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Recycling and Formulation of Aluminum Scrap via Mass

Balance Die Casting and Forming
a a
Luay B. Hussain & Issa A. Ali Hakim
a
School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, USM , Penang, Malaysia
Published online: 15 Sep 2010.

To cite this article: Luay B. Hussain & Issa A. Ali Hakim (2007) Recycling and Formulation of Aluminum Scrap via Mass Balance
Die Casting and Forming, Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 22:7-8, 916-921, DOI: 10.1080/10426910701451796

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10426910701451796

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 Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 22: 916–921, 2007
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1042-6914 print/1532-2475 online
DOI: 10.1080/10426910701451796

Recycling and Formulation of Aluminum Scrap via Mass

Balance Die Casting and Forming
Luay B. Hussain and Issa A. Ali Hakim

School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering,

USM, Penang, Malaysia

In this article, two approaches were implemented; first approach is Formulation of 360.0 and 413.0 aluminum alloys using mass balance
method with the aid of X-ray florescence (XRF) analysis and electron microscopy from aluminum scraps such as beverage cans, aluminum engine
components, and low aluminum alloys were achieved. Mechanical properties, tensile, bending, and hardness of recycled alloys were discussed.
One-way/terminal, angled, two- and four-ways electrical conduit fitting by die-casting were successfully produced. Second approach is a die for
corrugation manufacturing process. The aluminum thin sheets of beverage aluminum cans as coiled sheets were cut and corrugated, then adhesive
was applied to the nodes, and sheets were staked and cured to produce the core filled with recycled paper and rubber, and subsequently the
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honeycomb panel was made by means of adhesion of two aluminum plates on the top and bottom of the honeycomb core. Compression test
on honeycomb sandwich Panel (HSP) sample, 3-Point bend test, heat conduction, and sound damping for structural applications are applied and
discussed.
Keywords Aluminum 360.0; Aluminum 413.0; Aluminum recycling; Conduit fittings; Corrugation process; Die-casting; Honeycomb; Mass
balance; SEM aluminum microscopy; XRF analysis.

1. Introduction assembly have been recognized as strong structures. Testing

Recycling of aluminum is a major advantage to industry and optimization proved that trusses sandwich panels
in materials competitions for major product markets due construction sustain loads at lower relative densities than
to waste reduction, and resources and energy conservation. stochastic foams.
The energy requirements for the conversion of aluminum Honeycomb cores are used in the fabrication of
scrap are low when compared with the energy consumed lightweight structures typically used in the aerospace
in primary aluminum production. Consumer sensitivity and commercial panel applications. The core material
to environmental issues and the solid-waste crisis are is typically “sandwiched” between skins of aluminum
highly concerned. Economic advantages are based on the or other high-strength composite material. A bonding
relative value and availability of aluminum scrap. Same adhesive is used to attach the “skin” material to the
alloy composition is easily re-melted with little loss. honeycomb core. The resultant honeycomb panel offers one
Used aluminum beverage cans, wasted car engine pistons, of the highest strength-to-weight constructions available.
and aluminum alloy scraps are valuable. Collecting and For instance, the floor panels of most airliners use
reformulating them using mass balance [1] for recycling is the lightweight/high strength construction of honeycomb.
a great way to raise funds and useful products. Aircraft Engine nacelles, flaps, overhead bins, and galleys
Aluminum is a light material, yet some of its alloy has are all constructed from honeycomb core [4].
strength greater than that of structural steel. It has good There are two aims of the present investigation. Firstly,
electrical and thermal conductivities and high reflectivity to it is to formulate two types of aluminum alloys 360.0
both heat and light. It is highly corrosion-resistance under and 413.0 from recycled aluminum alloy scraps using
great many service conditions and nontoxic environment. mass balance approach. Secondly, forming and rolling
Aluminum can be cast and worked into almost any form thin aluminum strips (0.145–0.45 mm) through stamping
and can be given a wide variety of surface finishes die directly cut from aluminum beverage cans and
[2]. Hydn et al. [3] studied fabrication and structural recycled aluminum sheets into semi-hexagonal honeycomb.
performance of periodic cellular metals sandwich structures, Adhesive is applied to the nodes surface and stacked to
and found that novel fabrication and topology design bond them together to make the honeycomb core. Thin
tools can be used to produce an important new structure aluminum honeycomb sandwich panels, 10–16 mm, for
consisting of metallic sandwich panels with periodic and thermal insulation and sound damping have been produced
open-cell cores. Fabrications by sheet-forming of paper and tested.
and polymeric egg-boxes and trusses as well as textile
2. Materials and experimental procedures
2.1. Method of Mass Balance Approach to Formulate
Received October 10, 2006; Accepted March 15, 2007
Address correspondence to Luay B. Hussain, School of Materials
Both Aluminum Alloys 360.0 and 413.0
and Mineral Resources Engineering, USM, Engineering Campus 14300 Aluminum alloy 360.0 gives the best performance
Niboing Tebal, Penang, Malaysia; E-mail: [email protected] in resistance to hot cracking and strength at elevated
916
 RECYCLING AND FORMULATION OF ALUMINUM SCRAP 917

temperatures [1, 5, 6]. Besides, it is also good in anti- Table 3.—Weight and percentage of aluminum alloys to be added.
soldering to the die, resistance to corrosion, electroplating,
Materials Weight (g) Percentage (%)
and pressure-tightness. Aluminum alloy 413.0, gives
best performance in resistance to hot cracking, pressure Cans 100 57.20
tightness, die-filling capacity, and anti-soldering to the die. Engine components 72 41.20
Other than that, it also has high resistance to corrosion Extra iron 2.86 1.60
Total 174.86 100
[5, 6]. Sample preparation was based on collection of
beverage cans and engine components. Using the mass
balance approach, the weight and elemental analysis of
cans, engine components and additional metal (Fe, Ni, Zn,
Sn, and Cu) are calculated. X-Ray fluorescent (XRF) and well as extra iron should be equal to those elements in the
scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis to check that standard A 360.0.
these alloys comply with the standard was implemented. For 9.5% Si of 360.0 aluminum alloy
For the formulation of aluminum alloy 360.0, the weight
percentage of elemental compositions should be obtained


064 2335 95
from the standard for mass balance calculation and is shown 100 + X=
100 + X + Y 
in Table 1. Then the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis is 100 100 100
applied on the aluminum scraps. Table 2 shows the XRF 134X − 95Y = 936 (1)
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chemical compositions analysis obtained of beverage cans

and engine components.
Assuming that the weight of aluminum cans is 100 kg, For 2% Fe of 360.0 aluminum alloy
aluminum engine components is X kg, and extra iron is
Y kg, we obtain a total weight of
100 + X + Y  kg.


025 054 2
According to mass balance law, the total weight of 100 + X+Y =
100 + X + Y 
elemental compositions in cans and engine components as 100 100 100
−1457X + 98Y = 175 (2)

Table 1.—Composition of aluminum alloy 360.0 standard.

Solving Eqs. (1) and (2), find X = 72 and Y = 286.
Si Fe Cu Mn Mg Ni Zn Sn Other Al Therefore, suitable weights of aluminum alloys scrap
9.0–10.0 2.00 0.60 0.35 0.4–0.6 0.50 0.50 0.15 0.25 Bal should be added to form aluminum alloy A360.0 followed
by percentage calculation as shown in Table 3. However,
the information from Tables 1–3 the elemental compositions
can be evaluated. Table 4 shows the overall total mix (in kg)
Table 2.—XRF of chemical compositions analysis of beverage cans and
engine components.
to produce aluminum 360.0 that comply with the standard.
Similarly, the calculation to produce Alloy aluminum
Al Alloys Si Fe Cu Mn Mg Ni Zn Tin Ti Al 413.0 from recycling aluminum can be obtained with some
Cans 0.64 0.25 0.17 0.73 1.24 0.01 0.84 0.05 0.03 Bal
adjustment with some adjustment by adding some Fe, Cu,
Engine 23.35 0.54 1.92 0.10 0.11 0.06 0.45 0.05 0.03 Bal Ni, Zn, and Sn elements to comply with aluminum 413.0
components standard as shown in Table 5.

Table 4.—Calculated elemental compositions of alloy aluminum 360.0.

Al alloys Al Si Fe Cu Mn Mg Ni Zn Sn Ti Total

Cans 96735 0638 0.253 0169 0734 1239 0.008 0.084 0.05 0029 100
Engine component 52815 16815 0.395 138 0072 00756 0.041 0.322 0.036 00288 72
Mix I 14955 17454 0644 + 286 1549 0806 13146 0049 + 049 0406 + 027 086 + 010 00528 1764
Total of mix I 14955 17454 3.504 1549 0806 13146 0.539 0.676 0.96 00528 1764
Percent (%) 8478 989 1.96 088 046 075 0.30 0.38 0.54 003 100

Table 5.—Calculated elemental compositions of aluminum alloy 413.0.

Al alloys Al Si Fe Cu Mn Mg Ni Zn Sn Ti Total

Cans 96735 0638 0.253 0.169 0734 1239 0.008 0.084 0.05 0029 100
Engine component 7585 2415 0.56 1.98 0112 0109 0.056 0.465 0.056 00288 10340
Mix I 17255 2479 0913 + 355 2149 + 1251 0846 1348 0164 + 084 0546 + 027 011 + 01 00528 18458
Total of mix I 14955 2479 4.463 3.4 0846 1348 1.004 0.818 0.21 00528 18583
Percent (%) Bal 133 2.4 1.8 046 073 0.54 0.44 0.11 003 100
 918 L. B. HUSSAIN AND I. A. A. HAKIM

Table 6.—Calculated and measured chemical composition of Al 360.0 and

Al 413.0 standards.

Results (weight %)

Al 360.0 Al 413.0

Component Standard Calculation XRF Standard Calculation XRF

Al REM REM REM REM REM REM

Mg 0.4–0.6 0.75 0.35 0.35 0.75 0.50
Si 9.0–10.0 9.89 9.70 11.0–13.0 13.30 10.50
Ti 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02
Mn 0.35 0.46 0.40 0.35 0.40 0.30
Fe 2.00 1.96 0.40 2.00 2.40 2.50 Figure 2.—Tensile properties for separately cast test bars of alloy 413.0 at
Ni 0.50 0.30 0.20 0.50 0.54 0.56 elevated temperature.
Cu 0.60 0.88 0.80 1.80 1.80 1.80
Zn 0.3 0.38 0.25 0.50 0.44 0.60
Sn 0.35 0.54 0.30 0.15 0.11 0.59
for improvements in strength, especially at elevated
temperature. Magnesium contents in both castings are
somewhat lower. Copper content in A413.0 casting is
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3. Results and discussion as much as three times higher than in 360.0 casting.
3.1. Method of Mass Balance Approach Magnesium is the basis for hardness development and
Interestingly, the XRF elemental analysis of (A360.0) and strength in aluminum alloys. Copper substantially improves
(A413.0) castings showed significant consistency with that strength and hardness. Copper decreases cast ability and
of standards especially with major elements as depicted in reduce hot tear and corrosion. Nickel is usually employed
Table 6. Addition of iron may improve hot tear resistance with copper to enhance elevated-temperature properties.
and decrease the tendency for die sticking or soldering in Typical tensile properties for recycled cast test bars of alloy
die-casting. 360.0 and 413.0 at elevated temperature are shown in Figs. 1
However, an increase in iron content is accompanied and 2, respectively.
by substantially decreased ductility and makes it easy to It seems that the ductility of both types is low
crack. Essentially, insoluble iron phases are responsible and comparable at room temperature. However, 360.0
showed better mechanical properties at room temperature in
comparison with 413.0. This may be due to the fact that the
content of Fe and Ni in 413.0 is high. If the content of these
two elements is not under control, die-casting products may
become susceptible to cracking. Figure 3 shows a typical
die-casting crack free 360.0 aluminum recycled products
with crack defect recycled 413.0 aluminum products. The
crack is due to high iron content. SEM and Energy
Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses on recycled 360.0 and
413.0 aluminum alloys can be seen in Fig. 4.
The EDX analysis of aluminum alloy 360.0, shown in
Fig. 4(a); regions A and D show a silicon-rich aluminum
phase, while region B consist of aluminum-rich phase. This
is consistent with the binary phase diagram Al–Si. The
Figure 1.—Tensile properties of cast test bars of alloy 360.0 at elevated precipitate shown in region C consisted of three elements,
temperature. Al, Si, and Fe. Region C may contain  phase.  is an

Figure 3.—Die-casting of recycling aluminum, (a) Crack free two- and four-ways terminal box. (b) Crack (12 mm long) along one way of two ways 413.0
aluminum terminal box.
 RECYCLING AND FORMULATION OF ALUMINUM SCRAP 919

Figure 4.—SEM micrograph of (a) Recycled A360.0 and (b) Recycled A413.0 aluminum.
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Figure 5.—(a) Corrugate rolling die was designed and fabricated in house to corrugate various width of wrought and from directly recycled aluminum beverage
cans. (b) Corrugated recycled strips.

intermetallic phase, namely, written as Al3 Fe. However, Recycled paper is shredded and then blended to fill the
some silicon and chromium maybe dissolve in this region. honeycomb cells for thermal insulation; sound damping,
The EDX of aluminum alloy 413.0, as shown in Fig. 4(b) and strength purposes. Face sheets made of thin aluminum,
consist of four regions. Region A contains Al and other glass fiber, epoxy, and recycled papers epoxy are fixed onto
elements such as Fe, Si, Cr, and Ni. This region most likely top and bottom of honeycomb core. The produced panels
is an Al3 Fe intermetallic phase. Region B is aluminum-rich (Fig. 6) were tested [10] in the application of bending
phase. However, region C consists of Al, Si, Fe, and Cu, strength, compression strength, impact strength, thermal
while region D consists of Al, Si, and Cu. The average insulation, and sound damping. Typical results are shown
Brinell hardness, BHN, of 413.0 is 95, while for A360.0 is below.
61; this is due the fine microstructure of recycled Al 413.0 Density 0.28 g/cm3 , Compression Modulus 875 MPa,
compared with Al360.0 (Fig. 4). Stabilized Compression 3.9 MPa, Longitudinal shear
2.1 MPa, Longitudinal Modulus 388 MPa, Transverse Shear
1.3 MPa, Transverse Modulus 194 MPa, Bending stiffness
3.2. Direct Corrugated Thin Aluminum Strips 305 Nm2 , and Shear Stiffness 219 × 103 N.
Some problems were solved in a way of producing
the honeycomb core (e.g., the aluminum strips tend to
fracture by shear). A great time was spent during the
fabrication process and corrugating the strips into hexagonal
honeycomb when using stamping dies [8, 9]. A new die was
designed to overcome these problems, as shown in Fig. 5(b).
Improvement properties of honeycomb sandwich panel
(especially mechanical properties) are expected. Fabrication
of many strips in a short time and without any shearing can
be established. Tests of efficiency of the die were conducted,
and many materials—Kraft Paper, aluminum cans, and
polyethylene Polymers—with different thicknesses were
successfully fabricated. It shows high efficiency and no
defect. Figure 6.—Produce recycled honeycomb panels.
 920 L. B. HUSSAIN AND I. A. A. HAKIM

Figure 7.—(a) Temperature (
C) vs. Time (s) for nondamped area (top line) and honeycomb damping area (bottom line), the thermocouples adjacent to the
panel, (b) the thermocouples 10 cm from each sides of the panel.

In the thermal conductivity test, a testing model was built recycled aluminum scraps such as beverage cans and engine
elsewhere [7–9]. A heating device applied heat on one side components to formulate A360.0 and A413.0 aluminum
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of the testing model while the panel was placed at the center. alloys. However, some alloying elements such as Fe, Ni,
The temperature differences, T1 and T2 , were measured by and Cu need to be adjusted to comply with the standard
using thermocouples inserted on both sides of the panel for both alloys. Caution must be considered regarding these
at two distances one close to the panel, and the other at elements. Higher level of Fe and Ni than that stated in
a distance around 10 cm from the panel. The temperatures the standard, failure due cracking may happen during die-
were recorded every 30 seconds until steady state was casting.
reached with a total thermal resistance of 1.873 m2 ·
C/W A honeycomb sandwich panel made from recycled
calculated using the approach presented in Ref. [4]. All aluminum materials, total thickness 16 mm, can be
the data was transferred into a graph for evaluation. The
fabricated using a corrugation machine, whereby the
honeycomb sandwich panel caused temperature damping
through increment from 51 to 37
C for the final stabilized machine can corrugate a strip of recycled aluminum in
equilibrium temperature from initial 24
C at start point, a short time (3 sec) without any shearing. During the
when the two thermocouples replaced adjacent to the panel thermal insulating test sandwich honeycomb panel, after
(Fig. 7). 2880 seconds, causes temperature reduction of 51.8% and
When the two thermocouples placed close to the 73.9% at edge and 10 cm distance from the honeycomb
honeycomb sandwich panel, the sandwich reduced about sandwich panel, respectively, with a total thermal resistance
51.8% of the temperature through it after 2880 seconds of 1.873 m2 ·
C/W. At different frequencies between 150 Hz
[Fig. 7(a)]. However, for distances around 10 cm between and 2500 Hz, the honeycomb Sound Transmission Loss, TL;
thermocouples and the honeycomb sandwich panel, the values in the range of 5–9 db were achieved.
sandwich insulated 73.9% of the temperature after 2880
seconds [Fig. 7(b)]. The honeycomb sandwich panel did
not show significant dependence on the frequency value References
of sound wave, but however gave considerable reduction 1. Hussain, L.B.; Soon, W.E. Mass balance approach to formulate
to the amplitude. Table 7 shows that the honeycomb 380.0 electrical conduit fittings from recycled aluminum alloy
sandwich panel damped considerable quantity of sound as scraps. Materials and Manufacturing Processes 2001, 16 (3),
transmission loss TL, although this is not an ideal test 375–386.
method but the result shows that there is a great amount 2. William, F.S. Structure and Properties of Engineering Alloys;
of sound loss after it was damped by honeycomb sandwich 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill, Inc. USA, 1993. pp. 176.
panel compared to raw sound transmitted. 3. Wadely, H.N.G.; Fleck, N.A.; Evans, A.G. Fabrication and
structural performance of periodic cellular metal sandwich
4. Conclusion structures. Composite Science and Technology 2003, 63 (16),
It is possible to apply the mass balance method with 2331–2343.
aid of SEM and XRF analysis to predict the quantity of 4. Bitzer, T. Honeycomb Technology; Chapman and Hall, 1997; 11
p., 14 p., and 98 p.
5. ASM Handbook, Formerly Tenth Edition, Metal Handbook,
Table 7.—Sound transmission loss (TL) for testing honeycomb sandwich Volume 2, Properties and Selection Nonferrous Alloys and
panel. Special Purpose Materials, Second Printing, January 1992,
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Sandwich panel
Machine to Produce Thermal Insulation and Sound Damping
 RECYCLING AND FORMULATION OF ALUMINUM SCRAP 921

Honeycomb Sandwich Panels. University Science of Malaysia, 9. Shaari, M.S. M.Sc. thesis. Fabrication of Honeycomb Sandwich
2004. Panel for Sound Damping and Thermal Insulation. University
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