Desenvolvimento de uma fita condutora de corrente elétrica a partir de alumínio reciclado com potencialidade de aplicação na interconexão de células solares na montagem de módulos fotovoltaicos.

Abstract

This research had as objective to obtain a conductive ribbon of electric current, from secondary aluminum originating from the recycling of aluminum cans, aiming at its application as conductive busbar of electric energy to make the connection of sets of solar cells in the assembly of photovoltaic modules. To support the research, a Systematic Literature Review article was carried out, which aimed to carry out a scientific mapping of the current state of aluminum can recycling processes, foundry processes and formation of aluminum alloys in the last 15 years. The results of this research were presented through three articles. The first article presented the preliminary results, the second demonstrated the application of the experimental methodology and chemical characterization, and finally, the third article, presented the final results, concluding the research. The production of the electric current conducting tape occurred with the gravity casting process and later flow into a shell, designed specifically for the experiment. Alloy elements such as Cu and Mg were added to assess whether there would be improvements in the properties of the alloys, thus obtaining three alloys as samples: (A) alloy based on secondary aluminum; (B) Al - Cu alloy; (C) Al - Cu - Mg alloy. A homogenization process was applied to reduce the segregation of the heterogeneous structure of the cast ingots. In order to reduce the tape thickness to 0.5 mm, the cold rolling process was carried out. There were four (04) lamination passes, where the initial thickness was 4.04 mm, resulting in a reduction of 85.4% of the initial thickness, reaching (0.59  0.04) mm of final thickness. After each lamination pass, the annealing process was applied to restore the material properties for the following passes. The following tests were carried out: chemical analysis, optical micrograph and Wavelength Dispersive Spectroscopic (WDS), Vickers microhardness, traction, hardening level, anisotropy and electrical conductivity. In relation to microhardness, the samples were shown to be fragile, with high ductility, low plastic region with a limit of tensile strength close to the point of strain. The level of hardening, normal and planar anisotropy indicated a tendency for the material to be resistant to deformation, formation of ears and folds in the 45 º direction in the lamination direction, which justified the fractures on the sides of the tapes. Conductivity showed results between 45.96 and 47.67 IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard). It is concluded that the result obtained by the research was satisfactory in relation to the objective of producing a tape using 0.5 mm thick recycled aluminum and evaluating its electrical conductivity properties.