Corrosion behavior of 2195 and 1420 Al-Li alloys in neutral 3.5% NaCl solution under tensile stress

Abstract

The corrosion behaviors of 1420 and 2195 Al-Li alloys under 308 and 490 MPa tensile stress respectively in neutral 3.5% NaCl solution were investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) and scanning electron microscope(SEM). It is found that the unstressed 1420 alloy is featured with large and discrete pits, while general corrosion and localized corrosion including intergranular corrosion and pitting corrosion occur on the unstressed 2195 alloy. As stress is applied to 1420 alloy, the pit becomes denser and its size is decreased. While, for the stressed 2195 alloy, intergranular corrosion is greatly aggravated and severe general corrosion is developed from connected pits. The EIS analysis shows that more severe general corrosion and localized corrosion occur on the stressed 2195 Al-Li alloy than on 1420 Al-Li alloy. It is suggested that tensile stress has greater effect on the corrosion of 2195 Al-Li alloy than on 1420 Al-Li alloy.