5052 o h14 h24 aluminum plate
“5052 O H14 H24 Aluminum Plate” sounds like a simple catalog label, but hidden in those letters and numbers is a complete story about how the same alloy can behave like three very different materials. Instead of thinking of 5052 as a single product, it is more accurate to think of it as a family of temper conditions that let designers “tune” the metal’s personality: soft and formable, balanced and stable, or strong and resilient.
From the alloy’s point of view, nothing fundamental changes. It remains the same magnesium‑bearing aluminum alloy with good corrosion resistance and weldability. What changes is its internal stress state, its grain structure, and the way it responds to bending, forming, vibration, and long‑term service. That is what the O, H14, and H24 designations are really telling you.
What 5052 Really Is Beneath the Surface
At its core, 5052 is an aluminum‑magnesium alloy. It is non‑heat‑treatable; in other words, its strength does not come from artificial aging like the 6xxx or 7xxx series. Instead, it relies on strain hardening and sometimes partial annealing. That is why temper codes beginning with H are so central to this alloy.
A typical chemical composition window for 5052 plate is:
- Magnesium (Mg): 2.2–2.8%
- Chromium (Cr): 0.15–0.35%
- Manganese (Mn): up to 0.10%
- Iron (Fe): up to 0.40%
- Silicon (Si): up to 0.25%
- Copper (Cu): up to 0.10%
- Zinc (Zn): up to 0.10%
- Other each: up to 0.05%
- Others total: up to 0.15%
- Aluminum (Al): balance
This combination is deliberately conservative on copper and zinc, both of which can undermine corrosion resistance in aggressive environments. Magnesium, on the other hand, both solid‑solution strengthens the metal and helps maintain good resistance to marine atmospheres and mild industrial pollutants. Chromium acts as a grain refiner and contributes to toughness and better fatigue behavior.
Because 5052 cannot be strengthened significantly by heat treatment, manufacturers use cold work—the controlled plastic deformation at room temperature—to increase its strength. How far they push that cold work, and whether they partially soften it again afterward, determines whether you end up with O, H14, or H24.
O Temper: The Alloy in Its Most Honest Form
In 5052‑O, the alloy is fully annealed. This is 5052 stripped of residual stress and strain, with the grain structure allowed to relax into a lower‑energy configuration. From a design standpoint, this is the temper you choose when severe forming is non‑negotiable.
Typical mechanical properties for 5052‑O plate are:
- Tensile strength: about 170–215 MPa
- Yield strength (0.2% offset): about 65–100 MPa
- Elongation: often 15–25% or more depending on thickness
The character of 5052‑O can be felt in the workshop. It pulls around tight radii without protest, flares, deep draws, and forms complex enclosures and pans with minimal springback. For parts such as fuel tanks, convoluted housings, or enclosures that must be flanged, hemmed, and drawn, this temper gives fabricators breathing room.
The tradeoff is obvious: it is the weakest of the three. For many applications, though, that is acceptable because 5052‑O still has much better strength than the very soft 1xxx series, and brings superior corrosion resistance and weldability. It is also the most forgiving temper for subsequent welding operations, since the weld‑affected zone is not drastically softer than the parent material.
H14 Temper: The “Working” Temper for Balanced Performance
If O temper is the alloy at rest, H14 is 5052 made fully alert. The sheet or plate is strain hardened and then allowed to recover just enough that it becomes stable in storage and service. In most product literature, H14 is described as “half hard” or “strain‑hardened to approximately half.” In practical terms, it is the condition where strength increases substantially and formability remains reasonable.
Typical mechanical properties for 5052‑H14 are:
- Tensile strength: about 215–265 MPa
- Yield strength: about 160–200 MPa
- Elongation: roughly 7–12% (thickness‑dependent)
This temper is a staple for panels, brackets, stiffened covers, and lightweight structural components. It bends cleanly at suitable radii, can be roll‑formed, and handles cutting, punching, and moderate drawing with little difficulty. It is also a popular choice for marine and transportation panels where the combination of strength and corrosion resistance must coexist with a need for flatness and good surface finish.
From a welding perspective, H14 illustrates an important reality: any thermal cycle that approaches annealing temperatures locally erases the cold‑work in the heat‑affected zone. Along a weld seam, the metal will revert to a state closer to O temper, while the remainder retains H14 properties. Designers who rely on H14 strength must consider this localized softening when specifying weld sizes, joint spacing, and stiffener placement.
H24 Temper: Strength with a Memory of Its Soft Past
H24 looks, on paper, like a simple label for “strain hardened and then partially annealed.” In practice, it is a way to tune 5052 to live between the traits of O and H14, with a bias toward higher strength but improved formability compared with a purely strain‑hardened condition.
Where H14 is strain hardened to a given level and held there, H24 is first strain hardened more severely and then taken through a controlled partial anneal. This dulls the sharpness of the work‑hardening, relaxes some internal stresses, and improves ductility, without returning all the way to the soft O condition.
Typical mechanical properties of 5052‑H24 are:
- Tensile strength: about 230–280 MPa
- Yield strength: about 180–230 MPa
- Elongation: often around 6–10%
In the workshop, 5052‑H24 feels a bit more cooperative than its numbers might suggest. It is stiffer and more resistant to denting than O, stronger and slightly less yielding than H14, yet not nearly as unforgiving as harder tempers like H34 or H38. It suits applications where panels must withstand handling, vibration, and occasional impact, while still allowing reliable bending and forming along specified lines.
Because of its higher strength, H24 plates are frequently seen in vehicle floors, toolboxes, pressure‑moderate vessels, and architectural cladding where both appearance and resistance to deformation matter. Like H14, the weld‑affected region will lose a significant portion of its strain‑hardened strength, so weld design remains critical.
Why the Temper Choice Matters More Than It Seems
The biggest mistake in specifying 5052 plate is to treat “5052” as the decisive description and view the temper as a minor detail. For many real‑world fabrications, the temper has more practical impact than the alloy number itself.
Consider three different views:
- The production engineer cares about bend radii, scrap rates, and tool life. For deep draws and severe flanges, O temper is the ally; for repetitive sharp bends, a move from H24 to H14 may cut cracking rates dramatically.
- The structural engineer focuses on stress margins and deflection. For the same thickness, H24 offers higher yield strength than O, allowing thinner sections or longer spans if forming is modest. In simulation, substituting H14 for O without adjusting yield assumptions is an easy way to under‑estimate safety factors.
- The maintenance planner thinks in terms of weld repair and field modifications. O temper is the least sensitive to post‑weld distortion and softening; H14 and H24 components will gain soft zones where weld heat spreads, which may become preferred locations for deformation or fatigue if not accounted for.
The underlying corrosion behavior remains notably similar across these tempers because the chemistry does not change; what does change is the residual stress profile, which can influence stress‑corrosion susceptibility in extreme environments. In marine atmospheres and typical industrial settings, 5052 in O, H14, or H24 retains its reputation for robust resistance, especially when paired with appropriate coatings or anodizing.
A Practical Way to Think About 5052 O, H14, and H24
A simple mental model can be helpful:
- 5052‑O: for parts that must survive the harshest forming operations and where strength is useful but not critical.
- 5052‑H14: for general‑purpose plate and sheet where you want a balanced compromise between formability and static strength.
- 5052‑H24: for components where you lean toward higher strength and stiffness without going to very hard tempers that make forming risky.
All three share the same backbone: a magnesium‑rich aluminum alloy with good weldability, non‑magnetic character, and dependable corrosion resistance. What changes is how intensely that backbone has been worked and how much of that work has been relaxed.
5052 from this viewpoint—one alloy, three distinct temper personalities—makes it easier to align material choice with how a part is formed, how it carries load, and how it will be repaired or adapted years after it leaves the factory.
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