Question: How many different metal alloys are there?

List of alloys


This is a list of named alloys grouped alphabetically by base metal. Within these headings, the alloys are also grouped alphabetically. Some of the main alloying elements are optionally listed after the alloy names.

Alloys by base metal
Aluminium

AA-8000: used for electrical building wire in the U.S. per the National Electrical Code, replacing AA-1350.[1]
Al–Li (2.45% lithium): aerospace applications, including the Space Shuttle
Alnico (nickel, cobalt): used for permanent magnets
Birmabright (magnesium, manganese): used in car bodies, mainly used by Land Rover cars.
Duralumin (copper)
Hiduminium or R.R. alloys (2% copper, iron, nickel): used in aircraft pistons
Hydronalium (up to 12% magnesium, 1% manganese): used in shipbuilding, resists seawater corrosion
Italma (3.5% magnesium, 0.3% manganese): formerly used to make coinage of the Italian lira
Magnalium (5-50% magnesium): used in airplane bodies, ladders, pyrotechnics, etc.
Aluminium–Scandium (scandium)
Y alloy (4% copper, nickel, magnesium)
Aluminium also forms complex metallic alloys, like β–Al–Mg, ξ'–Al–Pd–Mn, and T–Al3Mn.
Beryllium

Lockalloy (62% Beryllium, 38% Aluminum) [2]
Bismuth

Bismanol (manganese); magnetic alloy from the 1950s using powder metallurgy
Cerrosafe (lead, tin, cadmium)
Rose metal (lead, tin)
Wood's metal (lead, tin, cadmium)
Chromium

Chromium hydride (hydrogen)
Nichrome (nickel)
Cobalt

Megallium
Stellite (chromium, tungsten, carbon)
Talonite
Ultimet (chromium, nickel, iron, molybdenum, tungsten) [3]
Vitallium
Copper

Arsenical copper
Beryllium copper (beryllium)
Billon (silver)
Brass (zinc) see also Brass §Brass types for longer list
Calamine brass (zinc)
Chinese silver (zinc)
Dutch metal (zinc)
Gilding metal (zinc)
Muntz metal (zinc)
Pinchbeck (zinc)
Prince's metal (zinc)
Tombac (zinc)
Bronze (tin, aluminium or other element)
Aluminium bronze (aluminium)
Arsenical bronze
Bell metal (tin)
Florentine bronze (aluminium or tin)
Glucydur (beryllium, iron)
Guanín
Gunmetal (tin, zinc)
Phosphor bronze (tin and phosphorus)
Ormolu (Gilt Bronze) (zinc)
Silicon bronze
Speculum metal (tin)
Constantan (nickel)
Copper hydride (hydrogen)
Copper–tungsten (tungsten)
Corinthian bronze (gold, silver)
Cunife (nickel, iron)
Cupronickel (nickel)
CuSil (silver)
Cymbal alloys (Bell metal) (tin)
Devarda's alloy (aluminium, zinc)
Electrum (gold, silver)
Hepatizon (gold, silver)
Manganin (manganese, nickel)
Melchior (nickel); high corrosion resistance, used in marine applications in condenser tubes
Molybdochalkos (lead)
Nickel silver (nickel)
Nordic gold (aluminium, zinc, tin)
Shakudo (gold)
Tumbaga (gold)
Gallium

Al Ga (aluminium, gallium)
Galfenol (iron)
Galinstan (indium, tin)
Gold

See also notes below[note 1]
Antanium (iron, copper)
Colored gold (silver, copper)
Crown gold (silver, copper)
Electrum (silver, gold)
Rhodite (rhodium)
Rose gold (copper)
Tumbaga (copper)
White gold (nickel, palladium)
Indium

Field's metal (bismuth, tin)
Iron

Most iron alloys are steels, with carbon as a major alloying element.
Carbon steels
Modern steels are made with varying combinations of alloy metals to fulfill many purposes.[4] Carbon steel, composed simply of iron and carbon, accounts for 90% of steel production.[5] Low alloy steel is alloyed with other elements, usually molybdenum, manganese, chromium, or nickel, in amounts of up to 10% by weight to improve the hardenability of thick sections.[5] High strength low alloy steel has small additions (usually < 2% by weight) of other elements, typically 1.5% manganese, to provide additional strength for a modest price increase.[6]
Recent Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations have given rise to a new variety of steel known as Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS). This material is both strong and ductile so that vehicle structures can maintain their current safety levels while using less material. There are several commercially available grades of AHSS, such as dual-phase steel, which is heat treated to contain both a ferritic and martensitic microstructure to produce a formable, high strength steel.[7] Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steel involves special alloying and heat treatments to stabilize amounts of austenite at room temperature in normally austenite-free low-alloy ferritic steels. By applying strain, the austenite undergoes a phase transition to martensite without the addition of heat.[8] Twinning Induced Plasticity (TWIP) steel uses a specific type of strain to increase the effectiveness of work hardening on the alloy.[9]
Carbon Steels are often galvanized, through hot-dip or electroplating in zinc for protection against rust.[10]
Stainless steels contain a minimum of 11% chromium, often combined with nickel, to resist corrosion. Some stainless steels, such as the ferritic stainless steels are magnetic, while others, such as the austenitic, are nonmagnetic.[11] Corrosion-resistant steels are abbreviated as CRES.
Some more modern steels include tool steels, which are alloyed with large amounts of tungsten and cobalt or other elements to maximize solution hardening. This also allows the use of precipitation hardening and improves the alloy's temperature resistance.[5] Tool steel is generally used in axes, drills, and other devices that need a sharp, long-lasting cutting edge. Other special-purpose alloys include weathering steels such as Cor-ten, which weather by acquiring a stable, rusted surface, and so can be used un-painted.[12] Maraging steel is alloyed with nickel and other elements, but unlike most steel contains little carbon (0.01%). This creates a very strong but still malleable steel.[13]
Eglin steel uses a combination of over a dozen different elements in varying amounts to create a relatively low-cost steel for use in bunker buster weapons. Hadfield steel (after Sir Robert Hadfield) or manganese steel contains 12–14% manganese which when abraded strain-hardens to form an incredibly hard skin which resists wearing. Examples include tank tracks, bulldozer blade edges and cutting blades on the jaws of life.[14]
Lead

Molybdochalkos (copper)
Solder (tin)
Terne (tin)
Type metal (tin, antimony)
Magnesium

Elektron
Magnox (0.8% aluminium, 0.004% beryllium); used in nuclear reactors
T-Mg–Al–Zn (Bergman phase) is a complex metallic alloy
Mercury

Amalgam
Ashtadhatu
Nickel

Category: Nickel alloys
Alnico (aluminium, cobalt); used in magnets
Alumel (manganese, aluminium, silicon)
Brightray (20% chromium, iron, rare earths); originally for hard-facing valve seats
Chromel (chromium)
Cupronickel (bronze, copper)
Ferronickel (iron)
German silver (copper, zinc)
Hastelloy (molybdenum, chromium, sometimes tungsten)
Inconel (chromium, iron)
Monel metal (copper, iron, manganese)
Nichrome (chromium)
Nickel-carbon (carbon)
Nicrosil (chromium, silicon, magnesium)
Nimonic (chromium, cobalt, titanium), used in jet engine turbine blades
Nisil (silicon)
Nitinol (titanium, shape memory alloy)
Magnetically "soft" alloys
Mu-metal (iron)
Permalloy (iron, molybdenum)
Supermalloy (molybdenum)
Brass (copper, zinc, manganese)
Nickel hydride (hydrogen)
Stainless steel (chromium, molybdenum, carbon, manganese, sulphur, phosphorus, silicon)
Coin silver (nickel)
Plutonium

Plutonium–aluminium
Plutonium–cerium
Plutonium–cerium–cobalt
Plutonium–gallium (gallium)
Plutonium–gallium–cobalt
Plutonium–zirconium
Potassium

NaK (sodium)
KLi (lithium)
Rare Earths

Mischmetal (various rare earth elements)
Terfenol-D (terbium, dysprosium, and iron), a highly magnetostrictive alloy used in portable speakers such as the SoundBug device
Rhodium
Pseudo palladium (rhodium–silver alloy)
Samarium
SmCo (cobalt); used for permanent magnets in guitar pickups, headphones, satellite transponders, etc.
Scandium
Scandium hydride (hydrogen)
Silver

Argentium sterling silver (copper, germanium)
Billon
Britannia silver (copper)
Doré bullion (gold)
Electrum (gold)
Goloid (copper, gold)
Platinum sterling (platinum)
Shibuichi (copper)
Sterling silver (copper)
Tibetan silver (copper)
Sodium
NaK (potassium)
Titanium

6al–4v (aluminium, vanadium)
Beta C (vanadium, chromium, others)
Gum metal (niobium, tantalum, zirconium, oxygen); used in spectacle frames, precision screws etc.
Titanium hydride (hydrogen)
Titanium nitride (nitrogen)
Titanium gold (gold)
Tin

Babbitt (copper, antimony, lead; used for bearing surfaces)[15]
Britannium (copper, antimony)
Pewter (antimony, copper)
Queen's metal (antimony, lead, and bismuth)
Solder (lead, antimony)
Terne (lead)
White metal, (copper or lead); used as base metal for plating, in bearings, etc.
Uranium

Staballoy (depleted uranium with other metals, usually titanium or molybdenum). See also #Iron above for Staballoy (stainless steel).
Uranium hydride (hydrogen)
Zinc

Zamak (aluminium, magnesium, copper)
Electroplated zinc alloys
See also
List of named alloys
List of brazing alloys
Complex metallic alloys
Heusler alloy, a range of ferromagnetic alloys (66% copper, cobalt, iron, manganese, nickel or palladium)
Intermetallic compounds
Pot metal; inexpensive casting metal of non-specific composition
Notes