Structure of the aluminium: magnesium: zinc alloys

Abstract

The addition of zinc to aluminium to produce alloys is almost as old as aluminium itself. Aluminium: magnesium alloys had their first flare of popularity at the turn of the century; while the initial study of the structure of the ternary aluminium: magnesium: zinc alloys goes back to 1913. However, the real birth of the commercial alloys must be dated from the work of Sander and Meissner, who demonstrated the high mechanical properties that could be obtained and started the chain of investigations that led to exploitation in still expanding quantities. Following their work, research was begun in most of the industrial countries, but up to World War II the bulk was done by the Germans, whose self-sufficiency policy forced extensive use of aluminium alloys (preferably copper-free) to replace various imported materials. However, other researchers were not standing still, and by 1945 the alloys were available in commercial form everywhere.