Integrated Casting-Extrusion (ICE) of an AA6082 Aluminium Alloy

An integrated casting-extrusion is proposed as a novel method for producing profiles of light alloys at low cost and high efficiency. Such a process has multiple advantages, including use of solidification heat, removing the multiple steps in conventional processes and eliminating casting defects. Integrated cast-extrusion experiments have been carried out using an AA6082 aluminium alloy, under usual casting conditions and 360 °C extrusion temperature. Experimental results revealed that deformation structure dominated in the as-cast-extruded state with a uniform microstructure and that, upon heat treatment, a uniform distribution of Mg2Si precipitations was obtained. EBSD measurements showed that, after T6-5h heat-treatment, a fine grain structure with an average grain size of 75 µm and well developed high angle grain boundaries was successfully achieved. The hardness of the alloy reached to 116 HV after 5 h aging at 180 °C, which is comparable to that reported for the same alloy processed by conventional routines.