Mechanical behaviour of Aluminium at low temperatures

Mainly due to its low weight and excellent low temperature mechanical properties, aluminium (Al) is a promising material both for load-carrying and technical solutions in the Arctic environment. In contrast to steel materials, Al-alloys do not go through a ductile-to-brittle fracture transition at lower temperatures. Because of the high specific strength, good corrosion resistance and good mechanical properties at low temperature, Al-alloys are often used for low temperature conditions such as cryogenic applications with operating temperature typically between -269 °C (4 K) and -196 °C (77 K). Thus mechanical characterization has therefore mainly been focused on this temperature region. However no extensive studies have been carried out on Al-alloys in the higher temperature range most relevant for Arctic conditions, that is, in the range from -100 to 0 °C (173-273 K). This document thus aims to provide an overview of the existing literature on low-temperature mechanical properties of relevant Al-alloys in the range from -100 to 0 °C.