5052 Aluminum Guide (Properties and Applications)
Alloys combine metal with other elements to enhance the material, increasing strength and corrosion resistance while decreasing costs. Many aluminum alloys exist because the metal is easy to combine with other materials. 5052 aluminum is an alloy created by adding magnesium and chromium to the base metal. These elements increase the aluminum's strength and corrosion resistance and make the alloy ideal for marine and chemical applications.
What Is 5052 Aluminum?
5052 aluminum is a wrought alloy. This designation means that it contains only about 4% or less of other elements. Cast alloys contain much higher concentrations of secondary materials, making them more brittle. Wrought alloys are more workable and have better mechanical properties.
The name for the 5052 aluminum alloy comes from the Aluminum Association. This group has created standardized names for many wrought aluminum alloys based on their compositions and primary alloying elements. Most countries across the world identify alloys using this system.
The Aluminum Association gives each wrought alloy a four-digit code. Each digit represents a different aspect of the alloying element. The first number in 5052 aluminum classifies this alloy as part of the 5XXX group, where magnesium is always the principal alloying element.
The second digit indicates variations of the alloy. A “0” means that most of the alloy uses commercial aluminum with existing impurity levels. Another alloy, 5652 aluminum, has differing impurities limits, which changes the second number.
The final two numbers in this code represent a particular alloy. If the percentages of any alloying element change, 5052 aluminum becomes a different alloy, even though it may still have magnesium as its primary alloying element. As a result, 5652 and 5052 aluminum have the same principal alloying element and percentages of alloying elements.
Temper Designations
Those who often use 5052 aluminum might see additional letters and numbers following the alloy's four-digit code. These added elements represent different tempers, which are heat treatments that increase the aluminum's strength.
For this alloy, the most common temper is 5052-H32. The “H” represents strain hardening, where the metal gains strength by bending beyond the yield point. The “3” represents an added stabilization step by low-temperature heating. The final digit denotes the degree of hardness.
Other common tempers under this alloy's “H” designation include H34, H36 and H38. The tempering process for these materials is similar, but each has a different degree of hardness. Another common variant is 5052-O, where the aluminum is heated to a specific temperature and then cooled at a controlled rate.
5052 Aluminum Properties
5052 aluminum contains 97.25% aluminum, 2.5% magnesium and 0.25% chromium. This combination provides the alloy's particular physical properties, like a density of 2.68 g/cm3 (0.0968 lb/in3).
Other general properties of aluminum include strength that surpasses many other popular alloys and higher corrosion resistance due to the absence of copper in its construction. The alloy gains durability through alterations to its shape using methods like bending and rolling. These alterations also cause the material to lose malleability. Unlike other common alloys, such as 7075 and 6061 aluminum, 5052 aluminum gains no strength using heat treatment.
How Strong Is 5052 Aluminum?
5052 aluminum is stronger than many other alloys. Mechanical properties like yield strength and tensile strength indicate this quality. Aluminum 5052 breaks less easily under tension (tensile strength) and requires more stress to become permanently deformed (yield strength).
Different tempers change 5052 aluminum's mechanical properties, including those that impact the material's strength. In general, 5052-H32 aluminum is used the most, so here are some essential metrics for the mechanical properties of this specific temper:
Shear modulus
Typically around 25.9 GPa (3,760 ksi). This property represents the material's response to twisting or cutting forces.
Modulus of elasticity
Typically around 70.3 GPa (10,200 ksi). This number demonstrates the metal's resistance to deformation through pushing or pulling pressures.
Yield strength
Typically around 193 MPa (28,000 psi). As described above, this number indicates the force required to deform the metal permanently.
Ultimate strength
Typically around 228 MPa (33,000 psi). Also called tensile strength, this number demonstrates the tension needed to break the material.
Shear strength
Typically around 138 MPa (20,000 psi). This number represents the material's resistance to shear forces before it fails. 5052 aluminum often must endure this stress because it's commonly stamped from a metal plate.
The Material's Corrosion Resistance
The absence of copper in this alloy makes it more resistant to corrosion in acidic environments, air and water. Corrosion resistance depends on many environmental factors, such as temperature, airborne chemicals and working environment, but in general, 5052 aluminum holds up well.
Like all aluminum alloys, the metal forms an oxide layer in air or water. This layer prevents the interior aluminum from rusting. Another similarity 5052 aluminum shares with other alloys is that it may corrode in alkaline soil, though variations in soil compositions impact this property significantly, making it challenging to generalize.
This particular alloy also resists corrosion in salt water, unlike other alloys that include copper. 5052 aluminum contains a high magnesium content, as well, so it's more resistant to nitric acid corrosion, ammonia and ammonium hydroxide. This property makes the alloy ideal for marine and chemical applications. Those who use 5052 aluminum can also mitigate or remove corrosion effects by adding a protective coating to the metal.
What are the Uses of 5052 Aluminum?
5052 aluminum's exceptional corrosion resistance and strength are ideal for many applications, especially in the marine industry. Manufacturers also use the alloy for electronics and chemical applications. A few typical applications of 5052 aluminum across several industries include:
- Pressure vessels
- Marine equipment (especially marine fuel tanks)
- Electronic enclosures
- Electronic chassis
- Hydraulic tubes
- Medical equipment
- Hardware signs
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