Céline Larignon

Corrosion Damages Induced by Cyclic Exposure of 2024 Aluminum Alloy in Chloride-Containing Environments

This paper focuses on the influence of cyclic exposure to chloride solutions on corrosion damage morphology developed on AA2024. The influence of the temperature during the air exposure periods was studied. Cyclic corrosion tests led to enhanced global corrosion damage compared to continuous immersion tests with residual mechanical properties of corroded samples significantly lower for cyclic tests. The corrosion morphology depended on the exposure conditions. For cyclic tests with air exposure periods at room temperature (CR tests), the corrosion defects were significantly longer; for a cyclic test with air exposure periodsat -20 °C (CF tests), the propagation of corrosion defects was not promoted; however, the density of corroded grain boundaries was markedly increased. For CR samples, the corrosion damage observed was mainly explained taking into account electrochemical processes occurring at the tip of the defect which could be considered as an occluded zone characterized by a chloride-enriched electrolyte and Hþ reduction as major cathodic reaction. For CF tests, the interaction between the stresses induced by the phase transformation of the medium i.e solidification and the hydrogen enrichment of the substrate could be a possible mechanism explaining the evolution of the global mechanical properties of the corroded samples

Evaluation of the Local Chloride Concentration and the Local Mechanical Stresses in Intergranular Damages Grown on a 2024 Aluminum Alloy

The corrosion behavior of a 2024 T351 aluminum alloy exposed to a chloride solution was studied in the present paper. The work was focused on the effect of an environmental and thermal cyclic exposure to corrosive media and aimed to identify the main parameters explaining the changes observed between continuous and cyclic immersion tests. Optical and scanning electron microscope observations showed an increase of the intergranular corrosion damage with the extension of the corrosion from the grain boundaries to the subgrain boundaries for samples exposed to cyclic tests. An experimental set-up, including a laser beam, allowed mechanical stresses induced by the solidification of the electrolyte trapped in the corrosion damage during exposure to negative temperatures to be revealed and the chloride concentration of the electrolyte to be determined. Results were helpful in proposing corrosion mechanism during thermal and environmental cyclic exposure to chloride solutions.