TY - JOUR

T1 - Solid-State Recycling of AA6063 Aluminum Chips via Accumulative Roll Bonding

T2 - A Green Pathway to High-Performance Materials

AU - Carta, Mauro

AU - Ben Khalifa, Noomane

AU - Buonadonna, Pasquale

AU - Aymerich, Francesco

AU - El Mehtedi, Mohamad

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 by the authors.

PY - 2025/9

Y1 - 2025/9

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - AA6063

KW - accumulative roll bonding

KW - aluminum

KW - chips

KW - EBSD

KW - hot rolling

KW - SEM

KW - solid-state recycling

KW - sustainable aluminum recycling

KW - Engineering

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105017465341&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/met15091042

DO - 10.3390/met15091042

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:105017465341

VL - 15

JO - Metals

JF - Metals

SN - 2075-4701

IS - 9

M1 - 1042

ER -