Aluminium is one of 32 materials in this atlas, grouped under metals: history, structure, measured properties, process routes, uses, safety and market — not a product catalogue.
Scores compare Aluminium with the rest of the atlas on strength, heat, fire behaviour, insulation, workability and circularity. They are editorial, not certificates.
Seven chapters follow. Fire and insulation claims name test families (Euroclass, ASTM E84, ISO 5660, KS F) rather than inventing a single safety number.
Deep introduction
Deep dive: Aluminium
Aluminium (Al (+ Mg, Si, Cu, Zn…)) is a family of grades whose density 2.70 g/cm³, heat band 660 °C, and fire letter A1 as metal.
What “the material” actually is
Aluminium is sold as grades, not as a single substance. Chemistry Al (+ Mg, Si, Cu, Zn…), density 2.70 g/cm³, heat band 660 °C.
This atlas treats Aluminium as a system: mill route, coatings, tests and the cavity it sits in.
Heat, fire and insulation
Conductivity note: ~237 W/m·K (pure). Insulation score 12/100 is relative to 32 entries — metals lose, VIPs and aerogels win.
Fire letter in editorial use: A1 as metal. Do not equate A1 with “safe in a blaze” or E with “illegal”. Assemblies decide.
How it is made and used
Origin: Hall–Héroult 1886, USA / France. The process chapter follows feedstock → conversion → forming → finish → install.
Uses span aerospace to consumer. Pairings matter: CFRP.
Market and circularity
Producers below are landmarks, not an endorsement ranking. Prices are bands, not live quotes.
Circularity mark 72/100. Ask which scrap, which certificate, which year.
Related atlas
Around Aluminium
Related atlas entries, a short glossary, and three threads that keep Aluminium honest.
See also
🔩SteelHeavier, stiffer, cheaper per kilogram of structure in many buildings.
✈️TitaniumWhen aluminium’s melting point and corrosion are not enough.
🔶CopperThe better conductor when volume is allowed.
🏎️Carbon fibreThe next mass cut after aluminium in aero and bikes.
Key terms
Temper T6
Solution heat-treat + artificial age.
UBC
Used beverage can scrap.
Alclad
Pure aluminium cladding on a high-strength core.
IACS
International Annealed Copper Standard for conductivity.
Giga-casting
Very large high-pressure die castings replacing many stampings.
Bayer liquor
Sodium aluminate solution in alumina refining.
Standards language
EN, ASTM, ISO, KS and JIS do not translate one-to-one. A Euroclass A1 batt is not an ASTM E84 report.
Name the year of the standard on drawings. Withdrawn methods keep showing up in old specs.
Labour and craft
Welders, spinners, plasterers, coaters and kiln masons are part of the material’s real properties.
DFT, moisture meters and compression of batts are quality tools, not bureaucracy.
Energy and waste
Primary Aluminium carries process energy that recycling or bio-routes only sometimes beat.
Offcuts, red mud, slag, dust and used blowing agents are the unglamorous mass balance.
The profile
Strength62
Heat resistance48
Fire performance70
Insulation12
Workability90
Circularity72
Fire role or insulation role
Pick the fire-performance reading or the insulation reading already scored on this material. Teaching marks — not a specification.
Atlas scores and on-page facts only. A named product test, thickness and assembly decide any real wall or garment. No lab stamp.
Decision walkthrough on Aluminium: fire 70, insulation 12, and one fact already on file — not a code stamp.
Read the fire-performance mark — Fire on this hub is 70/100 — teaching comparison among atlas materials.
Read the insulation mark — Insulation is 12/100 — heat-flow story, not the same question as flame.
Sit one published fact beside them — Quick fact on file: Density: 2.70 g/cm³.
Sustainability is not a fire skip — A high sustainability mark does not replace fire protection in a real assembly.
Not a building-code rating — Named tests, thickness and build-up still decide compliance — this page is literacy only.
On Aluminium, fire 70 and insulation 12 answer different jobs; Density: 2.70 g/cm³ grounds one real detail.
Editorial atlas marks. Not a code certificate or product approval.
Thermal mark or safety fact first?
Second lab decision on Aluminium: heat-resistance 48 beside published thermal fact Conductivity — literacy, not a code stamp.
Read the heat-resistance mark — Heat resistance on this hub is 48/100 — a thermal story, different from the fire/insulation pair.
Sit one thermal fact beside it — Properties chapter lists Conductivity among published thermal rows.
Heat resistance is not a fire skip — A high thermal mark does not replace named fire tests in a real assembly.
Still not a building-code rating — Thickness, build-up and named tests decide compliance — this page teaches axes only.
On Aluminium, heat 48 and Conductivity are a second thermal/safety reading after fire vs insulation.
Editorial atlas marks. Not a code certificate or product approval.
Heat line to keep
A decision from printed marks. Not a building permit.
Frequently asked questions
Aluminium or aluminum?
Same metal. IUPAC aluminium; US spelling aluminum. Specs use either.
Why is it light but not “weak”?
Specific strength of 7075 can beat mild steel; stiffness per volume still loses to steel.
Does it burn?
Bulk metal melts in fire; powders and some façade cores are the combustible stories.
Is it a good insulator?
No. It is a heat spreader. Foil radiant barriers reflect radiation; they are not bulk λ insulation.
Why do cans recycle so well?
Single alloy family, magnetic-free sort, huge volume, remelt energy is low.
Can I weld 7075?
Generally a bad idea for strength; designers rivet, bond or use 2000/5000 weldables instead.
Anodising vs paint?
Anodising grows oxide from the metal; paint is a separate film. Coasts often want both or a better alloy.
Is primary aluminium “green”?
Only if the kWh are. Hydro Québec ≠ coal-grid smelting.
Is the fire-performance score a building-code rating?
No. It is an editorial 0–100 teaching mark among materials in this atlas. A real wall or garment needs a named product test, thickness and assembly. This page is not a lab stamp.
When should I read insulation instead of fire?
Use the insulation pick when the question is heat flow — lining, loft, or a cold-bridge — and the fire pick when the question is how the same material behaves in flame. Both numbers already sit on this hub; they answer different jobs.
Does a high sustainability score mean I can skip fire protection?
No. Sustainability here is a relative atlas mark (growth, reuse, embodied story). Bamboo and timber can still char like wood. Fire protection stays a separate specification.
Why is bamboo missing in some languages?
A language URL is published only when the seven chapters are real prose in that language. Bamboo exists in English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish. French, German, Portuguese and Russian stay withheld — earlier machine drafts leaked English, so those URLs are not opened.
Icons
1
Hall–Héroult cell
USA / France · 1886–
Hall–Héroult cell is a reference point in the public image of Aluminium.
Duralumin
Germany · 1906–
Duralumin is a reference point in the public image of Aluminium.
Aluminium can
United States · 1959–
Aluminium can is a reference point in the public image of Aluminium.
Audi Space Frame
Germany · 1994–
Audi Space Frame is a reference point in the public image of Aluminium.
Wright Flyer metal later
United States · 1903 lore / metal later
Wright Flyer metal later is a reference point in the public image of Aluminium.
Alclad sheet
United States · 1920s–
Alclad sheet is a reference point in the public image of Aluminium.
Eiffel aluminium capstone lore
France · 1889 era
Eiffel aluminium capstone lore is a reference point in the public image of Aluminium.
Tesla body castings
United States · 2020s
Tesla body castings is a reference point in the public image of Aluminium.
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