Effect of chemical composition variation on microstructure and mechanical properties of a 6060 aluminum alloy

The 6XXX series aluminum alloys (Al-Mg-Si) are widely used in many different engineering and architectural applications. These alloys usually undergo a thermal treatment, which consists of a heat treatment solution and artificial aging, since the desirable mechanical properties depend on the microstructural state of the material. The recycling of materials has been increasing recently for economic and ecologic reasons. By using scrap was raw material, important reductions in energy and total costs can be achieved, and, at the same time, negative environmental impacts can be greatly reduced. In the present work, the possibility of using a larger amount of scrap as raw material in the production of an AA 6060 alloy is evaluated by analyzing the difference in microstructure and mechanical properties between a commercial 6060 alloy and a variation with higher Fe and lower Si contents that was specially produced for this study. Both materials were placed into a heat treatment solution at 560 °C for 1 h, and then underwent water quenching followed by artificial aging at 180 °C for different periods of time. Hardness and tension tests were used to evaluate the mechanical properties. Light and transmission electron microscopy have been used to determine important features such as grain size before and after being placed into the heat treatment solution, and the characteristics of the second-phase particles in the two materials. This study leads to the conclusion that a higher amount of scrap material can be used in the production of 6060 Al alloy without significant changes in mechanical properties compared with the more usual compositions.