Multi-material based functionally graded billets manufacturing through friction stir consolidation of aluminium alloys chips
New deal of Friction Stir Consolidation (FSC) is its evolution from Recycling technique towards Upcycling. In this paper, the potential of FSC to manufacture Functionally Graded billets is proved. Processing chips of two different aluminium alloys (AA7075, AA2011-T3), graded hardness distributions were obtained along the longitudinal direction of the manufactured billet. Material flow was analysed by EDX analyses and numerical simulations; mechanical properties were assessed through hardness measurements. The influence of material's position, mass fraction of each material and process parameters was considered. Results reveal that FSC offers a proper control in the design of billets with gr…
Life Cycle Assessment of aluminum alloys chips recycling through single and multi-step Friction Stir Consolidation processes
Manufacturing scientists have to find new processes enabling energy and resource efficient circular economy strategies. Solid state recycling processes have proved to be environmentally friendly alternatives to recycle aluminum alloys process scraps like chips. In this paper the environmental characterization of a solid state recycling process named Friction Stir Consolidation (FSC) is presented. A full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparative analysis is developed: the environmental performance of new and different variants of FSC processes and remelting based routes are quantified and compared to one another. Also, different scenarios are analysed to provide guidelines for the correct impl…
A novel approach to enhance mechanical properties during recycling of aluminum alloy scrap through friction stir consolidation
Solid state recycling (SSR) is a new approach for making metals recycling more efficient with respect to remelting-based approaches. Friction stir consolidation (FSC) is a new solid-state process that is employed to recycle metallic scraps. Until now, a single-step FSC process was applied to recycled metal chips. During the single-step approach, critical processes parameters, especially processing time and rotational speed, are considered vital to control the quality and mechanical properties of the billet. However, the effectiveness of process parameters is highly restricted by challenging masses of recycling chips and machine competency. The present study first highlights the issues of th…
Outlining the Limits of Friction Stir Consolidation as Used as an Aluminum Alloys Recycling Approach
Friction stir consolidation (FSC) is a solid-state process that recycles metal scraps economically and eco-friendly compared to the conventional melting method. The process parameters especially processing time and rotational speed, have a crucial role in achieving a sound disc during FSC. The current study answers the research question of how far these process parameters can be effective when the mass of chips to be recycled increases. In specific, an experimental setup was analyzed that was previously identified as challenging for recycling 20 g chips of aluminum alloy AA 2024-O. Rotational speed was set doubled, and processing time was increased up to 1.5 times of their initial values. T…