tin is very pliable aluminum isnt. it really depends on the alloy


[Modified by 2k1_ITR_0736, 9:37 PM 2/15/2003]

 

Melting point = 1220 F
Most Al alloys have a liquidus that doesn't go much higher than that, except for the Cu-Al phase diagram which goes up to around 1900 F when the composition gets above 80% copper.

I guess tt would have some vapor pressure up near those temperatures, but if it were really toxic I don't think we'd see so much cooking equipment made with Al.

I think they choose steels for exhaust because of ductility (forming) and fatique (vibrations). Plus, exhaust pipes probably get hot enough to cause some inter-granular diffusion which screws up mechanical properties.

Plasticizers in the interior can outgas pretty much on a sunny day. They'll have pretty good vapor pressures at maybe 120 F.

 

wow, is somebody here a material science major?

 

I just pretend to be one at work. I work with metallurgy guys often enough to pick up some BS. Usually stainless, Inconel & Haynes, tho.