Microstructure and mechanical properties of a recycled aluminum alloy fabricated by consolidation of small pieces

The microstructure and mechanical properties of recycled AA6063 aluminum alloy rods fabricated by hot extrusion of forging compacts formed by upsetting compacts of small AA6063 aluminum alloy pieces with different Fe contents before and after T6 heat treatment were studied. In the as-extruded state and with the higher extrusion ratio of 25:1, the microstructure consists of fully recrystallized grains, but the high iron content regions exhibit clearly finer equiaxed grains due to the stronger grain boundary pinning and nucleation effects of a higher number density of Fe-rich phase particles. Increasing the extrusion ratio increases both the strength and ductility of the as-extruded material. The reason is that increasing extrusion ratio enhances the bonding strength of the prior boundaries between the strips formed by deformation of the small pieces. In the T6 heat-treated state, increasing the extrusion ratio from 9:1 to 25:1 clearly increases the fraction of fine and equiaxed grains. The enhancement of the bonding strength and the refinement of the microstructure with the increase of extrusion ratio cause the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength to increase from 174 and 221 MPa to 213 and 237 MPa, respectively, and the elongation to fracture to decrease from 22.1 to 15.4%. Solid-state recycled samples all exhibit a ductile fracture behavior despite formation of microcracks at the prior boundaries.