While this is a somewhat facetious illustration, our point is that just as the

term dessert refers to a group of individual mixtures, so does the term steel.
Steel designates a family of iron-based alloys. When the chromium content
of an iron-based alloy is above 10.5%, it is dubbed stainless steel (136). Even
within the stainless steel family, dozens of recognized alloys exist, each with
different combinations of alloying ingredients. Type 405 stainless steel, for
example, contains 11.5% to 14.5% chromium and 1.0% or less of several
other elements, including carbon, manganese, silicon, and aluminum. Should
the alchemist modify the mixture, such as by switching the relative amounts
of iron and aluminum, substituting copper for carbon and magnesium for
manganese, and then leaving out the chromium, the alloy might match the
composition of aluminum alloy 2618. As this four-digit label implies, it is
but one of many aluminum alloys. Just as with desserts, there is no one best
metal mixture, but rather different mixtures are appropriate for different
occasions.
The intent of this text is to add aluminum-based recipes to the repertoire
of structural engineers who already know how to cook with steel.
2.3 WHEN TO CHOOSE ALUMINUM
2.3.1 Introduction
Today aluminum suffers from a malady similar to that which afflicted tomatoes
in the eighteenth century: many people fail to consider it out of superstition
and ignorance. Whereas Europeans shunned tomatoes for fear that they
were poisonous, engineers seem to avoid aluminum for equally unfounded
reasons today.
One myth is that aluminum is not sufficiently strong to serve as a structural
metal. The fact is that the most common aluminum structural alloy, 6061-T6,
has a minimum yield strength of 35 ksi [240 MPa], which is almost equal to
that of A36 steel. This strength, coupled with its light weight (about one-third
that of steel), makes aluminum particularly advantageous for structural
applications
where dead load is a concern. Its high strength-to-weight ratio has
favored the use of aluminum in such diverse applications as bridge rehabilitation
(Figure 2.2), large clear-span dome roofs (Figure 2.3), and fire truck
booms. In each case, the reduced dead load, as compared to conventional
materials, allows a higher live or service load.
Aluminum is inherently corrosion-resistant. Carbon steel, on the other
hand, has a tendency to self-destruct over time by virtue of the continual
conversion of the base metal to iron oxide, commonly known as rust. Although
iron has given oxidation a bad name, not all metal oxides lead to
progressive deterioration. Stainless steel, as noted previously, acquires its
feature
of being rust-resistant by the addition of chromium to the alloy mixture.
The chromium oxidizes on the surface of the metal, forming a thin transparent
film. This chromium oxide film is passive and stable, and it seals the base