Ships are the main means of water transportation, while ships refer to giant sailing vessels. Due to the low density of aluminum and aluminum alloys, which is about one-third of that of steel, they have strong corrosion resistance to seawater and good processability and weldability. Therefore, in the fourth year after industrial production in the United States and Switzerland in 1888, they were used in the manufacturing of airships, two years earlier than the first use of aluminum on airplanes.
In 1891, Switzerland first built aluminum powered boats, and later other countries used aluminum to build their hulls. However, due to the relatively young birth of aluminum at that time, there were not many varieties of aluminum alloys, and the only few aluminum alloys had low strength and unsatisfactory corrosion resistance, which limited their application in shipbuilding. The metallurgical industry is the pioneer and foundation of the shipbuilding industry. With the development of the metallurgical industry, the aluminum industry provided the shipbuilding industry with highly corrosion-resistant Al Mg alloys in the late 1920s. Therefore, the application of aluminum alloys in shipbuilding has redeveloped.
Marine Materials (9): Application of Aluminum Alloy on European and American Civil Ships In August 1931, the UK manufactured the Diana II all aluminum yacht, which was the world's first, shining with silver. It was made of aluminum magnesium alloy, with a length of 16.75m, a width of 3.65m, and a draft of 1.74m. After more than 20 years of use, it remained intact and the hull was corrosion-free. This yacht was exhibited at the London Aluminum Exhibition in 1955. After the Diana II, Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom successively built some aluminum alloy boats. Due to the use of aluminum alloy in shipbuilding, it has promoted the development of hydrofoil boats. The Soviet Union built the "Paketa" hydrofoil passenger boat in 1958, carrying 66 passengers, and the hull material was hard aluminum; In 1959, the Meteor hydrofoil passenger boat carrying 130 to 150 passengers was built, with a length of 34.4 meters and a speed of 80 km/h. The hull material was made of hard aluminum and riveted. The hydrofoil boat they later built was made of aluminum magnesium alloy and welded. The "Cyclone" coastal hydrofoil boat, built in 1962, uses a new type of plate that rolls reinforcement ribs and plates into a whole, reducing the weight of the hull by 10% to 15%. The boat is 46.5m long, 9.0m wide, has a draft of 3.0m, a displacement of 108t, a power of 3181kW, and a speed of 92.5km/h.
Since 1928, aluminum alloy has gradually been used to manufacture the superstructure of large ships, and that year, deck houses were constructed using aluminum alloy materials. In 1939, the upper deck, portholes, and railings of the Norwegian cargo ship "Fernplant" with a cargo capacity of 8800 tons were made of aluminum alloy, using 14 tons instead of 40 tons of steel. After World War II, the metallurgical industry made significant progress, widely using aluminum alloy to manufacture the superstructure of ships, and the usage and daily supply increased, especially for some luxury cruise ships: in 1952, the United States' United States cruise ship shared 2000 tons of aluminum, with a length of 305 meters, a width of 37 meters, a displacement of 5914 tons, and a passenger capacity of 2000 people; in 1960, the British built giant ships Oriana and Canberra used over 1000 tons of aluminum, with the former having a displacement of 40 kt and the latter having a displacement of 48 kt.
Aluminum alloy materials are also used to manufacture other civilian ships: in the early 1950s, some oil tankers built in the UK had lining plates made of 5XXX series 5054 alloy, and each 30kt class oil tanker used more than 1000t of aluminum; The RedRose fishing vessel, manufactured in the UK in 1951, used 27 tons of aluminum; In 1964, Hungary designed a 100t gold aluminum fishing boat, using aluminum alloy containing 2.5% to 4% Mg as the main material; Aluminum alloy is also used on barges. In 1964, the United States built an all aluminum barge, which used more than 180 tons of aluminum material. Whether it was plates or extruded materials, 5083 alloy was used, and the cargo capacity was 14% higher than that of steel barges; Tugs can also be made of aluminum alloy. The hull of the American tugboat Sauter is welded with 5083 and 5086 alloys, which reduces the manufacturing time by about 30% compared to steel barges; The train ferries built by the Soviet Union were welded with 5056 and 5466 alloys; In 196, Britain built two biogas transport ships, and the nine biogas tanks on board were welded with aluminum alloy.
