BS EN 515:2017

What is BS EN 515 about?  

BS EN 515 is a European standard on aluminium and aluminium alloys that discusses the criteria for manufacturing aluminium alloys and wrought products. BS EN 515 establishes temper designations for all forms of wrought aluminium and aluminium alloys and for continuously cast aluminium and aluminium alloys drawing stock and strip intended to be wrought. 

NOTE: Some of these temper designations may be subject to patent or patent applications and their listing herein is not to be construed in any way as the granting of a license under such patent right. 

Additional temper designations, conforming to this standard, may be standardized with CEN/TC 132 and AECMA/5 provided: 

 the temper is used or is available for use by more than one user; 

• Mechanical property limits are defined 
• The characteristics of the temper are significantly different from those of all other tempers which have the same sequence of basic treatments and for which designations already have been assigned for the same alloy and product 
• The following are also defined if characteristics other than mechanical properties are considered significant: 

1. a) Test methods and limits for the characteristics; or
2. b) The specific practices used to produce the temper.

Who is BS EN 515 for?  

BS EN 515 on aluminium and aluminium alloys is relevant to: 

• Manufacturers of aluminium and aluminium alloys 
• Aluminium technology centres and R&D laboratories 

Why should you use BS EN 515? 

Temper designations refer to variations of the physical properties that are achievable within an alloy. The alloys we extrude – wrought aluminium alloys – are either heat-treatable or non-heat-treatable. Both types are widely used. 

BS EN 515 provides the required guidance on basic temper designations such as fabricated, annealed, strain-hardened, solution heat-treated products. 

The temper designation system that BS EN 515 sets out enables users to understand the composition and characteristics of an alloy and how it was produced. BS EN 515 helps you efficiently manufacture high-quality aluminium alloys. With BS EN 515 you can be ensured that products consistently meet and exceed quality assurance targets 

What’s changed since the last update?  

BS EN 515:2017 supersedes BS EN 515:1993 which is withdrawn. 

The following modifications were implemented in this new version of EN 515: 

• Addition of Clause 2 “Normative references” 
• New definitions and sources in Clause 3, new precision in Subclauses 6.1, 7, and 7.3 
• New Table 1 and modification of Table 2 
• Improvement of the content of Clause 8.4, modification of Figure 1 
• Inclusion of new tempers in Table 3: T552, T554, T72, T72510, T72511, T74511, T7452, T7454, T7752, T7754, T7852, T7854, T7952 and T7954 
• Modification of new tempers in Table 3: H131, T3510