2024 aluminium alloy is an

aluminium alloy An aluminium alloy ( UK/IUPAC) or aluminum alloy ( NA; 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 ...

, with

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

as the primary alloying element. It is used in applications requiring a high strength-to-weight ratio, as well as good

fatigue Fatigue is a state of tiredness (which is not sleepiness), exhaustion or loss of energy. It is a signs and symptoms, symptom of any of various diseases; it is not a disease in itself. Fatigue (in the medical sense) is sometimes associated wit ...

resistance. It is weldable only through friction welding, and has average

machinability Machinability is the ease with which a metal can be cut ( machined) permitting the removal of the material with a satisfactory finish at low cost.Degarmo, p. 542. Materials with good machinability (free-machining materials) require little power t ...

. Due to poor

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

resistance, it is often clad with

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

or Al-1Zn for protection, although this may reduce the fatigue strength. In older systems of terminology, 2XXX series alloys were known as

duralumin Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age hardening, age-hardenable aluminium–copper alloys. The term is a combination of ''Düren'' and ''aluminium'' ...

, and this alloy was named 24ST. 2024 is commonly extruded, and also available in alclad sheet and plate forms. It is not commonly forged (the related 2014 aluminium alloy is, though).

Basic properties

Aluminium alloy 2024 has a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 2.78 g/cm³ (0.1 lb/in³),

electrical conductivity Electrical resistivity (also called volume resistivity or specific electrical resistance) is a fundamental specific property of a material that measures its electrical resistance or how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity in ...

of 30% IACS,

Young's modulus Young's modulus (or the Young modulus) is a mechanical property of solid materials that measures the tensile or compressive stiffness when the force is applied lengthwise. It is the modulus of elasticity for tension or axial compression. Youn ...

of 73 GPa (10.6 Msi) across all tempers, and begins to melt at .

Chemical composition

The alloy composition of 2024 is:ASM Aerospace Specifications Metals Inc.
retrieved 18 September 2019. *

Aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

(90.7–94.7%) *

Silicon Silicon is a chemical element; it has symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre, and is a tetravalent metalloid (sometimes considered a non-metal) and semiconductor. It is a membe ...

no minimum, maximum 0.5% by weight *

Iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

no minimum, maximum 0.5% *

Copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

minimum 3.8%, maximum 4.9% *

Manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

minimum 0.3%, maximum 0.9% *

Magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), 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 ...

minimum 1.2%, maximum 1.8% *

Chromium Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium ...

no minimum, maximum 0.1% *

Zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

no minimum, maximum 0.25% *

Titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

no minimum, maximum 0.15% * Other elements no more than 0.05% each, 0.15% total

Mechanical properties

The mechanical properties of 2024 depend greatly on the temper of the material.Alcoa 2024 data sheet
(pdf), accessed October 13, 2006

2024-O

2024-O temper aluminium has no heat treating. It has an ultimate

tensile strength Ultimate tensile strength (also called UTS, tensile strength, TS, ultimate strength or F_\text in notation) is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials, the ultimate ...

of , and a maximum

yield strength In materials science and engineering, the yield point is the point on a stress–strain curve that indicates the limit of elastic behavior and the beginning of plastic behavior. Below the yield point, a material will deform elastically and w ...

of no more than . The material has elongation (stretch before ultimate failure) of 10–25%, this is the allowable range per applicable AMS specifications.

2024-T3

T3 temper 2024 sheet has an ultimate tensile strength of and yield strength of at least . It has an elongation of 10–15%.

2024-T4

Solution treated at foundry and naturally aged.

2024-T5

Cooled from hot-working and artificially aged (at elevated temperature)

2024-T351

T351 temper 2024 plate has an ultimate tensile strength of and yield strength of . It has elongation of 20%.

Uses

Due to its high strength and fatigue resistance, 2024 is widely used in

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

, especially

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

and

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

structures under tension.Aluminum Information at aircraftspruce.com
accessed August 15, 2011 Additionally, since the material is susceptible to

thermal shock Thermal shock is a phenomenon characterized by a rapid change in temperature that results in a transient mechanical load on an object. The load is caused by the differential expansion of different parts of the object due to the temperature chang ...

, 2024 is used in the qualification of liquid penetrant tests outside of normal temperature ranges.

ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) The ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) is an American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) standardization, standard that regulates the design and construction of boilers and pressure vessels. The ...

1998 Edition, Section 5, Article 6, Subparagraph T-653.2

References

No table

{{Aluminium alloys

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Aluminium–copper alloys