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Unexpected Stress Corrosion Cracking Improvement Achieved by Recrystallized Layer in Al-Zn-Mg Alloy

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Abstract

To explore the correlation between the stress corrosion sensitivity and formation processing for high-strength Al-Zn-Mg alloy, extrusion surface and the matrix were investigated by microstructural characterizations, electrochemistry, and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) tests. Larger, but with low density and discontinuity, grain boundary precipitates (GBPs, − 60 nm and − 3.7% area fraction) and intermetallic particles (IMPs, − 0.5% area fraction) were achieved in the secondary recrystallized (SR) coarse-grained layer compared with the non-recrystallized matrix. The maximum Volta potential differences between the IMPs and Al matrix were about 373 mV, causing the pitting initiation by micro-galvanic effect. The decreased pitting density and the low residual stress in the SR layer reduced the available initiation sites for SCC. Thus, the SR layer acted as a barrier layer to reduce the SCC susceptibility of the extruded Al-Zn-Mg alloy in Cl−-containing environments.

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Fig. 1

taken from the extruded Al-Zn-Mg alloy

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2017YFB0702300), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. FRF-TP-19-003B2), and the Leading Talent Engineering Project for Taishan Industry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Key Laboratory for Corrosion and Protection (MOE), Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Min Ao, Chaofang Dong, Ni Li, Li Wang, Yucheng Ji, Xiaoguang Sun, Kui Xiao & Xiaogang Li

  2. Shandong Nanshan Aluminium Co., Ltd., Longkou, 265706, China

    Liang Yue

  3. Aerospace Research Institute of Materials & Processing Technology, Beijing, 100076, China

    Shiwen Zou

  4. Technical Engineering Department, CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co. Ltd., Qingdao, 266111, China

    Xiaoguang Sun

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  1. Min Ao
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Ao, M., Dong, C., Li, N. et al. Unexpected Stress Corrosion Cracking Improvement Achieved by Recrystallized Layer in Al-Zn-Mg Alloy. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 30, 6258–6268 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-021-05856-4

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