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Corrosion evolution and behaviour of Al–2.1Mg–1.6Si alloy in chloride media

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Abstract

Owing to the importance of finding better methods and technologies for protecting against corrosion of aluminium alloys, research into the electrochemical characteristics of the corrosion is an ongoing concern. In this paper, the corrosion behaviour of Al–Mg–Si alloys in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution was investigated using multiple methods, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), potentiodynamic polarisation measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results suggest that corrosion begins with dealloying of Mg, followed by conversion of MgSi particles into Al–Fe–Mn–Si particles. The corrosion rate increased until it reached a peak and then decreased. The increase in the corrosion rate may be attributed to an increased electrochemical driving force, which is produced by anodic dissolution between the matrix and residual MgSi particles. Additionally, the thin re-deposited layer of inert elements also plays an important role in accelerating the anodic process of the corrosion pit. The passivated corrosion pit and narrowed intergranular corrosion (IGC) pathway cause the area of active dissolution to decrease, thus reducing the corrosion rate.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Open Fund of Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Safety Design and Reliability Technology for Engineering Vehicle (No. KF1604) and the National Defense Foundation of China (No. 2011-006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Ya-Ya Zheng, Bing-Hui Luo, Chuan He, Yang Gao & Zhen-Hai Bai

  2. Key Laboratory of Safety Design and Reliability Technology for Engineering Vehicle, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha, 410114, China

    Ya-Ya Zheng

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Correspondence to Bing-Hui Luo.

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Zheng, YY., Luo, BH., He, C. et al. Corrosion evolution and behaviour of Al–2.1Mg–1.6Si alloy in chloride media. Rare Met. 40, 908–919 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-020-01472-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-020-01472-8

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