Aluminum and its most striking features

Aluminum is a silvery-white metal that is abundantly present in earth’s crust. Its attributes and utilities make it one of the most useful materials known to man. Aluminum is tremendously versatile and has more than 300 recognized alloy compositions. An Aluminum alloy is an alloy in which Aluminum is the predominant metal. The alloying elements used most frequently by aluminum alloy manufacturers are magnesium, copper, silicon, zinc and manganese.

Aluminum and its alloys are used quite extensively in the production of engineering structures, transportation facilities and packaging. The various properties of aluminum that make it a superior metal are as follows:

• Durability: Although these alloys tend to lose a bit of strength at tremendously high temperatures, their strength increases at sub zero temperatures. This important property makes aluminum an extremely useful low-temperature alloy.

• Corrosion resistant: Aluminum alloys also have a strong resistance to corrosion. This Property of aluminum is a result of its reactions to the atmosphere. This protective oxide skin that is created due to the atmosphere, shields it from weathering conditions, chemicals and acids.

• Good electrical conductor: It is also an extremely good electrical conductor and is used more than copper even though the latter is a better conductor. This is because of its low density and its high cost efficiency.

• Malleable: Like gold, aluminum is an extremely malleable metal and can be cast into many forms. Aluminum can easily be rolled, forged, hammered and stamped into a variety of shapes. Aluminum can also have a wide variety of surface finishes and does not produce toxic fumes when burned at high temperatures.

• Light weight: Aluminum is very light weight and has a low density. This makes it an excellent choice of material in the manufacturing of airplanes. It also makes aluminum easier and cheaper to ship and transport.

One of the most striking features of Aluminum is that it can be recycled over and over, without losing any of its properties or compromising on quality. Because of its various utilities and abundant availability, scrap recycling companies and scrap dealers have come to realize the immense value of this precious metal.