buddyIam wrote:
First thing I noticed in the list of materials listed in the aircraft grade Aluminum, was manganese and magnesium. At what percentages does the addition of Manganese and magnesium to aluminum affect the ability to extinguish a vehicle/aircraft fire.
Yes, magnesium burns hotter than most other metals, but manganese is about as flammable as iron (which it is closely related to chemically). However, alloying metals in the tiny percentages used in aluminum and most steel alloys are incorporated directly into the atomic structure of the primary metal. So, they lose most of their individual properties.
It's not like hot-dip galvanizing where the zinc coating is strictly on the surface of the steel. In fact, one of the properties that alloying metals generally increase is melting temperature, in addition to increasing strength. For example, adding zinc to copper forms brass, an alloy that is not only far stronger than metallic copper (though more brittle) but also has a higher melting temperature.
Wow, those four semesters of college chemistry really paid off--it just took 50 years to use any of it!
