Why you should use aluminium in icy waters
ZellaHyday > 01-06-2022, 08:38 AM
Unlike most steel grades, aluminium does not become brittle at low temperatures. Instead, aluminium gets stronger and its ductility and toughness increases. You should know this when you are selecting materials for metal parts to be used in extremely low temperatures.
Allied forces experienced the consequences of poor material selection for a number of the ships built for service during the Second World War. They registered hundreds of significant hull and deck cracks. Twelve broke in half.
The problem was that the steel used for the hulls of the ships was subject to fracture when exposed to temperatures below a certain level. The material went from ductile to brittle, and that is when the hulls began to crack.
The fracture toughness for aluminium is almost independent of temperature. Aluminium gets stronger when temperatures fall. Steel does not, not even when using a stronger steel.