Fabrication of an aluminum, Caribbean-style, musical pan: Metallurgical and acoustical characterization

We report herein the first development and fabrication of a 6061 aluminum alloy pan and compare its tuning and acoustic spectra for selected notes with a standard low-carbon steel Caribbean pan fabricated from a 210-L barrel. The experimental aluminum alloy pan was completely manufactured by welding a 1.68-mm-thick head sheet to a 9-mm2 aluminum alloy hoop, sinking the head by pneumatic hammering and welding a 1.15-mm-thick aluminum alloy side or skirt to the hoop. This experimental pan was 0.66 m in diameter, in contrast to the 210-L steel barrel standard, which had a diameter of 0.57 m. Chromatic tones were observed for most rim notes on the aluminum alloy pan, but the highest octave range notes at the pan bottom were not tuned. Microstructural characterization by light optical metallography and transmission electron microscopy illustrated the necessity for high dislocation densities and associated hardness in order to stabilize the notes and to assure their chromatic tuning.