Characteristics of Light Alloys
Aluminium

Lightweight alloys live up to their name: their density is around 2.7 g/cm ³ , which is about one-third that of steel (7.8 g/cm ³ ). Their coefficient of linear expansion, however, is twice that of steel (23 × 10 ^–6 °C ^–1 versus 12 × 10 ^–6 °C ^–1 ). Table 10 summarizes the main physical characteristics of pure aluminum and the most common alloy families.