Materials Chemistry and Physics, Vol.126, No.3, 607-613, 2011
Intergranular corrosion behavior of the 7075-T6 aluminum alloy under different annealing conditions
The effect of annealing conditions producing various grain sizes on the intergranular corrosion behavior of high-strength aluminum alloy type 7075-T6 was investigated using electrochemical polarization techniques. Aluminum alloy specimens with large grain size exhibited lower breakdown potentials in deaerated 0.5 M NaCl solution. The breakdown potentials decreased with increasing grain size. Microscopic observations of the exposed surfaces during potentiostatic polarization testing showed that the coarse grain structure promotes intergranular crack growth. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.