Sustainable Lifecycle of Perforated Metal Materials

Abstract

In an era of rapidly growing consumer demand and the subsequent development of production, light materials and structures with a wide range of applications are becoming increasingly important in the field of construction and mechanical engineering, including aerospace engineering. At the same time, one of the trends is the use of perforated metal materials (PMMs). They are used as finishing, decorative and structural building materials. The main feature of PMMs is the presence of through holes of a given shape and size, which makes it possible to have low specific gravity; however, their tensile strength and rigidity can vary widely depending on the source material. In addition, PMMs have several properties that cannot be achieved with solid materials; for example, they can provide considerable noise reduction and partial light absorption, significantly reducing the weight of structures. They are also used for damping dynamic forces, filtering liquids and gases and shielding electromagnetic fields. For the perforation of strips and sheets, cold stamping methods are usually used, carried out on stamping presses, particularly using wide-tape production lines. Other methods of manufacturing PMMs are rapidly developing, for example, using liquid and laser cutting. An urgent but relatively new and little-studied problem is the recycling and further efficient use of PMMs, primarily such materials as stainless and high-strength steels, titanium, and aluminum alloys. The life cycle of PMMs can be prolonged because they can be repurposed for various applications such as constructing new buildings, designing elements, and producing additional products, making them more environmentally friendly. This work aimed to overview sustainable ways of PMM recycling, use or reuse, proposing different ecological methods and applications considering the types and properties of PMM technological waste. Moreover, the review is accompanied by graphical illustrations of real examples. PMM waste recycling methods that can prolong their lifecycle include construction technologies, powder metallurgy, permeable structures, etc. Several new technologies have been proposed and described for the sustainable application of products and structures based on perforated steel strips and profiles obtained from waste products during stamping. With more developers aiming for sustainability and buildings achieving higher levels of environmental performance, PMM provides significant environmental and aesthetic advantages.