Effect of Various Forms of Aluminum 6082 on the Mechanical Properties, Microstructure and Surface Modification of the Profile after Extrusion Process

Abstract

This article presents a method of reusing aluminum scrap from alloy 6082 using the hot extrusion process. Aluminum chips from milling and turning processes, having different sizes and morphologies, were cold pressed into briquettes prior to hot pressing at 400 °C at a ram speed of 2 mm/s. The study of mechanical properties combined with observations of the microstructures, as well as tests of density, hardness and electrical conductivity were carried out. On the basis of the results, the possibility of using the plastic consolidation method and obtaining materials with similar to a solid ingot mechanical properties, density and electrical conductivity was proven. The possibility of modifying the surface of consolidated aluminum scrap was tested in processes examples: polishing, anodizing and coloring. For this purpose, a number of analyses and tests were carried out: comparison of colors on color histograms, roughness determination, SEM and chemical composition analysis. It has been proven there are differences in the surface treatment of the solid material and that of scrap consolidation, and as such, these differences may significantly affect the final quality.

Keywords

• recycling
• 6082 aluminum alloy
• plastic consolidation
• mechanical properties
• microstructure
• surface modification