Designation System for Wrought Alloys

Wrought aluminium and aluminium alloys: these alloys are primarily intended for the production of wrought products by hot and/or cold working, i.e. rolling, extruding, forging and drawing.

They can cast in ingots by direct chill (DC) casting or strip casting processes prior to hot and/or cold working.

Wrought aluminum alloys can be divided into two groups: heat treatable and non-heat treatable alloys:

• Heat-treatable alloys are capable of being strengthened by suitable thermal treatment.

• Non-heat-treatable alloys cannot be strengthened substantially by thermal treatment. Their basic strength is determined by the alloying content, but can be increased significantly by work-hardening and in some cases also by grain size refinement.

For optimum performance during hot and cold working, wrought alloys are tailored to the specific semi-fabrication process. Consequently, the properties of a specified alloy and temper may vary, dependent on the type and dimensions of the semi-product.

---

International Designation Systems for Wrought Alloys

American National Standard (ANSI)

The registration office for designations of aluminium and aluminium alloys and tempers is Then Aluminum Association Inc., Washington, DC. (AA).

This standard is also the basis for wrought aluminium and aluminium alloy and temperdesignation standards of ISO and CEN, which therefore permits cross reference between these designation standards.

Alloys registered within the American National Standard are identified by the pre-fix "AA".

Example: AA 5754

International Organisation for Standardization (ISO)

The alloy and temper designation system of ISO/DIS 209 is basically identical with that of AA, but alloys are not preceded by the letters AA.

The current ISO alloy designation also uses chemical symbols. However, it has been recently decided to fully adopt the four digits alloy designation system and withdraw the chemical symbols system.

Example: 5754

Comité Européen de Normalisation (CEN)

The European wrought alloy and temper designation system is basically identical with the ANSI (or AA) and ISO system.

Alloys standardized by EN are also registered by the AA, but not all alloys registered by the AA are standardized by EN and vice versa. Therefore, alloys designated according to EN must be preceded by the prefix EN AW (i.e. Aluminium Wrought).

Example: EN AW-5754

---

Alloy Designation System for Wrought Alloys

The EN designation system for wrought alloy composition is made up of the following:

• EN for European standard followed by a space

• Letter A for aluminium

• Letter W for wrought (followed by a dash)

• Alloy composition is specified either by

  • numericals (4 digits) or

  • by means of chemical symbols, followed in each case by a letter and/or digit(s) for temper designation

Example a): EN AW-5754-O

Example b): EN AW-Al Mg3-O

Definition of Alloy Group	Group	(T/H)(Heat-treatable/Non-heat-treatable)
Aluminum, 99 percent and greater Aluminium alloys grouped by major alloying elements	1XXX	(H)
Copper (Cu)	2XXX	(T)
Manganese (Mn)	3XXX	(H)
Silicon (Si)	4XXX	(H/T)
Magnesium (Mg)	5XXX	(H)
Magnesium and Silicon (Mg + Si)	6XXX	(T)
Zinc (Zn)	7XXX	(T)
Other Elements (Fe, Li ...)	8XXX	(H/T)

The first digit indicates the alloy group. The last two digits identify the aluminium alloy or indicate the aluminium purity. The second digit indicates modifications of the original alloy or impurity limits.