1. Challenges and advantages of recycling wrought aluminium alloys from lower grades of metallurgically clean scrapVaružan Kevorkijan, 2013, review article Abstract: In the recycling of wrought aluminium alloys from lower grades of scrap (metallurgically clean but highly contaminated with non-metallic impurities) the following two tasks were identified as the most demanding: (i) achieving the required final chemical composition of an alloy with a minimal addition of primary aluminium and alloying elements; and (ii) keeping the level of impurities (inclusions, hydrogen, trace elements and alkali metals) in the molten metal below the critical level. Because of the lack of chemically based refining processes for reducing the concentration of alloying and trace elements in the molten aluminium, once the concentrations of these constituents in the melt exceed the corresponding concentration limits, the only practical solution for their reduction would be an appropriate dilution with primary metal. To avoid such a costly correction, carefully predicting and ensuring the chemical composition of the batch in the pre-melting stage of casting should be applied. Fortunately, some of the impurities, like hydrogen and alkali metals, as well as various (mostly exogeneous) inclusions, could be successfully reduced by employing existing refining procedures. In this work, (i) the state-of-the-art technologies, including some emerging technical topics such as the evolution of wrought alloys toward scrap-intensive compositions, monitoring of the content of organics in the incoming scrap and the quality of molten metal achieved by different smelting and refining technologies, and (ii) the relevant economic advantages of the recycling of wrought aluminium alloys from the lower grades of scrap are reported. By analyzing the market prices of various grades of scrap and the total cost of their recycling, the cost of aluminium ingots made from recycled aluminium was modelled as a function of aluminium and the alloying-element content in the incoming scrap. Furthermore, scrap mixtures for producing aluminium wrought alloys of standard quality from lower grades of scrap and with a significant new added value were illustrated.
Keywords: wrought aluminium alloys, recycling, low grades of aluminium scrap, quality of recycled metal, economic benefits
Published in DKUM: 21.12.2015; Views: 1322; Downloads: 40
 Link to full text |
2. |
3. |
4. |
5. Characterization of cast Al86Mn3Be11 alloyTonica Bončina, Boštjan Markoli, Franc Zupanič, 2009, original scientific article Abstract: An Al86Mn3Be11 alloy cast into copper mould was subjected to metallographic investigation. The as-cast microstructure consisted of a quasicrystalline icosahedral phase (i-phase), Be4AlMn phase and, occasionally, a hexagonal phase. Al-rich solid solution represented the dominant phase. The chemical compositions of phases were determined using AES. The composition of the Be4AlMn slightly deviated from the stoichiometric composition, whereas the composition of the i-phase was approximately Al52Mn18Be30, containing an appreciable amount of Be. The average composition of the hexagonal phase was Al66Mn21Be13. Deep etching and particle extraction provided a deep insight into the three-dimensional morphology of the i-phase and the hexagonal phase, whereas Be4AlMn was slightly attacked by the etchant. The i-phase was present predominantly in the form of dendrites and a rodlike eutectic phase. The hexagonal phase was primarily in the form of hexagonal platelets, whereas Be4AlMn was rather irregular in shape. The morphology of the i-phase can be explained by predominant growth in 3-fold directions and the lowest energy of the 5-fold planes, leading to the faceting and adopting a pentagonal dodecahedron shape. The brightnesses of phases in the backscattered electron images were rationalized by determining their backscattering coefficients. TEM investigation showed considerable phason strain in the i-phase, and the polycrystalline nature of the Be4AlMn phase.
Keywords: aluminium alloys, deep etching, metallography, particle extraction, quasicrystal
Published in DKUM: 31.05.2012; Views: 2016; Downloads: 91
Link to full text |
