A-242 Aluminium Alloy Foams Manufacture from the Recycling of Beverage Cans

Abstract

This paper presents and discusses a methodology implemented to study the process of the preparation of aluminium alloy foams using the alloy A-242, beginning from the recycling of secondary aluminium obtained from beverage cans. The foams are prepared by a melting process by adding 0.50 wt.% calcium to the A-242 aluminium alloy with the aim to change its viscosity in the molten state. To obtain the foam, titanium hydride is added in different concentrations (0.50 wt.%, 0.75 wt.%, and 1.00 wt.%) and at different temperatures (923, 948 K, and 973 K) while the foaming time is kept constant at 30 s. For a set of experimental parameter values, aluminium alloy foams with the average relative density of 0.12 were obtained and had an 88.22% average porosity. In this way, it is possible to state that the preparation of aluminium alloy foams A-242 processed from the recycling of cans is possible, with characteristics and properties similar to those obtained using commercial-purity metals.

Keywords

• aluminium alloy foam
• recycling
• beverage cans
• direct foaming method
• A-242 alloy