Microstructure evolution of a recycled Al-Fe-Si-Cu alloy processed by tube channel pressing

Although excellent recyclability is one of the advantages of Al alloys, a recycling process can reduce different properties of these alloys by adding coarse AlFeSi particles into the alloys' microstructures. One of the well-known methods for modifying the microstructure of metallic materials is the imposition of severe plastic deformation (SPD). Nevertheless, the microstructure evolutions of recycled Al alloys containing extraordinary fractions of AlFeSi particles during SPD processing have seldom been considered. The aim of the present work is to study the microstructure evolution of a recycled Al-Fe-Si-Cu alloy during SPD processing. For this purpose, tubular specimens of the mentioned alloy were subjected to different numbers of passes of a recently developed SPD process called tube channel pressing (TCP); their microstructures were then studied using different techniques. The results show that coarse AlFeSi particles are fragmented into finer particles after processing by TCP. However, decomposition and dissolution of AlFeSi particles through TCP processing are negligible. In addition, TCP processing results in an increase in hardness of the alloy, which is attributed to the refinement of grains, to an increase of the dislocation density, and to the fragmentation of AlFeSi particles.