Recycling of additive manufactured AlSi10Mg and its effect on mechanical properties

Energy savings and sustainability have become the critical factors for economic development. Recycling of aluminum has been studied for a long time. It is well known that there is a significant difference in terms of energy consumption when comparing primary and secondary aluminum. Alternative production methods have been developed and additive manufacturing (AM) of aluminum has become popular in the recent years. AM has many advantages such as the flexibility of geometry. There are almost no design limits since the part is produced layer by layer. In this work, for the first time, the properties of recycled AM AlSi10Mg was compared with both AM and cast alloy. Statistical analysis was carried out to characterize the changes. It was found that yield strength was decreased in recycled AM, whereas ultimate tensile strength values were almost the same as in the cast alloy. For elongation at fracture, the average value for recycled AM was higher than cast alloy, however the reliability and reproducibility was low compare to cast alloy.

Automated summary

Energy savings and sustainability are critical for economic development, and recycling of aluminum has been a long-studied area. In recent years, additive manufacturing (AM) of aluminum has gained popularity due to its advantages such as flexible geometry and no design limits. This study compared the properties of recycled AM aluminum with both AM and cast alloy, and conducted statistical analysis to characterize the changes. The results showed that the yield strength decreased in recycled AM, while the ultimate tensile strength values were similar to the cast alloy. The average elongation at fracture for recycled AM was higher than the cast alloy, but the reliability and reproducibility were lower compared to the cast alloy.