Effects on Mechanical Properties of Solid State Recycled Aluminium 6061 by Extrusion Material Processing

Abstract

In this research, mechanical properties of recycled 6061 aluminium alloy, produced by solid state recycling through extrusion, were compared to as-received billets. Aluminum 6061 chips were extruded using a hot extrusion machine. The effects of extrusion parameters on the mechanical properties of the produced recycled 6061 aluminium alloy were investigated. The objective of the study was to analyze the mechanical and structural features of the alloy after plastic consolidation. The extrusion processes were conducted at different preheat temperatures and preheat times, while the ram speed was kept constant. The findings of the study highlighted the potential of combining the extrusion process parameters as an efficient processing route for production of high quality and high-performance type of extruded billets. Tensile test results showed that, material extruded at 550°C exhibited better mechanical properties compared to that extruded at 400°C. The higher temperature resulted in a higher tensile strength being produced, at the expense of a trade-off in ductility. Overall, it was revealed that, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation (ETF) of the produced recycled 6061 aluminium through extrusion exhibited mechanical and structural properties comparable to those of the as-received billets.