Characterization of Heater-Cooler Blocks Fabricated from Aluminium Wastes for Steady-State Thermal Application

Abstract

Recycling of aluminium (Al) from waste aluminium scraps for fabricating aluminium casts is a waste management technique suitable for reducing environmental pollution. The aluminium casts can be further processed into different materials of engineering interests such as heater-cooler (thermal) blocks. In this study, the microstructural characterization of aluminium cast fabricated from recycled aluminium waste and adapted for use via the (steady-state technique) as heater-cooler blocks required in the determination of the thermal conductivity of conducting solid composites was investigated. The characterization was investigated using the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Displacer Spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF). The XRD result confirms the crystalline structure of aluminium on the fabricated aluminium cast. The elemental composition results confirmed that the fabricated cast contains 90% Al, with Silicon (Si) accounting for about 8% of the chemical composition while the remaining 2% was contributed by C, O, Fe, Zn, and Cu. The compositional change observed during characterization was attributed to the recycling process used in fabricating the aluminium cast.