Solid-State Recycling of AA6063 Aluminum Chips via Accumulative Roll Bonding: A Green Pathway to High-Performance Materials

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Accumulative Roll Bonding (ARB) is a severe plastic deformation process typically used to produce ultra-fine-grained structures. This study investigates the feasibility of using the ARB process to recycle aluminum chips from an Al-Mg-Si alloy (AA6063). The chips were first compacted under a 200 kN hydraulic press and then directly hot-rolled at 550 °C without prior heat treatment to a final sheet thickness of 1.5 mm. Subsequent ARB cycles were then applied to achieve full consolidation. Mechanical properties were evaluated through tensile testing and microhardness measurements, while microstructure was characterized using Optical Microscopy and SEM-EBSD. These analyses revealed significant grain refinement and improved homogeneity with increasing ARB cycles. Mechanical testing showed that the ARB process substantially enhanced both tensile strength and hardness of the recycled AA6063 chips while maintaining good ductility. The best results were obtained after two ARB cycles, yielding an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 170 MPa and an elongation at rupture of 15.7%. The study conclusively demonstrates that the ARB process represents a viable and effective method for recycling aluminum chips. This approach not only significantly improves mechanical properties and microstructural characteristics but also offers environmental benefits by eliminating the energy-intensive melting stage.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1042
JournalMetals
Volume15
Issue number9
Number of pages16
ISSN2075-4701
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 09.2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 by the authors.

    Research areas

  • AA6063, accumulative roll bonding, aluminum, chips, EBSD, hot rolling, SEM, solid-state recycling, sustainable aluminum recycling
  • Engineering

DOI