Aluminium encyclopaedia

Weber’s ‘Aluminium Pocket Encyclopaedia’ contains the most important technical terms used in the aluminium industry and provides interesting information about aluminium, from A for Alloys through to Z for Zeppelin. It is intended to provide an introduction to the metal.

Sainte-Claire Deville, Henri-Etienne

French chemist who in 1854 discovered the first process to extract aluminium in large quantities.

Scrap

New scrap from aluminium processing and old scrap from used aluminium products is recycled.

Semi-finished products

Semi-finished products, also called "semis", are wire, profiles, rod and bar, and tube made from aluminium that are used to manufacture end products.

Shipbuilding

The superstructures of ocean-going vessels are made from seawater-resistant aluminium alloys, above all to save weight, as are the hulls of coastal and inland waterway vessels, ferries and boats; with sailing boats it is the masts.

Sintering

The manufacture of shaped parts from metal powder, for example of engine pistons made of aluminium powder, by agglomeration at high temperatures.

Smelters

Plants in which aluminium is extracted from aluminium oxide or aluminium scrap.

Space travel

High strength aluminium alloys are used as components in space vehicles and satellites; aluminium powder is a component of solid rocket fuels.

Sports equipment

Equipment made from aluminium is used in many sports, from mountaineering to hiking, mainly because of weight saving.

Steel production

Aluminium is used to reduce the oxygen content of steel, as well as for coatings and as an alloying element for permanent magnets.

Strength

Resistance of aluminium and its alloys to failure - moderate, lying between that of copper and steel, also adequate for the construction of machinery and aircraft.

Strip

Long lengths of rolled aluminium, 0.20 to six millimetres thick, which are wound into coils.

Surface treatment

The surfaces of aluminium alloys and components are specially treated using various mechanical and chemical processes In order to improve their corrosion resistance, surface finish and appearance as well to clean them.