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Aluminum copper alloys (also known as aluminium–copper) are used extensively in many industrial applications due to their combination of high strength, good corrosion resistance and low density. They are typically made by alloying copper with aluminum, magnesium, silicon and manganese. Pure aluminum is soft and lacks sufficient strength for structural purposes, but when alloyed with small amounts of other metals it becomes a strong, lightweight material that can be formed into a wide variety of shapes. It is also easy to machine, and it can be anodized for a hard, durable, electrically conductive coating. For these reasons, pure and fabricated copper is used in electrical wiring, roofing, plumbing and in engineered components such as heat sinks and microwave radiation waveguides.
Alloys of copper improve the workability and corrosion resistance of aluminum, but they also decrease its fatigue and ductility. Generally, they are heat-treated to achieve good toughness and strength. They are used in aircraft construction and for general engineering components such as shafts, pumps and valves that are exposed to salt water, sour mine waters, nonoxidizing acids and industrial process fluids.
Alloys of copper are typically classified by an industry-standard four-digit number that identifies the major alloying elements. These include the 2-series with copper as the principal alloying element, the 6xxx series with nickel and the 9xxx and 12xxx with titanium and zirconium. Some copper-aluminum alloys can be susceptible to intergranular corrosion (IGC). This susceptibility has been linked to unfavorable alloying and thermomechanical treatment, where copper segregates as a Cu-rich nanolayer with the formation of a solute-depleted zone along grain boundaries.