Skrzekut Tomasz, Wędrychowicz Maciej, Piotrowicz Andrzej
Faculty of Non-Ferrous Metals, AGH University of Science and Technology, A. Mickiewicza Av. 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland.
Institute of Materials and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Zielona Gora, Prof. Z. Szafrana Street 4, 65-516 Zielona Gora, Poland.
Materials (Basel). 2023 Oct 18;16(20):6745. doi: 10.3390/ma16206745.
The paper presents the comparison of two methods of recycling aluminum from HDD platters-the melting method and the method of plastic consolidation. The main elements of HDD memory, i.e., data carriers (platters), were examined via the percentage share of the total HDD mass and also via EDS analysis. The most common are platters made of the aluminum alloy series 5XXX, which are covered with a thin magnetic layer made of nickel. The research involved removing data carriers from about 30 HDDs and fragmenting them. The next step was to divide the platters into three groups; one was melted, the second was subjected to plastic consolidation, and the third group was fragmented into chips and also subjected to the consolidation process. Then, in the process of co-extrusion, rods were extruded from each material, and were subjected to EDS analysis, microstructure testing, Vickers hardness, and uniaxial tensile tests, and then the obtained results were compared. The obtained results of the microstructural tests in the case of gravity cast material confirmed the presence of the Al3Ni globular phase in the matrix. In the case of pressed and extruded materials, the Al3Ni phase appeared at the Ni-AlMg contact. After plastic consolidation, all the tested rods were characterized by their comparable strength properties (a tensile strength of 250 MPa and yield strength of 105 MPa).
本文介绍了从硬盘盘片回收铝的两种方法——熔炼法和塑料固结法的比较。通过在硬盘总质量中的百分比份额以及能谱分析（EDS分析）对硬盘存储器的主要元件，即数据载体（盘片）进行了检测。最常见的是5XXX系列铝合金制成的盘片，其覆盖有一层由镍制成的薄磁层。研究包括从约30个硬盘中取出数据载体并将其破碎。下一步是将盘片分成三组；一组进行熔炼，第二组进行塑料固结，第三组破碎成芯片并也进行固结过程。然后，在共挤出过程中，从每种材料挤出棒材，并对其进行能谱分析、微观结构测试、维氏硬度测试和单轴拉伸试验，然后比较所得结果。重力铸造材料的微观结构测试所得结果证实了基体中存在Al3Ni球状相。在压制和挤压材料的情况下，Al3Ni相出现在Ni-AlMg接触处。经过塑料固结后，所有测试棒材的强度性能相当（抗拉强度为250MPa，屈服强度为105MPa）。
