Aluminum in the Transportation Industry

What are the uses of aluminum in the transportation industry?

1. Aviation
2. Private Cars
3. Commercial Vehicles
4. Rail Transport
5. Shipbuilding

Aluminum is considered to be the top material of choice for many manufacturing industries — including transportation. For many decades, aluminum in the transportation industry has become increasingly prominent in aircraft, vehicles, ships, and more aspects of the industry. This is in part due to its high strength, low density, and other beneficial properties. In this post, we dive into how each field within the transportation industry has developed and benefited due to aluminum and its many forms.

Aviation

The use of aluminum in aircraft was started with the first Zeppelin airship frame. This proved that this metal was ideal for flight — light, flexible, and strong. Later, duralumin, an aluminum alloy, was used to replace heavier materials in the bodies of aircraft. Over time, lighter, more durable alloys were developed. This allowed aviation engineers to craft planes from aluminum sheets and extrusions, held together by aluminum rivets.

Aluminum is now a key manufacturing material in aviation with 80% of all modern components made from aluminum. This metal allows aircraft designers to meet their most important goal: to develop airplanes that are as light as possible, with maximum weight capacities and increased fuel efficiency. As a plus, aluminum alloys are also able to resist rust and corrosion better than other metals, which increases the lifespan of the aircraft.

Aluminum can be found almost everywhere on modern aircraft: in the trims, rivets, fuselage, wings, rudder, seat frames, doors, refueling hoses, exhaust pipes, cabin pillars, cockpit instruments, engine turbines, and many more parts of the aircraft.

Private Cars

In the last five decades, aluminum has become increasingly used in the manufacturing of private cars. Initially, aluminum extrusions were used only in the form of car casings. However over time engineers discovered new aluminum alloys and products, which lead to their use in chassis, mechanisms, and other structures in a car. It has replaced cast iron in engine blocks and transmission housings, mild steel in wheels and car bodies, and copper in radiators.

Aside from its lightweight and durable properties, aluminum is valued in car manufacturing for additional reasons. For one, it’s good at absorbing impact — it’s twice more effective than steel. This ability for shock absorption makes it a popular material for bumpers and suspension. Another quality of aluminum is its safety. When aluminum frames become deformed, the deformation stays in the area of impact, while the rest of the frame retains its shape. This improves the safety of the passengers inside the vehicle.

Today, many cars are made from a significant amount of aluminum. More than 20% of European cars have aluminum hoods and bumpers. Some car frames are made entirely from aluminum bars and sheets. Several high-performance vehicles, such as the sports car Ferrari, are also produced using aluminum frames and components.

Commercial Vehicles

“Heavy-duty” or commercial vehicles benefit greatly from the lightweight property of aluminum. Trucks, trailers, and tankers all have sensitive weight requirements and are constantly looking for ways to improve their transport capabilities and fuel efficiency.

The superstructures of most tankers and semi-trailers are made from aluminum. Aluminum is also commonly used for commercial vans, cabs, and the self-discharging drive systems of trucks.

When accounting for the aluminum components of a common truck trailer, using this metal can reduce the weight of the final product by up to 2,000 kilograms. With this weight advantage, trucks can carry heavier loads without exceeding the set weight limits. Lighter vehicle weight will also increase the load capacity, which makes each trip more efficient.

Rail transport

Train cars benefit from the lightweight and heat-resistant metal, which allows them to cut running costs while improving acceleration. As manufacturing processes were developed, aluminum structures and components became increasingly used by the railway industry. Trains nowadays make use of sturdier and lighter alloys, and refined extrusion techniques.

Today, trains are still used to transport precious materials, and aluminum structures help them to do so with increased efficiency. Tanker cars are now more corrosion and moisture resistant, allowing freight cars to transport sensitive chemicals and minerals across the country. They are also much lighter than cars made from other metals. This allows the car to carry more cargo, resulting in a quicker return on investment for the freight company.

Aluminum also improves the performance of passenger cars by helping manufacturers shave off almost a third of their weight compared to steel cars. In suburban railways, these cars need to make frequent stops — time is of the essence for these trains. With a lighter weight, significant time savings can be achieved, as it takes less time to decelerate and accelerate at each stop. Additionally, aluminum cars are easier and cheaper to manufacture and require fewer parts than steel cars. Today, aluminum metros are found in many countries. The most famous are Japan’s Shinkansen Bullet trains, Canada’s LRC, and France’s TGV Duplex trains — all made from aluminum alloys.

Shipbuilding

Today, most ships in service have structures and superstructures that contain a significant amount of aluminum plates, pipes, bars, and other components. For example, almost every yacht produced in the last ten years has aluminum hulls, while cruise ship superstructures are mostly made from aluminum metal.

Ships make use of the metal’s lightness, strength, and one of the most indispensable properties for marine environments — corrosion resistance. These qualities of aluminum significantly reduce maintenance costs, while simultaneously ensuring each ship is more fuel-efficient and quicker than ships made of steel.

A special type of aluminum is used for ships, called marine aluminum. This is an umbrella term that refers to certain aluminum-magnesium alloys, which are used for their outstanding resistance to high-salt environments — they are about 100 times less prone to corrosion than steel.

Another way that the shipbuilding industry benefits from aluminum is that aluminum products are easy to weld. This helps reduce wasted material and labor costs. Aluminum is also versatile, able to come in many different forms through cold rolling, hot rolling, and extrusion processes. Common aluminum products used in shipbuilding are sheets, slabs, rods, pipes, and specially-made components.

Key Takeaway

Due to the many advancements in technology, aluminum in the transportation industry grew in prominence and popularity. These effects also extend to other manufacturing industries, as there are many products that can benefit from the metal’s properties and manufacturing techniques.

At AMC Aluminum, we understand the importance of aluminum to many industries, which is why we take care to supply only the best aluminum products and services to our customers. Contact us today to see how our products can benefit you or your business!