Aluminum-lithium for aerospace

Aluminum-lithium alloys were developed primarily to reduce the weight of aircraft and aerospace structures. Lithium is the lightest metallic element, and each 1% of lithium added to aluminum reduces alloy density by about 3% and increases modulus by about 5%. Though lithium has a solubility limit of 4.2% in aluminum, the amount of lithium ranges between 1 and 3% in commercial alloys. Aluminum-lithium alloys are most often selected for aerospace components because of their low density, high strength, and high specific modulus. However, other applications now exploit their excellent fatigue resistance and cryogenic toughness.