Improving the Properties of Recycled Self-Hardening Aluminium Alloy for Application in Electric Vehicles

Abstract In recent years, the topic of environmental issues has become increasingly important in all areas of industry. As a result of European Union policy, there has been a significant increase in the number of electric vehicles. At the same time, there is an increasing emphasis on ecological and sustainable production. Due to their advantageous strength-to-weight ratio, aluminium alloys are widely used in automobiles and are a logical choice for electric vehicles. Aluminium recycling is a very efficient way of reducing production costs and emissions. Self-hardening aluminium alloys enable heat treatment to be omitted, leading to further energy savings. The limiting factor of secondary production is the insufficient purity of aluminium scrap, which leads to contamination with impurities. In particular, the negative impact of iron, which is found in higher content in recycled alloys after repeated recycling cycles, is well known. Its presence leads to a deterioration of the mechanical, fatigue and corrosion properties of aluminium alloys. This work examines ways to reduce iron content in AlZn10Si8Mg self-hardening alloy using a sedimentation experiment. The crystallization temperature of iron phases is higher than that of the matrix. Therefore, holding the material at a specific temperature is expected to cause iron phases to settle, reducing the iron content.