Help Me Identify This Metal

Oops, just found a mistake in my calculation of Vol. so I'm modifying my answer.

Are you sure your calculation are correct?

I think you were originally correct, it's aluminum.

From the dimensions you gave, the OD would be 6.516" and it would have a volume of 167.968 in³, or 0.002753 m³.

If the weight were 45 pounds the density would be 7,416 kg/m³.

If the weight were 50 pounds the density would be 8,240 kg/m³.

The table here indicates aluminum to have a density of 2560-2640 kg/m³.

It also indicates beryllium copper, or beryllium, or brass or even brass, or tin, or possibly a stainless steel. So I guess i'm not much help.

You are correct. I recalculated and came up with 19.5#. I compared that with two 10# dumbbells I have and it was comparable.

Ronsetto - you are such a peanut! Why didn't you simply weigh the metal in the first place, then turn around and measure it's water displacement? It is about 5th grader physics, my man. I think you were just have a lazy moment, and wanted someone to think for you. At the risk of sounding like Lyn (whom I mostly agree with), do your homework then come ask for help.

Another way to test metals on the cheap: use a hardness test. Or you could measure the modulus of the metal and compare that. Or you could buy or even rent a PMI gun and X-ray it and get most of the elemental composition.

By the way, your specimen is not Aluminum, it is Munimula.

http://www.scrapmetaljunkie.com/241/the-spark-test-and-spark-testing-metals-2

I believe carbon in the metal is what differs in a Spark test. It could/would separate it from ferrous and non ferrous metal.

Titanium will have bright white sparks with no orange.

What I remember about Physical Metallurgy, when we did spark test to determine 1035, 1040 and 1045 material, it helped to know you had (3) known samples and to do the spark test to assign the metal type to the spark.

But when you have an unknown material, it does make it more difficult.

Have you tried filing the end to help identify the material?

I wouldn't use it for anything critically structural however.

Hastelloy maybe..have to check the specs.

About the right size for a mini-turbo jet engine.....

http://hackerthings.com/product/un-30-mini-turbojet-engine-100194

.....or a mini steam engine....

http://blog.dugnorth.com/2010_01_01_archive.html

So the things to do to gain more certainty about what it might be include:

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1. Spark test as suggested by Fredski in #3

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2. More accurately determine density:

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_a. Determine a more accurate volume by filling a tub on a stable surface till it just spills over into a graduated measuring glass. Empty and replace the glass, then lower the piece slowly in. You can stop lowering and pull it back out t empty the glass, just keep tract of the graduated measurement totals

_b. Determine a more accurate weight at the Post Office, or maybe Office Depot or perhaps the checkout or deli at the grocery store will assist.

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3. Look closely at the color of the metal. Also, tell us if it was painted, and what the surface condition it.

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4. Attempt to ascertain hardness. For example, typical stainless alloys are pretty soft and easy to scratch while some tool steel will scratch glass (but most tool steel is strongly ferromagnetic, which you have indicated it is not). Is it easy to leave an indention?

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5. Test the resistance of the piece from end to end and calculate resistivity, or compare it to the resistance of other known samples off similar length and cross section.

You might also might apply a little nitric acid and see how much is darkens.

You already know how to calculate the density, but that's not a unique identifier especially if the metal is an alloy. Best bet is to take it to a college that has a chemistry lab and let them do a spectrographic analysis on it, anything else is simply guessing.

wheres the fun in that?!!

File a little bit of the metal, aluminium has a quite distinctive smell. I've attached a sample smell here but may not work unless you have Smell-O-Vision on your PC.

Some of the "Monel" Nickle/Copper based alloys would fall into the correct density range. Monel is often supplied as extruded tube for use in the Oil/Gas, Shipping & Chemical Process industries.

I once worked in a non ferrous foundry that made propellors. One of the alloys we used was a brass mixed with stainless steel and that material WAS magnetic! Go figure!

It may even be a type of cast iron.

If it is machined it may be a White Metal bearing.

It is fun to speculate but a worthless waste of time. So why am I still here?

Jim

316 Stainless Steel is slightly magnetic.

If there is a large recycler near your area, and they are relatively up to date, they will be able to identify the metal for you.

They use a device that vaporizes a small spot on the metal, and analyses the emitted light spectrum and gives a metal type based on spectral analysis.They may have a charge for this service, because the analysers are very expensive, but they pay for themselves in separating the various metals for resale.Various grades of aluminum vary greatly in their value, as does stainless.

My vendor who performs Positive Material Identification, PMI, has his hand held machine loaded with about every material comparison possible including precious metals. The chemistry within a tested part allows material determination to the closest standard material designation. PMI would be my first method chosen to identify an unknown material.

Yes, but attempting to grade various carbon steels with a PMI gun is futile. It cannot tell normal black pipe from boiler tubing grade material, mainly since it cannot read the low atomic number elements such as carbon.

I have heard good things about laser spark spectroscopy, however, and those instruments can be also set up for positive materials identification, with excellent results, as always it depends on the care and training of the operator.

if it is 300 series Stainless or anything similar - then really the only test that will tell you is if you can find someone nearby with a handheld Spectrometer you can use, like Niton Analyser. If it is Stainless, you def. will want to know exactly what grade as the corrosion resistance and other properties differ so greatly from 316 to say 201 grade.