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Can anodization cause brittleness?
I have a situation where a steel plug of 7mm (1/4") dia. is pressed in to an anodized sleeve. This sleeve cracks open sometimes. I want to know if anodization can contribute to brittleness. The base material is Al-Si 12% (A6061BE).
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G. Muralidharan
steering systems - Chennai, TamilNadu, India
2003
I have never heard of anodising making the aluminium brittle, but that is not to say it can't. 12%Si aluminium is not the easiest of alloys to anodise, but it does make a good bearing material. I would suspect the steel plug is slightly oversized, so check those before worrying about anodising. Also check the operating conditions and make sure there is no conflict in thermal expansions.
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Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
2003
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