2000 Series Aluminum: AA2024

The aerospace field mainly develops high-strength, high-toughness and corrosion-resistant aluminum alloys to meet the harsh use conditions of aerospace. The 2xxx series aluminum and 7xxx series aluminum alloys are more widely used. The main components of the 2000 series aluminum alloy are aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), and magnesium (Mg).

The corrosion resistance of the 2xxx series alloys is not as good as most other aluminum alloys and intergranular corrosion may occur under certain conditions. Therefore, these aluminum alloys are usually clad with high purity alloys or 6xxx series magnesium silicon alloys to provide electroplating protection to the core material, which greatly improves corrosion resistance.

The composition of 2024 aluminum alloy roughly includes 4.3-4.5% copper, 0.5-0.6% manganese, 1.3-1.5% magnesium and less than 0.5% silicon, zinc, nickel, chromium, lead and bismuth. It can only be welded by friction welding and has moderate machinability.

2024 aluminum alloy is an alloy frequently used in the aerospace industry. It is a high-strength alloy suitable for projects requiring high strength-to-weight ratio and fatigue resistance. Therefore, it is mainly found in wing and fuselage structures that are often subjected to tension.

The newest and best performing alloy in the 2000 series is 2524 aluminum alloy, which has significant improvements in toughness and fatigue resistance compared to 2024 aluminum alloy and has been successfully used in the B777 passenger aircraft.

For fuselage applications, the fracture toughness of 2524-T3 alloy is improved by 15-20%, and the fatigue crack growth resistance is twice that of 2024-T3. This improvement can reduce weight and extend the service life by 30-40%. AA 2024 t351’s fatigue strength is about 45% of yield strength.

2014 is a high-strength forged aluminum alloy of the Al-Cu-Mg-Si series, which can be strengthened by heat treatment. The chemical composition of this alloy is similar to that of 2A14 aluminum alloy, with high strength and good hot working properties, and is easy to forge. 2014 is used to manufacture rims that require high strength, high hardness and high loads, such as rims, truck frames and suspension assemblies, rocket booster fuel tanks and structural parts, etc.