Investigation of microstructure and hardness of recycled aluminum seamless tube using friction stir consolidation

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Urmia University of Technology

2 Department fo Manufacturing Engineering, Urmia University of Technology, Urmia, Iran

Abstract

In this study, a double-step friction stir consolidation process was used to recycle aluminum machining chips and convert them directly into seamless tubes. This process was done in two steps. At the first step, the machining chips are poured into a cylindrical chamber, then a rotating tool with a certain rotational speed and feed rate whose axis is in line with the chamber axis is moved and placed into the chips. Due to the creation of frictional heating, the temperature inside the chamber rises and the movement continues until all the chips are compressed and merged to form a cylindrical bulk material. At the second step, a rotating tool with different geometry and smaller dimensions is used than in the first step. The tool is placed on the created part in the first step with a predetermined rotational and linear speed, leading to indirect extrusion of aluminum from the sides of the tool upwards and producing a seamless tube. In order to study the resulting microstructure and hardness of different regions in the produced tubes, an optical microscope and Vickers hardness tester were used, respectively. The results of this study showed that the tubes produced by this method are without defects and the microstructure resulting from recrystallization has been created in them. Also, the results of the hardness test showed that the average hardness at the bottom and walls of the samples decreased by 20% and 27%, respectively, compared to the as-received aluminum.

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Iranian Journal of Manufacturing Engineering
Volume 8, Issue 11
February 2022
Pages 35-42

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