Kynal
Brand name for aluminum alloys developed and produced by Imperial Chemical Industries
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kynal was a brand name for a series of aluminium alloys developed and originally produced by the British chemical manufacturer Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).[1] The name was derived from Kynoch, an existing ICI trademark for ammunition, and aluminium. It was largely used as substitute for Alclad, a popular corrosion-resistant aluminium alloy.
ICI produced Kynal in quantity at a facility in Waunarlwydd, outside Swansea. The material was extensively used by the British aviation industry during the Second World War, being recognised as a strategic resource. Numerous variations upon the material were devised by ICI around this time. During the 1950s, British Railways became a key consumer of Kynal, using the material on numerous members of its new fleet of diesel traction, including the first generation diesel multiple units (DMUs). By the twenty-first century, the material was largely considered to be obsolete, while the Waunarlwydd chemical works was permanently closed during the 2000s.
History
A key facility involved in the production of Kynal was the Ministry of Aircraft Production's factory at Waunarlwydd,[2] near Swansea. ICI built and operated the plant on the government's behalf.[3] Functionally, Kynal was similar to, and could be a substitute for, Alclad.[4] Applications included various forged items, including pipework, vessels, and heat exchangers, as well as fuselage elements of aircraft.[5][6] By 1938, the material was being producing at a very high volume as a consequence of the European powers having entered a period of rearmament around the time of Munich crisis, which led into the Second World War.[7]
During the postwar era, Kynal continued to hold its strategic importance.[8] The material proliferated throughout British engineering throughout the 1950s and 1960s; it began to be used in the frames of road vehicles during the mid 1950s.[9] Kynal was used extensively for British Railways' modernisation of the 1950s, specifically in the construction of the publicly-owned organisation's new diesel fleet.[10] The majority of the 'lightweight' diesel multiple units (DMUs) featured the material.[11] Around the same era, the company was also involved in studies into the use of Kynal as a roofing material.[12]
By the twenty-first century, Kynal was largely considered to be obsolete as a material.[13] During the 2000s, the original Waunarlwydd plant, which was by then owned by Alcoa, was closed down.[14][15] Despite this, research efforts into fields such as battery technology have involved the use of Kynal.[16]
Table
| Al | Cu | Mg | Si | Mn | Ni | Zn | Others | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | |||||||||
| Kynal P5 | ≥99.5 | Pure aluminium [17] | |||||||
| Kynal P10 | ≥99 | ||||||||
| Aluminium–silicon alloys | |||||||||
| Kynal PA15 | 12 | Brazing wire [18][19] | |||||||
| Kynal PA16 | 5 | ||||||||
| Kynal PA17 | 5 | ||||||||
| Aluminium–manganese alloys | |||||||||
| Kynal PA19 | 1.25 | [20] | |||||||
| Aluminium–magnesium alloys | |||||||||
| Kynal M35/1 | 2 | [21] | |||||||
| Kynal M35/2 | 3 | ||||||||
| Kynal M36 | 5 | ||||||||
| Kynal M37 | 7 | ||||||||
| Aluminium–magnesium–silicon alloys | |||||||||
| Kynal M39/1 | 0.7 | 0.5 | [22] | ||||||
| Kynal M39/2 | 0.7 | 1 | |||||||
| Aluminium–copper alloys | |||||||||
| Kynal 90 | 2.2 | 0.3 | [23] | ||||||
| Kynal C65 | 4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | [23] | |||||
| Kynal C66 | 4.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | |||||
| Kynal C67 | 4.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | |||||
| Kynal C69 | 1 | 1 | [22] | ||||||
| Nickel–aluminium alloys | |||||||||
| Kynal Y88 | 2.6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.1% Ti | [23] | |||
| Kynal Y92 | 4 | 1.5 | 2 | ||||||
| Aluminium–zinc alloys | |||||||||
| Kynal Z93 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 5.3 | [24] | |||||
| Kynal-Core C65A | Pure aluminium-clad forms of the corresponding alloys [25] | ||||||||
| Kynal-Core C66A | |||||||||
| Kynal-Core C67A | |||||||||
| Kynal-Core C68A | |||||||||
| Kynal-Core Z93A | |||||||||
See also
- Kycube, a similarly named series of copper beryllium alloys produced by IMI.