The Effect of Extrusion Ratio and Material Flow on the Mechanical Properties of Aluminum Profiles Solid State Recycled from 6060 Aluminum Alloy Chips

This paper presents the effect of the extrusion ratio (ER) on the mechanical properties of aluminum profiles solid state recycled from 6060 aluminum chips by hot extrusion. The chips were extruded through three different dies. The tensile test results and microstructures were discussed in comparison with the conventional profiles extruded with the same dies under the same extrusion conditions. The conventional profiles extruded with these three different ERs revealed almost the same mechanical properties. The profiles extruded from chips with an ER of 68:1 showed an approx. 20% higher strength and ductility compared to the profiles of an ER of 34:1, while the exerted pressure was not sufficient for welding the chips in case of an ER of 10:1. It was also shown that, by adjusting the material flow through the die, it was possible to recycle aluminum chips even at ERs as low as 10:1.