Horses for different courses. Aluminium is great for planes, but they don't build tanks out of it. More than likely because it would have to be stupidly thick to afford the level of protection a much thinner/denser piece of steel alloy can achieve in comparison.


That and the fact that aluminium burns really well when things get warm enough. This argument could keep going for eons.

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Subsonic said..
...This argument could keep going for eons.

Really ?

the steel will rust away long before the aluminum does. Thus before eons has expired the aluminum plate will be much stronger than the rusty steel plate.

Assuming the aluminum plate hasn't been stolen and sold for scrap.

Mmmm talk of rust and aluminium in the same sentence is exciting to those of us who had a mis-spent youth

(or dare I say well spent youth with thermite fun, better than never going outside...)

Interesting answers,

Carantoc sounds like a smart cookie so i have another question for him if i could.
I have also been told that aluminium looses "yeild strength" when welded. A quick google seems to tell me this is true. Does that mean that aluminium would be even less suitable for big structures because it has to be rivited to avoid loosing yeild strength?

^^^
Aluminium can be heat treated to strengthen the weld point.

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Flatty said..
...Carantoc sounds like a smart cookie ....

So much misinformation in here

Smart-arse who ate all the cookies is the real truth.

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crustysailor said..
you guys overthink it way too much.

Dragster and BMX : Steel Frames, steel wheels, 40+ years, in the garage
Road bike; Ally frame + rims, 10+ years maybe , in the tip/recyling.

racing BMX bikes all carbon now, carbon roadie frames get scrapped because of lack of knowledge on how to repair or because insurer wants to see pic of cut up frame for payout

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decrepit said..
Here's another thought, I think stiffness varies with the square of thickness. So alli should win out here as well

I believe its a cubic relationship for bending stiffness (bd^3/12 for a rectangle). So the thicker aluminium should be much stiffer in bending.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_second_moments_of_area

I have had an aluminium yacht and I have had a steel yacht.
I will never own a steel yacht again but would readily own an aluminium yacht again.

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