Research Projects
Aluminium
Microstructure and damage evolution of deformed recycled Al alloys
Using secondary/recycled aluminium alloys offers significant advantages due to the lower cost and much less energy consumption. However, numerous Fe-containing intermetallic compounds (IMCs) are formed in recycled Al alloys, some of which are detrimental to the mechanical properties. In this project, the correlation between microstructure and IMC-induced local damage will be investigated, with the aim of fundamentally understanding the effect of increasing Fe content on recycling 6xxx (Al-Mg-Si) type alloys. The methods based on 3D X-ray tomographic imaging/scattering and analytical electron microscopy will be developed to track the damage formation throughout deformation process. The metallurgical failure analysis will be further correlated with mechanical properties to guarantee higher performance and formability of recycled Al-Mg-Si wrought alloys and further use of recycled Al components.