Remelting of Aluminum Scrap Into Billets Using Direct Chill Casting

An as-cast aluminum billet with a diameter of 100 mm has been successfully prepared from aluminum scrap by using direct chill (DC) casting method. This study aims to investigate the microstructure and mechanical properties of such as-cast billets. Four locations along a cross-section of the as-cast billet radius were evaluated. The results show that the structures of the as-cast billet are a thin layer of coarse columnar grains at the solidified shell, feathery grains at the half radius of the billet, and coarse equiaxed grains at the billet center. The grain size tends to decrease from the center to the surface of the as-cast billet. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and the hardness values obtained from this research slightly increase from the center to the surface of the as-cast billet. The distribution of Mg, Fe, and Si elements over the cross-section of the as-cast billet is inhomogeneous. The segregation analysis shows that Si has negative segregation towards the surface, positive segregation at the middle, and negative segregation at the center of the as-cast billet. On the other hand, the Mg element is distributed uniformly in small quantities in the cross-section of the as-cast billet.