Hydronalium is a family of

aluminium-magnesium alloy An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) 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 ...

s. It is an

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...

predominantly of

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

, with between 1%-12% of

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the 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 (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

as the primary alloying ingredient. It also includes a secondary addition of

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

, usually between 0.4%-1%. The Hydronalium alloys originated in Germany in the 1930s and are best known, at least by that name, in Eastern Europe. They were widely used for shipbuilding in Poland. There are many alloys within this family, one standard reference listing over twenty.

Applications

The alloy family is noted for its resistance to

seawater Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has appro ...

corrosion. As such it is used in sheet form for boatbuilding and light shipbuilding. As castings it is used for marine fittings. The reliable strength of some grades is sufficient for aerospace use and so they are used for wetted components of

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

aircraft, such as floats and propellers, where marine corrosion resistance is also needed. Some variants of the alloy are ductile enough to be drawn into wire. This, combined with their resistance to corrosion by salty

sweat Perspiration, also known as sweating, is the production of fluids secreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distribut ...

, has led to an application for

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

strings as an alternative to silver.

References

{{aluminium alloys Aluminium–magnesium alloys Aluminium alloys

Applications

See also

References