Production and Characterization of Amorphous Aluminum-Copper Alloy for Aerospace Applications

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to produce and characterize amorphous Aluminium copper (Cu) alloy for high strength applications. High grade of both Aluminium and copper ingots were charged to a ceramic mould and put in an electric furnace in the ratio of 13:1 of Al and Cu respectively. The furnace temperature was set at 1300oC and after melting, ingot casting was done using plastic mould with sprayed water to achieve rapid cooling. An amorphous metal or glassy structure was produced from the ingot by super cooling through preheating the cast rod to 600oC and rapid cooled by water quenching. The glassy alloy rods and Al control sample were prepared for Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), tensile and impact toughness characterizations. The results showed SEM images of the Al-Cu alloy and pure Al samples. The ultimate tensile strengths for Al-Cu and Al samples were 399 and 330 kg/m2 respectively. Similarly, the impact strengths obtained were 27.3 and 26.4 J. It can be concluded that glassy phase Al-Cu alloy was produced with high ultimate tensile strength and impact toughness. The amorphous alloy produced is a good structural material for aerospace applications.