Metal-based systems allowing the use of scrap to prepare aluminum alloys

Abstract

The amount of scrapped structures and components made of aluminum alloys is constantly growing along with the increase in the demand for the use of aluminum alloys in various industrial sectors. Uzbekistan has been showing a trend of developing industrial production at a pace typically observed in highly developed countries. In Uzbekistan, the aluminum alloys are used for widespread applications in construction, engineering, energy, chemistry and chemical technology, etc. Due to lack of primary aluminium production facilities in the country, there is a need for the collection and deep processing of the scrapped parts that have fulfilled their useful life. This practice is well implemented and working well for the collection of parts from Al – Si based alloys, also called silumins. The composition, structure and properties of many secondary silumins, which have found application in mechanical engineering, have been developed and improved. For alloys of the Al – Si system, most of research activities focused on property improvement through microalloying as well as improvements in the casting technology and heat treatments. However, it is too early to talk about a systematic approach to improving the operational properties of silumins. This also fully applies to alloys of other systems based on aluminum, for example, Al – Mg alloys, also called magnalias. For Uzbekistan, this is very important, since, as analysis shows, the aluminum alloys of 6XXX family are predominantly used for the construction and building structures. After the development of the first secondary wrought alloy of aluminum with the main alloying element with magnesium, many works were published with the results on improving the composition, structure, properties, processing technologies of secondary magnesia. The published works are notable for the inconsistency of the authors’ positions on microalloying systems and the thermal treatment of secondary magnalias. Regarding silumins, all the results are experimental, there is no systematic approach to the development of new and improvement of the properties of existing alloys from scrapped parts. Based on the experimental results, the article proposes an attempt of a systematic approach to the choice of alloy composition, microalloying systems, optimization of the composition of aluminum alloys for industry.