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2024 (AlCu4Mg1, 3.1355, 2L97, A92024) Aluminum

2024 aluminum is a 2000-series aluminum alloy: the main alloying addition is copper, and it is formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 2024 is the Aluminum Association (AA) designation for this material. In European standards, it will be given as EN AW-2024. AlCu4Mg1 is the EN chemical designation. 2L97 is the British Standard (BS) designation. A92024 is the UNS number. Additionally, the AFNOR (French) designation is A-U4G1.

It has been in use since 1931, but has only received its standard designation in 1954. This material is well established: the Further Reading section below cites a number of published standards, and that list is not necessarily exhaustive.

The properties of 2024 aluminum include 19 common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare 2024 aluminum to: 2000-series alloys (top), all aluminum alloys (middle), and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus

71 GPa 10 x 106 psi

Elongation at Break

4.0 to 16 %

Fatigue Strength

90 to 180 MPa 13 to 26 x 103 psi

Poisson's Ratio

0.33

Shear Modulus

27 GPa 3.9 x 106 psi

Shear Strength

130 to 320 MPa 18 to 46 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)

200 to 540 MPa 29 to 79 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)

100 to 490 MPa 14 to 71 x 103 psi

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion

390 J/g

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical

200 °C 390 °F

Melting Completion (Liquidus)

640 °C 1180 °F

Melting Onset (Solidus)

500 °C 930 °F

Specific Heat Capacity

880 J/kg-K 0.21 BTU/lb-°F

Thermal Conductivity

120 W/m-K 70 BTU/h-ft-°F

Thermal Expansion

23 µm/m-K

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume

30 % IACS

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)

90 % IACS

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price

11 % relative

Calomel Potential

-600 mV

Density

3.0 g/cm3 190 lb/ft3

Embodied Carbon

8.3 kg CO2/kg material

Embodied Energy

150 MJ/kg 65 x 103 BTU/lb

Embodied Water

1140 L/kg 140 gal/lb

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)

20 to 68 MJ/m3

Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)

70 to 1680 kJ/m3

Stiffness to Weight: Axial

13 points

Stiffness to Weight: Bending

46 points

Strength to Weight: Axial

18 to 50 points

Strength to Weight: Bending

25 to 49 points

Thermal Diffusivity

46 mm2/s

Thermal Shock Resistance

8.6 to 24 points

Alloy Composition

Among wrought aluminum alloys, the composition of 2024 aluminum is notable for containing a comparatively high amount of copper (Cu) and including zirconium (Zr). Copper is used to improve strength. This comes at the cost of a decrease in corrosion resistance and weldability. Zirconium is used to increase an alloy's recrystallization temperature, which increases the temperature at which the alloy can be used without permanent loss of mechanical properties.

Aluminum (Al)Al 90.7 to 94.7
Copper (Cu)Cu 3.8 to 4.9
Magnesium (Mg)Mg 1.2 to 1.8
Manganese (Mn)Mn 0.3 to 0.9
Silicon (Si)Si 0 to 0.5
Iron (Fe)Fe 0 to 0.5
Zinc (Zn)Zn 0 to 0.25
Zirconium (Zr)Zr 0 to 0.2
Titanium (Ti)Ti 0 to 0.15
Chromium (Cr)Cr 0 to 0.1
Residualsres. 0 to 0.15

All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.

Followup Questions

Similar Alloys

Further Reading

EN 586-2: Aluminium and aluminium alloys. Forgings. Mechanical properties and additional property requirements.

ASTM B210: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Drawn Seamless Tubes

ASTM B211: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Bar, Rod, and Wire

ASTM B221: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Extruded Bars, Rods, Wire, Profiles, and Tubes

Environmental Degradation of Advanced and Traditional Engineering Materials, Lloyd H. Hihara et al., 2014.

EN 754-2: Aluminium and aluminium alloys. Cold drawn rod/bar and tube. Mechanical properties

Aluminum: Properties and Physical Metallurgy, John E. Hatch (editor), 1984

ASTM B209: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Sheet and Plate

EN 755-2: Aluminium and aluminium alloys. Extruded rod/bar, tube and profiles. Mechanical properties

EN 485-2: Aluminium and aluminium alloys. Sheet, strip and plate. Mechanical properties