The Mechanical Properties of ALCA PlusTM Cast Aluminum Amplifier Top Plates

The amplifier top plates are monolithic, cast aluminum structures from which the amplifier frame assembly units (FAUs), and the line-replaceable flash lamp units (LRUs) inside them, are hung on the support rails in the laser bays. When fully assembled, each plate must support a static weight of 10,600 or 16,000 pounds, depending upon whether two or three loaded FAUs are attached. The top plates are fabricated from ''ALCA Plus{trademark}'', a zinc-containing aluminum casting alloy similar in composition to some standard alloys in the 7000-series. For electrical reasons, all of the plate with the exception of the support ''ears'', is encased in epoxy as shown in Figure 1. The nominal chemistry of the aluminum alloy is summarized in Table 1 and the nominal mechanical characteristics are summarized in Table 2. For comparison, wrought alloys of similar composition in the 7000-series have ultimate strengths of approximately 33-76 ksi and elongations of 11-17%, depending upon the temper.