Can Recycled Aluminium replace Structural Steel in construction

Can Recycled Aluminium replace Structural Steel in construction?

Steel proved to be a very heavy alternative especially when it came to taller structures. It does provide the necessary rigidity but is not ductile leading to limitations that did not have workarounds. Aluminium proved to be a worthy alternative.

Wrought iron was used for more than a century in the construction of bridges, buildings and larger structural requirements of the industrial age. In the case of bridges, Wrought iron simply involved fewer costs, could bear a lot more load and was also flexible when it came to casting structural parts, making it perfect for building bridges.

Prior to wrought iron most bridges and buildings would either have a wooden or a pure stone structure in block-form for stability. With the invention of the locomotive, loads became heavier and bridges also started getting heavier, since iron in the end is also a heavy material. Then came the age of steel (an alloy of iron) which proved to be a better alternative because it could bear similar amounts of load (not more) but could resist corrosion (rust) making it a better alternative. Stainless steel and a variety of alloyed steels could soon be customized as per the application, be it a bridge, a tower or a building.

But steel is also a very heavy alternative especially when it comes to taller structures. It does provide the necessary rigidity but is not ductile meaning components in construction often had limitations which did not have workarounds. Aluminium proved to be a worthy alternative; not only was it corrosion resistant, but it also had a greater tensile strength and weighed little compared to steel and other metals. Today commercially available aluminium has a tensile strength of about 13,000 psi which can easily be strengthened via standard heat-treating processes to as high as 96,000 psi making it a lighter corrosion-resistant alternative to steel. What makes aluminium alloys a better substitute, is that they are highly ductile making it perfect for designing complex architectural structural components which are lighter and can be cast better as well. Aluminium just like steel has well-structured recycling channels. This makes it less expensive compared to stainless steel which at higher grades are far more expensive than quality aluminium. Recycling aluminium is also cheaper and more energy efficient keeping aluminium recycling itself in check.

Scrap metal traders in Dubai and around the world make all of this possible, they bring together and segregate scrap aluminium, processing and converting it into aluminium alloy ingots or raw feedstock depending on their client’s applications. Moreover, the applications for scrap aluminium and aluminium alloy are growing by the day in a wide variety of industries; leading to better utilisation of existing scrap aluminium and better prices for all— boosting secondary and semi-primary aluminium alloy production to new heights.