Due to the increasing scarcity of resources, demands regarding energy-efficient recycling for aluminum are growing. Direct solid-state recycling of aluminum chips promises significant energy savings compared with conventional re-melting recycling processes, while reducing material loss due to combustion. Spark plasma sintering (SPS) is a new, innovative approach of solid-state recycling. The application of the SPS process enables complete welding of the chips and thus allows significantly optimized material characteristics to be expected. The basic objective of this research project is to investigate the influence of oxide layers on the resulting component properties of solid-state recycled chips on the basis of SPS. The envisaged process chain, consisting of cold pressing, SPS and cold extrusion, should guarantee the production of homogeneous and nearly defect-free components. The process-related microstructural properties of the material will be correlated with the mechanical properties, resulting in a structure-based analysis of the damage mechanisms, the understanding of which is mandatory for the design of optimal process conditions.

Duration: 2021 until 2023