AC-2 Aluminum Alloy Sacrificial Anode | Aluminum Anode for Storage TanksAluminum alloys are made by adding some alloying elements to pure aluminum, such as aluminum-manganese alloy, aluminum-copper alloy, aluminum-copper-magnesium hard aluminum alloy, and aluminum-zinc-magnesium-copper ultra-hard aluminum alloy.Aluminum alloys have better physical and mechanical properties than pure aluminum: easy processing, high durability, wide application range, good decorative effect, and rich patterns.Aluminum alloys are divided into rust-proof aluminum, hard aluminum, ultra-hard aluminum, etc. Each type has its own application range and code for users to choose from.

Aluminum alloys still maintain the characteristic of being lightweight, but their mechanical properties are significantly improved. The application of aluminum alloy materials can be divided into three aspects: first, as load-bearing components; second, as materials for doors, windows, pipes, covers, shells, etc.; and third, as decorative and thermal insulation materials. Utilizing the characteristic that aluminum alloys can be colored after anodizing, various decorative items can be made. Aluminum alloy sheets and profiles can undergo secondary processing such as anti-corrosion, embossing, coating, and printing to produce various decorative sheets and profiles for use as decorative materials.

Low cost, and the ability to mass-produce identical parts using one processing technique is also one of its features.
Its material characteristics are lightness, ease of processing, and unlike carbon fiber, it does not have a maximum stress range in terms of endurance strength. What does this mean? That is, carbon fiber has strong stress resistance in certain fiber directions due to its fiber characteristics, but it performs poorly in other directions. When manufacturing a relatively large component, several layers of carbon fiber may be used. When the stress capacity is exceeded, the component will delaminate like a shortbread cookie. In contrast, aluminum alloy will gradually deform and then fail after bearing a certain amount of force.
Additionally, aluminum alloy is easy to process and has high thermal conductivity. It is particularly suitable for use in vehicle engine parts. Here, aluminum alloy almost completely dominates.
Moreover, aluminum alloy processing techniques are diverse and highly versatile.

AC-2 Aluminum Alloy Sacrificial Anode | Aluminum Anode for Storage Tanks

The casting process performance of aluminum alloys is generally understood as the combination of properties that are most prominent during mold filling, crystallization, and cooling. These include fluidity, shrinkage, air tightness, casting stress, and gas absorption. These characteristics of aluminum alloys depend on the alloy composition but are also related to casting factors, alloy heating temperature, mold complexity, gating system, and gate shape.

1 Fluidity

Fluidity refers to the ability of the alloy liquid to fill the mold. The level of fluidity determines whether the alloy can cast complex parts. Among aluminum alloys, eutectic alloys have the best fluidity.

Many factors affect fluidity, primarily composition, temperature, and the presence of solid particles such as metal oxides, metal compounds, and other contaminants in the alloy liquid. However, the fundamental external factors are the pouring temperature and pouring pressure (commonly known as pouring head).

In actual production, when the alloy is already determined, in addition to strengthening the melting process (refining and slag removal), it is also necessary to improve the mold processability (sand mold permeability, metal mold venting, and temperature) and increase the pouring temperature without affecting the quality of the castings to ensure the fluidity of the alloy.

2 Shrinkage

Shrinkage is one of the main characteristics of cast aluminum alloys. Generally, the alloy goes through three stages from liquid pouring to solidification and cooling to room temperature: liquid shrinkage, solidification shrinkage, and solid shrinkage. The shrinkage of the alloy has a decisive impact on the quality of castings, affecting the size of shrinkage cavities, the generation of stress, the formation of cracks, and dimensional changes. Usually, casting shrinkage is divided into volume shrinkage and linear shrinkage. In actual production, linear shrinkage is generally used to measure the shrinkage of the alloy.
The shrinkage of aluminum alloys is usually expressed as a percentage, called the shrinkage rate.