Magnalium is an aluminium alloy with 50% magnesium and 50% aluminum.
Alloys with small amounts of magnesium (about 5%) exhibit greater strength, greater corrosion resistance, and lower density than pure aluminium. Such alloys are also more workable and easier to weld than pure aluminum. [1] Alloys with high amounts of magnesium (around 50%) are brittle and more susceptible to corrosion than aluminum.
Although they are generally more expensive than aluminium, the high strength, low density, and greater workability of alloys with low amounts of magnesium leads to their use in aircraft and automobile parts. It is also used for making balance beams and other components of light instruments.[ citation needed ]
Alloys; which are generally not true alloys but intermetallic compounds; with about 50% magnesium are brittle and corrode easily, which makes them unsuitable for most engineering uses.
These compounds are flammable when powdered, are more resistant to corrosion than pure magnesium, and are generally more reactive than pure aluminium; they are used in pyrotechnics as a metal fuel for colored flames, to produce sparks in some glitter and streamer stars, and as a more consistent replacement for separate magnesium and aluminum powders in crackling microstars (dragon eggs). Magnalium powder also burns with a crackling sound if burnt by itself.
It is somewhat less reactive than magnesium in most cases, showing no reaction with sulfur in particular, but is nearly as reactive as magnesium with antimony trisulfide (producing the extremely poisonous and flammable Hydrogen sulfide gas) and more dangerously reactive with nitrates, slowly reacting to produce ammonia gas where magnesium only reacts slowly to produce inert products. [2] : 57
In some cases the normally faster-reacting magnesium component of magnalium serves to slow down a reaction due to its higher reactivity in a composition. This occurs in dragon eggs, where slower oxidation of magnesium by Lead tetraoxide (Pb3O4) allows time for the formed Lead monoxide (PbO) gas to build up without reacting with the aluminum portion, so when the magnesium is finally consumed the aluminum reaction occurs rapidly enough to produce an explosion. If too much magnesium is present in the alloy (or added to the mix), it will burn continuously but not produce the desired effect. Similarly too little magnesium will prevent enough PbO vapor from building up to react rapidly and the aluminum will simply burn. [2] : 33
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Most alloys are metallic and show good electrical conductivity, ductility, opacity, and luster, and may have properties that differ from those of the pure elements such as increased strength or hardness. In some cases, an alloy may reduce the overall cost of the material while preserving important properties. In other cases, the mixture imparts synergistic properties such as corrosion resistance or mechanical strength.
Magnesium is a chemical element; it has symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals it occurs naturally only in combination with other elements and it almost always has an oxidation state of +2. It reacts readily with air to form a thin passivation coating of magnesium oxide that inhibits further corrosion of the metal. The free metal burns with a brilliant-white light. The metal is obtained mainly by electrolysis of magnesium salts obtained from brine. It is less dense than aluminium and is used primarily as a component in strong and lightweight alloys that contain aluminium.
A metal is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. These properties are all associated with having electrons available at the Fermi level, as against nonmetallic materials which do not. Metals are typically ductile and malleable.
Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH), Fe(OH)3), and is typically associated with the corrosion of refined iron.
Thermite is a pyrotechnic composition of metal powder and metal oxide. When ignited by heat or chemical reaction, thermite undergoes an exothermic reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction. Most varieties are not explosive, but can create brief bursts of heat and high temperature in a small area. Its form of action is similar to that of other fuel-oxidizer mixtures, such as black powder.
Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engineering is the field dedicated to controlling and preventing corrosion.
A period 3 element is one of the chemical elements in the third row of the periodic table of the chemical elements. The periodic table is laid out in rows to illustrate recurring (periodic) trends in the chemical behavior of the elements as their atomic number increases: a new row is begun when chemical behavior begins to repeat, meaning that elements with similar behavior fall into the same vertical columns. The third period contains eight elements: sodium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine and argon. The first two, sodium and magnesium, are members of the s-block of the periodic table, while the others are members of the p-block. All of the period 3 elements occur in nature and have at least one stable isotope.
Aluminium–silicon alloys or Silumin is a general name for a group of lightweight, high-strength aluminium alloys based on an aluminum–silicon system (AlSi) that consist predominantly of aluminum - with silicon as the quantitatively most important alloying element. Pure AlSi alloys cannot be hardened, the commonly used alloys AlSiCu and AlSiMg can be hardened. The hardening mechanism corresponds to that of AlCu and AlMgSi.
Flash powder is a pyrotechnic composition, a mixture of oxidizer and metallic fuel, which burns quickly (deflagrates) and produces a loud noise regardless of confinement. It is widely used in theatrical pyrotechnics and fireworks and was once used for flashes in photography.
Nano-thermite or super-thermite is a metastable intermolecular composite (MIC) characterized by a particle size of its main constituents, a metal fuel and oxidizer, under 100 nanometers. This allows for high and customizable reaction rates. Nano-thermites contain an oxidizer and a reducing agent, which are intimately mixed on the nanometer scale. MICs, including nano-thermitic materials, are a type of reactive materials investigated for military use, as well as for general applications involving propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics.
Magnesium alloys are mixtures of magnesium with other metals, often aluminium, zinc, manganese, silicon, copper, rare earths and zirconium. Magnesium alloys have a hexagonal lattice structure, which affects the fundamental properties of these alloys. Plastic deformation of the hexagonal lattice is more complicated than in cubic latticed metals like aluminium, copper and steel; therefore, magnesium alloys are typically used as cast alloys, but research of wrought alloys has been more extensive since 2003. Cast magnesium alloys are used for many components of modern cars and have been used in some high-performance vehicles; die-cast magnesium is also used for camera bodies and components in lenses.
Aluminium carbide, chemical formula Al4C3, is a carbide of aluminium. It has the appearance of pale yellow to brown crystals. It is stable up to 1400 °C. It decomposes in water with the production of methane.
A pyrotechnic composition is a substance or mixture of substances designed to produce an effect by heat, light, sound, gas/smoke or a combination of these, as a result of non-detonative self-sustaining exothermic chemical reactions. Pyrotechnic substances do not rely on oxygen from external sources to sustain the reaction.
An aluminium alloy (UK/IUPAC) or aluminum alloy is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principal classifications, namely casting alloys and wrought alloys, both of which are further subdivided into the categories heat-treatable and non-heat-treatable. About 85% of aluminium is used for wrought products, for example rolled plate, foils and extrusions. Cast aluminium alloys yield cost-effective products due to the low melting point, although they generally have lower tensile strengths than wrought alloys. The most important cast aluminium alloy system is Al–Si, where the high levels of silicon (4–13%) contribute to give good casting characteristics. Aluminium alloys are widely used in engineering structures and components where light weight or corrosion resistance is required.
In the automotive industry, alloy wheels are wheels that are made from an alloy of aluminium or magnesium. Alloys are mixtures of a metal and other elements. They generally provide greater strength over pure metals, which are usually much softer and more ductile. Alloys of aluminium or magnesium are typically lighter for the same strength, provide better heat conduction, and often produce improved cosmetic appearance over steel wheels. Although steel, the most common material used in wheel production, is an alloy of iron and carbon, the term "alloy wheel" is usually reserved for wheels made from nonferrous alloys.
1050 aluminium alloy is an aluminium-based alloy in the "commercially pure" wrought family. As a wrought alloy, it is not used in castings. Instead, it is usually formed by extrusion or rolling. It is commonly used in the electrical and chemical industries, on account of having high electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance, and workability. 1050 alloy is also sometimes used for the manufacture of heat sinks, since it has a higher thermal conductivity than other alloys. It has low mechanical strength compared to more significantly alloyed metals. It can be strengthened by cold working, but not by heat treatment.
1060 aluminium alloy is an aluminium-based alloy in the "commercially pure" wrought family. It is fundamentally very similar to 1050 aluminium alloy, with the difference coming down to 0.1% aluminium by weight. However, while both 1050 and 1060 are covered by the same ISO standard, they are covered by different ASTM standards.
AlGa (Aluminum-Gallium) is a degenerate alloy that results from liquid gallium infiltrating the crystal structure of aluminium metal. The resulting alloy is very weak and brittle, being broken under the most minute pressure. The alloy is also chemically weaker, as the gallium inhibits the aluminum from forming a protective oxide layer. A video of gallium metal causing intergrain corrosion and breaking of aluminum can be found here.
7022 aluminium alloy is an alloy in the wrought aluminium-zinc family. It is one of the more complex grades in the 7000 series, with at least 87.85% aluminium by weight.
Aluminium-based nanogalvanic alloys refer to a class of nanostructured metal powders that spontaneously and rapidly produce hydrogen gas upon contact with water or any liquid containing water as a result of their galvanic metal microstructure. It serves as a method of hydrogen production that can take place at a rapid pace at room temperature without the assistance of chemicals, catalysts, or externally supplied power.