International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET)

Volume 6, Issue 9, Sep 2015, pp. 133-142, Article ID: IJMET_06_09_014

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ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359
IAEME Publication

EFFECT OF HOLDING TIME ON

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF
RECYCLING ALUMINIUM ALLOY AA6061
THROUGH BALL MILL PROCESS
Ahmed Sahib Mahdi
Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn
Malaysia (UTHM), 86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia;
Southern Technical University, Iraq
Mohammad Sukri Mustapa, Mohd Amri lajis
Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn
Malaysia (UTHM), 86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia
Mohd warikh abd Rashid
Engineering Materials Department, Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti
Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal,
Melaka, Malaysia
ABSTRACT
The present study is aimed at investigating a Mechanical properties of the
milled recycling Aluminium type AA6061 according to the change of the
Holding time. Using the milling process and followed by a cold press forging
process. In the study, the chip sizes of AA6061 that produced from high speed
milling were used. Milling process was used to produce smaller particles of
aluminium chips by the planetary ball mill. Mechanical property of the milled
recycled chip of AA 6061 was studied. Three values of Holding time were
taken (10, 15, 20) min. On the other hand, four types of particle size were
chosen (25, 63, 100, mix) m. The results were showing that the compression
strength and Microhardness increased with increasing the Holding time until
20 min after that will be decreased due to the cracks will be taken place. It can
be concluded, (20 min) is the best choice for all groups. On the other hand, the
type DII (mix) was given the best result for Compression strength and
Microhardness compare with others according to particle size.
Key word: Holding Time, AA6061, Ball Mill, Powder Metallurgy,
Mechanical Properties.

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Ahmed Sahib Mahdi, Mohammad Sukri Mustapa, Mohd Amri lajis and
Mohd warikh abd Rashid

Cite this Article: Ahmed Sahib Mahdi, Mohammad Sukri Mustapa, Mohd
Amri lajis and Mohd warikh abd Rashid, Effect of Holding Time on
Mechanical Properties of Recycling Aluminium Alloy Aa6061 through Ball
Mill Process, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and
Technology, 6(9), 2015, pp. 133-142.
http://www.iaeme.com/currentissue.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=6&IType=9

1. INTRODUCTION
Total primary aluminium consumption in the world was off 50.2 million tonnes in
2013. China is the main user of the primary aluminium worldwide, with 23.2 mil
tonnes in 2013. Europe (7.2 mil tonnes) and North America (5.5 mil tonnes) continue
to be key regions for the consumption of primary aluminium [1].
In metal industries, waste and scrap metals that remain after manufacturing
processes are chip and discards. These waste materials are reused by returning them to
smelters. However, during melting processes of materials for recycling, many metals
are lost due to occurring oxidation and costs of labour, energy and environmental
protection expenditures [2, 3].
In the metal forming process, one of the most important parameters of metal
products is the surface quality. Manufacturers always intend to improve the surface
quality of metal products by employing all kinds of new technologies. As a main
parameter of surface quality, surface roughness have been always a focused factor. On
metal forming process, the surface roughness evolution depends on many parameters
such as original surface Microstructures (grain size and texture) [4-6].
6xxx Al-Mg-Si alloys have been widely used in automotive body panels as main
substitute materials for weight reduction. These alloys have a combination of good
formability, good corrosion resistance and remarkable strengthening potential due to
the formation of a large number of nano-sized [7]. Metals, compared to other
materials, have the highest potential for systematic recycling due to: i) their high
economic value, ii) the large scrap volumes, enabling economies of scale, as well as
iii) their distinctive feature of excellent recyclability. Nevertheless, the contamination
of the metal streams each time that re-circulates from residuals (alloying and foreign
elements), especially those for which the removal from the melt is problematic, makes
processing more difficult [8]. The chips deriving from the machining of semi-finished
aluminium products are very difficult to recycle by conventional methods due to their
elongated spiral shape, small size, surface contamination with oxides, machining oil,
etc.. In the recent years, some alternative processes have been suggested to recycle
aluminium chips by powder metallurgical techniques [9]. The milling process has a
big influence on the characteristics of recycled aluminium chip, changing the
spherical morphology of as-received chip during the milling process to flatten one due
to particle deformation followed by welding and fracturing particles of deformed and
hardened enough which allows to receive equiaxial particle morphology again [10].
The research work presented in this paper focuses on understanding the effect of the
milling process of aluminium alloy chip and the influence of holding time on the
obtaining a good compact sample for testing. Hence the Aluminium alloy compacted
samples are compacted by hydraulic press. The value of pressure and mechanical
properties are studied on the green compact which clearly shows the outcome of a
good compact for testing.

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Effect of Holding Time on Mechanical Properties of Recycling Aluminium Alloy Aa6061

Through Ball Mill Process

2. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
2.1. Material
Aluminium metal AA6061 is a silver-white metal that has a strong resistance to
corrosion and malleable. Then, it has a widely using in the industry. It is a relatively
light metal compared to metals such as steel, nickel, brass and copper with a specific
gravity of 2.7 gm/cm3, the mechanical properties for Aluminium AA6061 is shown in
Table 1.
Table 1 Mechanical properties of Aluminium AA6061 (ASTM B308/B308M)
Yield Strength
MPa
240

Tensile Strength
(MPa)
260

Density
gm/cm3
2.7

Hardness
(Vickers)
107

Zinc stearate will be used as a binder to make the compaction process easier.

2.2. Chip production

Firstly, chip was produced by using CNC milling machine, type HSM (SODICK
MC430l), Feed rate (1100 mm/min), Depth of cut (1.0 mm), cutting velocity (345.4
m/min).

2.3. Chip cleaning and drying

Aluminium chip particles were cleaned by ultrasonic bath apparatus. Type Fritsch
(ultrasonic cleaner labarette 17). The duration was 1 hour for each patch. After that, it
is treated with acetone solution for 20 min. Finally, the drying process was used by
furnace type (Kuittho Linn High Therm) for 1 hour.

2.4. Milling process

After that, the chip was milled by planetary ball mill type (Retsch PM100) under
conditions of the speed (350 r.p.m) and time (20) HR. The ratio of ball to powder
(r.b.p) was 20:1.

2.5. Aluminium particles sieving

Aluminium particles sieving was used by vibrator apparatus type (Fritsch analysette
3) with maximum interval time 5 second. Three sizes were classified (25,63,100) m.
Table 2 shows the classification of specimens according to particle size. So, table 3
shows the classification of specimens according to applied to the Holding time.
Table 2 classification of specimens according to particle size
AII
BII
CII
DII

Particle size (25 m)

Particle size (63 m)
Particle size (100 m)
Mix (78.5% (25 m) + 21.5% (100 m) )

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Ahmed Sahib Mahdi, Mohammad Sukri Mustapa, Mohd Amri lajis and
Mohd warikh abd Rashid
Table 3 classification of specimens according to applied to the Holding time
Particle size
(25 m)

Particle size
(63 m)

Particle size
(100 m)

Mix (78.5% (25 m)

+ 21.5% (100 m) )

AII1

BII1

CII1

DII1

AII2

BII2

CII2

DII2

AII3

BII3

CII3

DII3

Applied to Holding
time (10 mins)
Applied to Holding
time (15 mins)
Applied to Holding
time (20 mins)

2.6 Mixing theory

The high performance of the percentage of particle size is referred to as milled
particle size bulk having mechanical properties exceeding that of normal strength of
milled particle size. Figure 1 shows the concept of mixing method for particle size.
200 m

100 m
200 m

Figure 1 the concept of mixing method for particle size

Figure (4.28) shows the relationship if the particle size is 100 m has been taken.
Thus, The area of particle size is (
) (7850 m2). The the area of all four
2
particles is (31400 m ). The area of the square is (40000 m2).
The ratio of particle size to the square =

In this sample, the content is (78.5% (100m) + 21.5% (25m))

2.7. Mixing and compaction

Ball mill machine was used for mixing the powders (1hr for time) and (300 r.p.m for
speed) to make sure that the distribution was completed. The composition of mixture
to produce the samples between (AA6061) and (Zinc stearate) was regular along the
size that equal to 99% of AA6061 and 1% of zinc stearate.
Cold compaction of powder blends was performed in this study. Cold compaction
was performed at room temperature (RT). In cold compaction, the mixed powder with
a given amount of lubricant was pressed by uniaxial hydraulic operated press, The die
was supported by two circular blocks of iron to allow uniform movement of the die

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Effect of Holding Time on Mechanical Properties of Recycling Aluminium Alloy Aa6061

Through Ball Mill Process

during compaction, The cleaned surfaces of die wall and tools (upper and lower
punch) were sprayed with a lubricant-saturated solution

2.8 Sintering process

Sintering process is to provide extra bonding between atoms. The atomic diffusion
takes place and welded areas formed during compaction will increase the connection
by sintering process. The sintering will be controlled over heating rate time;
temperature and atmosphere are required for reproducible results.
The equipment used during sintering process is tube furnace as shown in Figure 2,
the inert gas used during the process is Argon gas. Then, enter the specimen metal
(Aluminium and metal carbide) into the tube furnace, The temperature used is
followed by sintering profile Figure 3. Sintering Temperature was taken according to
the rule.
Sintering Temperature = (0.7-0.9) Tm
Hence: Tm = melting point

Figure 2 Sintering furnace.

Figure 3 Sintering procedure.

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Ahmed Sahib Mahdi, Mohammad Sukri Mustapa, Mohd Amri lajis and
Mohd warikh abd Rashid

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Compression strength, Microhardness and Microstructure were investigated in this
study. , the surface of a manufactured part generally has properties and behaviour that
is considerably different from those of its bulk. Although the bulk material generally
determines the components overall mechanical properties, the components surface
directly influences several important properties and characteristics of the
manufactured part. The compressive strength is the capacity of a material or structure
to withstand loads tending to reduce size. It can be measured by plotting applied force
against deformation in a testing machine. Some materials fracture at their compressive
strength limit, others deform irreversibly, so a given amount of deformation may be
considered as the limit for compressive load. Compressive strength is a key value for
design of structures.

3.1. Effect of holding time on compression strength

compression strength
(Mpa)

The Holding time is the main parameter that affect on the compressive strength of of
the compacted specimen. Figure 4 describes the relationship between the Holding
time and compression strength for all the suggested samples. Three values of Holding
time were used. The values were 10, 15 and 20 mins. It is noted that the compression
strength increases with increasing of hanging compaction pressure for all the
suggested samples (AII, BII, CII, DII).
The relation between Holding time and compression pressure was Direct
proportional. Then, when the holding time was increased thats mean the compression
strength to become stronger.
The maximum value was upon the mix (DI) which equal to (155) Mpa due to
there are very little of pores because it has various particle sizes of powder While (BI)
and (CI) have one size of particle therefore they have more pores. Then, the
compression strength were (112) and (111) Mpa respectively. Hence, (AI) has little of
pores due to the particle size was smaller. Hence, the compression strength was (148)
Mpa
200

AII (25 m)
BII (63 m)
CII (100 m)
DII (mix)

150
100
50
0
0

10

20

30

Holding time (min)

Figure 4 relation between Holding time and compression strength for AII, BII, CII, DII

3.2. Effect of Holding Time on Microhardness

Eight values for each sample was taken to calculate the average. Figure 5 shows the
results of Vickers Microhardness tests of the four groups. (AII, BII, CII, DII).
These groups were noted. The biggest one was (DI) because it has a large amount
of grain boundaries, therefore it has big value of hardness which was (64HV) .While

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Effect of Holding Time on Mechanical Properties of Recycling Aluminium Alloy Aa6061

Through Ball Mill Process

Microhardness (HV)

(CI) has the lower one, which was (51HV) due to it has big particle size and pores.
Whereas (AI) and (BI) have values between them which were (54HV) and (52HV)
respectively. Generally, the relationship between Holding time and Microhardness is
Direct proportional. It is observed that the Microhardness increases with increasing
holding time.
70

AII (25 m)
BII (63 m)
CII ( 100 m)
DII ( mix)

60
50
40
30
9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Holding Time (min)

Figure 5 the relationship between Holding time and Microhardness for the groups (AII, BII,
CII, DII).

3.3. Effect of Holding Time on Microstructure

Figures 6,7,8,9 show the microstructure of groups (AII, BII, CII, DII).Three values of
time were taken which was (10,15,20) min .It is observed from these figures, the less
time has more pores and it has concluded lowest compression strength, so the higher
Time can be seen on microstructure has lower pores, higher bonding and higher
compression strength. That means, the increasing of Holding time leads to an increase
in the strength and Microhardness of compacted metal.

Figure 6 effect Holding time on Microstructure of AII (25 m powder)

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Ahmed Sahib Mahdi, Mohammad Sukri Mustapa, Mohd Amri lajis and
Mohd warikh abd Rashid

Figure 7 effect Holding time on Microstructure of BII (63 m powder)

Figure 8 effect Holding time on Microstructure of CII (100 m powder)

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Effect of Holding Time on Mechanical Properties of Recycling Aluminium Alloy Aa6061

Through Ball Mill Process

Figure 9 effect Holding time on Microstructure of DII (mix powder)

CONCLUSION
In this work, the chip sizes of AA6061 that produced from high speed milling are
used and the mechanical property of the recycled chip of AA 6061 was studied. The
mechanical properties test was used to maximize the ultimate compression strength
for different particle size. Four groups were used for this study (25,63,100, mix of
them) m. It can be shown that the mix group (DII) has a bigger value for this study.
On the other hand, three specimens were used for each group (10,15,20) min. It can
be concluded that the longer holding time will be higher the Ultimate compression
strength value and higher Microhardness value.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank to University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM)
for sponsoring this work and short term Grant No. U 358.

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