Kynal was a brand name for a series of

aluminium 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 developed and originally produced by the British chemical manufacturer

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at M ...

(ICI). The name was derived from

Kynoch Kynoch was a manufacturer of ammunition, later incorporated into ICI but remaining as a brand name for sporting cartridges. History The firm of Pursall and Phillips operated a 'percussion cap manufactory' at Whittall Street, in Birmingham, i ...

, an existing ICI trademark for ammunition, and aluminium. It was largely used as substitute for

Alclad Alclad is a corrosion-resistant aluminium sheet formed from high-purity aluminium surface layers metallurgically bonded (rolled onto) to high-strength aluminium alloy core material. It has a melting point of about 500 degrees celsius, or 932 degree ...

, a popular corrosion-resistant aluminium alloy. ICI produced Kynal in quantity at a facility in

Waunarlwydd Waunarlwydd ( en, The Lord's Meadow – ''arlwydd'' is a local variant of ''arglwydd'') is a village and community in Swansea, Wales, within the newly formed Waunarlwydd ward in 2021. Wendy Lewis Labour is the first elected councillor for the ...

, outside

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

. The material was extensively used by the British aviation industry during the Second World War, being recognised as a strategic resource. Numerous variations upon the material were devised by ICI around this time. During the 1950s,

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

became a key consumer of Kynal, using the material on numerous members of its new fleet of diesel traction, including the first generation

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

s (DMUs). By the twenty-first century, the material was largely considered to be obsolete, while the Waunarlwydd chemical works was permanently closed during the 2000s.

History

A key facility involved in the production of Kynal was the

Ministry of Aircraft Production Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

's factory at

, near

. ICI built and operated the plant on the government's behalf. Functionally, Kynal was similar to, and could be a substitute for,

.Ross 2013, p. 50. Applications included various

forged Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it ...

items, including pipework, vessels, and

heat exchanger A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contac ...

s, as well as fuselage elements of aircraft. By 1938, the material was being producing at a very high volume as a consequence of the European powers having entered a period of rearmament around the time of

Munich crisis The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...

, which led into the Second World War. During the postwar era, Kynal continued to hold its strategic importance. The material proliferated throughout British engineering throughout the 1950s and 1960s; it began to be used in the frames of road vehicles during the mid 1950s. Kynal was used extensively for British Railways' modernisation of the 1950s, specifically in the construction of the publicly-owned organisation's new diesel fleet. The majority of the 'lightweight'

s (DMUs) featured the material. Around the same era, the company was also involved in studies into the use of Kynal as a roofing material. By the twenty-first century, Kynal was largely considered to be obsolete as a material.Ross 2013, pp. 9, 50. During the 2000s, the original Waunarlwydd plant, which was by then owned by

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

, was closed down. Despite this, research efforts into fields such as

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

History

Table

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links