ABSTRACT
Of the structural materials used in construction, aluminum was the latest to be introduced into the
market place even though it is the most abundant of all metals, making up about 1 12
of the earth’s
crust. The commercial process was invented simultaneously in the United States and Europe in 1886.
Commercial production of the metal started thereafter using an electrolytic process that economically
separated aluminum from its oxides. Prior to this time aluminum was a precious metal. The initial uses
of aluminum were for cooking utensils and electrical cables. The earliest significant structural use of
aluminum was for the skins and members of a dirigible called the Shenendoah completed in 1923. The
first structural design handbook was developed in 1930 and the first specification was issued by the
industry in 1932 (Sharp 1994).
