Beryllium and Aluminium - Comparison - Properties

This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of beryllium and aluminium, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Beryllium vs Aluminium.

beryllium and aluminium - comparison

Compare beryllium with another element

Compare aluminium with another element

Beryllium and Aluminium – About Elements

Beryllium

Beryllium is a hard, grayish metal naturally found in mineral rocks, coal, soil, and volcanic dust. The commercial use of beryllium requires the use of appropriate dust control equipment and industrial controls at all times because of the toxicity of inhaled beryllium-containing dusts that can cause a chronic life-threatening allergic disease in some people called berylliosis. Beryllium has a large scattering cross section for high-energy neutrons, about 6 barns for energies above approximately 10 keV. Therefore, it works as a neutron reflector and neutron moderator, effectively slowing the neutrons to the thermal energy. Since berylium has very low threshold energy for neutron emission, it can be used as a neutron source in nuclear reactors. The Sb-Be source is based on (γ,n) reaction (i.e. it emits photoneutrons).

Aluminium

Aluminium is a silvery-white, soft, nonmagnetic, ductile metal in the boron group. By mass, aluminium makes up about 8% of the Earth’s crust; it is the third most abundant element after oxygen and silicon and the most abundant metal in the crust, though it is less common in the mantle below.

Beryllium in Periodic Table

Aluminium in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Beryllium and Aluminium – Applications

Beryllium

Berylium can be utilized as alloying agent in production of beryllium-copper, X-ray detection diagnostics, manufacture of computer peripherals, in nuclear reactors as neutron moderators and reflectors. 80% of the beryllium used goes into copper beryllium alloys. The combination of light weight with high strength at extreme temperatures makes beryllium metal and aluminium beryllium alloys ideal for use in high performance aerospace applications such as components of rockets. Transparency to x-radiation makes pure beryllium metal essential in security equipment and high-resolution medical imaging technology, such as mammography to detect breast cancer. Copper beryllium is the hardest and strongest of any copper alloy (UTS up to 1,400 MPa), in the fully heat treated and cold worked condition. It combines high strength with non-magnetic and non-sparking qualities and it is similar in mechanical properties to many high strength alloy steels but, compared to steels, it has better corrosion resistance.

Aluminium

Aluminium and its alloys are used widely in aerospace, automotive, architectural, lithographic, packaging, electrical and electronic applications. It is the prime material of construction for the aircraft industry throughout most of its history. About 70% of commercial civil aircraft airframes are made from aluminium alloys, and without aluminium civil aviation would not be economically viable. Automotive industry now includes aluminium as engine castings, wheels, radiators and increasingly as body parts. 6111 aluminium and 2008 aluminium alloy are extensively used for external automotive body panels. Cylinder blocks and crankcases are often cast made of aluminium alloys.

Beryllium and Aluminium – Comparison in Table

Element	Beryllium	Aluminium
Density	1.848 g/cm3	2.7/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	345 MPa	90 MPa (pure), 600 MPa (alloys)
Yield Strength	N/A	11 MPa (pure), 400 MPa (alloys)
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	287 GPa	70 GPa
Mohs Scale	5.5	2.8
Brinell Hardness	600 MPa	240 MPa
Vickers Hardness	1670 MPa	167 MPa
Melting Point	1278 °C	660 °C
Boiling Point	2469 °C	2467 °C
Thermal Conductivity	200 W/mK	237 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	11.3 µm/mK	23.1 µm/mK
Specific Heat	1.82 J/g K	0.9 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	12.2 kJ/mol	10.79 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	292.4 kJ/mol	293.4 kJ/mol