Advantages of aluminum alloys in the shipbuilding industry

In the development history of the shipbuilding industry for hundreds of years, the shipbuilding materials have changed from wood to steel materials. With the needs of the development of the times, the speed and weight requirements of ships are also getting higher and higher. During the manufacture of ships, the pursuit of low hull weight and faster driving speed. Therefore, carrying out shipbuilding with new materials has become a hot topic. Aluminum alloy has become a popular alternative to steel because of its small specific gravity, not easy to corrode, easy to process plasticity, and low cost. In recent years, many ships made of aluminum alloy materials have been launched. Jiahangaero will discuss the application of aluminum alloys in the shipbuilding industry by analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of aluminum alloys.

Properties and characteristics of aluminum alloy

Aluminum alloy is widely used in the current industry, and it is a non-ferrous metal structural material. It has the characteristics of low density and high strength. Its strength is comparable to that of high-quality steel. It is easy to weld, and has strong plasticity and is easy to process. Moreover, after the secondary processing of the aluminum alloy, its hardness and plasticity can be changed, so that it can be applied to different work needs.

Aluminum alloy is used in the shipbuilding industry, the most important point is its good corrosion resistance. As we all know, seawater contains a large amount of inorganic salts and microorganisms, which have a strong corrosion effect on metal materials, which puts forward high requirements on the performance of shipbuilding materials. Aluminum alloys made of different metal ratios have different corrosion resistance properties. The corrosion resistance of Mn-A1 alloys in seawater is the same as that of pure aluminum alloys, but there is no risk of cracking corrosion when corrosion occurs. Under the condition of corrosion, exfoliation corrosion and intergranular corrosion will occur; Mg-Al alloy has the tendency of pitting corrosion, intergranular corrosion, stress corrosion and exfoliation corrosion. As the Mg content increases, the tendency of pitting corrosion also increases. All in all, compared with steel materials, aluminum alloy has good corrosion resistance, which not only improves the performance of the hull, but also reduces the cycle and cost of hull maintenance, effectively increasing the service life of the ship.

In addition, the application of aluminum alloy in shipbuilding also has the following advantages:

• (1) The density is small, which can reduce the weight of the hull, thereby increasing the propulsion effect of the engine, greatly improving the sailing speed, and saving the use of fossil fuels, which is also beneficial to environmental protection. handling and stability.

• (2) It is easy to process, suitable for processing into aluminum alloys of different shapes and different metal ratios according to different needs of the ship, which can reduce the use of welding technology in the hull, strengthen the integration of the hull as much as possible, thereby improving the safety performance of the ship.

• (3) It has high plasticity and small elastic modulus, and can better absorb the energy generated by the impact in the event of a collision, reducing damage to the hull and improving safety performance.

• (4) The aluminum alloy itself is not magnetic and is not easily disturbed by the earth's magnetic field, which helps to better grasp the navigation route.