Updated Wrought alloys 

Aluminium alloy 3003

Series 3xxx

Manganese is the main alloying element in this group of alloys., that, usually, not subjected to heat treatment. However, only a limited percentage of manganese, up to about one and a half percent, can be effectively added to aluminum.

Alloy 3003

Alloy 3003 is a non heat treatable medium strength alloy with good corrosion resistance, excellent moisture resistance, very good weldability and good formability. Alloy 3003 hardens only when cold worked and is commonly used in automotive radiators, evaporators, architectural and outdoor applications They have good corrosion resistance and mechanical properties, which are superior to 1xxx series alloys.

Chemical composition

Nominal chemical composition

Al-1,2Mn-0,12Cu

Chemical composition according to EN 573-3

Table 1 – Chemical composition of aluminum alloy 3003 and its modifications 3103 and 3103A under EN 573-3

Designations

  • EN 573-3: EN AW-3003 и EN AW-Al Mn1Cu
  • International Registration (Teal Sheats) – Aluminum Association: 6005A
  • Unified Numbering System (UNS): A93003
  • ISO 209: 3003
  • DIN 1725-1 (canceled): AlMnCu and 3.0517

Metallurgical properties

  • Processed by pressing (extrusion) methods, drawing, hot and cold rolling.
  • The main alloying element – manganese. Manganese, among other things, It provides good control of crystallization and grain growth.
  • Another alloying element – copper. Copper contributes to the mechanical properties.
  • Typical material conditions are: H1x, H2x, O, H112.
  • H112 condition is typical for extruded profiles. In this case, it means: “pressed and subjected to tension straightening”.

Application

Aluminium alloy 3003 used there, where good formability, very good resistance to corrosion and good weldability or all three properties together, and when the required strength above, than is available unalloyed aluminum.

alloy 3003 make:

  • cookware
  • Technological and Commercial Equipment food and chemical industry
  • capacity
  • trim and finish in the construction and transport vehicles
  • pressure vessels
  • tubes
  • car license plates

Table 1-1 – Standardized producton [1]

Mechanical properties

Table 2-1 – Requirements for mechanical properties of extruded alloy products 3003 by EN 755-2

Table 2-2 – Requirements for mechanical properties of cold-drawn alloy products 3003 by EN 754-2

Typical mechanical properties

Tensile strength (tensile strength)

Table 3 – Typical mechanical properties of the alloy 3003 [1]

The conditioned tensile yield strength

See. table 3.

Relative extension

A (d5) – 5-fold sample - see. table 3.

Yield compression

About the same, as well as the tensile.

Yield stress Shear

About 55 % of tensile strength.

Hardness

See. table 3.

fatigue strength

Fromm. table 3.

Physical properties

Poisson's ratio

0,33 at 20 oC.

Elastic modulus (Young's modulus)

at stretching – 70000 MPa
Shear - 25000 MPa

Density

2,73 g / cm3 at 20 ° C

Interval melting temperature

liquidus: 654 ° C
temperature solydus: 643 ° C

Coefficient of thermal expansion

Linear: 23,2 μm / (m ∙ ° С) in the range from 20 to 100 ° C.
Volume: 67 ∙ 10-6 m3 / (m3∙ K) at 20 ° C.

Technological properties

The ability to heat strengthened

thermally neuprochnyaemy

Welding

Aluminium alloy 3003 good arc-welded under inert gas, in particular, argon arc welding, as non-consumable electrode (GTAW-TIG), and consumable electrode (GMWA-MIG). Welding Alloys - Aluminum Alloys 1100 and 4043.

Annealing

415 ° C.

Microstructural features of 3003 aluminium alloy

Manganese is the main alloying element in all aluminum alloys of the 3xxx series (range 1–2 wt.%). Alloys in this series have medium strength, plasticity, good formability. These alloys can be tempered to obtain a wide range of mechanical properties through work hardening.. Dispersoid, present in these alloys, stabilize grain size during annealing, thereby improving strength and formability. A typical application is the "beverage can" body due to the good formability of the alloys by pressing, rolling and drawing. When homogenizing ingots of DC-cast aluminum alloys for beverage can bodies, the degree of conversion of the Al6(Fe,Mn) phase into the α-Al-(Fe,Mn)-Si phase for subsequent processing is important. These alloys are also used due to their good strength combination., formability, weldability, anodizing behavior and corrosion resistance in packaging, architecture and home appliances.

The most popular alloy in this group is AA3003 with predominant phases (Mn,Fe)Al6 and (Fe,Mn)3SiAl12. Manganese supersaturates the solid solution of primary dendrites and subsequently precipitates in the form of dispersoids [2].

Fig. 1 – ~Alloy 3003-F sheet, hot rolled.
Longitudinal section shows stringer of oxide from an inclusion
in the cast ingot and particles of phases that contain manganese,
both primary (large, angular) and eutectic (small).
As-polished [1]

Fig. 2 – ~Alloy 3003-0 sheet, annealed.
Longitudinal section shows recrystallized grains.
Grain elongation indicates rolling direction,
but not the crystallographic orientation within each grain.
Polarized light. Barker’s reagent [1]

Fig. 3 – ~Some alloy and condition os for Fig. 2,
but shown at a higher magnification.
Dispersion of insoluble particles of (Fe,Mn)Al, (large) and
aluminum-manganese-silicon (both large and small) was not changed by anneoling.
0.5% HF [1].

Modifications

alloys 3103 and 3103A

Sources:
1. Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys, ed. J. R. Quote.
2. Encyclopedia of Aluminum and Its Alloys, Two-Volume Set (2019) – Eds. G.E. Totten, M. Tiryakioğlu, and O. Kessler