Abstract
The improvement in corrosion resistance of WE43 was well realized by heat treatment. To study the influence of microstructure on the corrosion behavior of WE43 in as-cast and heat-treated conditions, an immersion test was employed with as-cast and heat-treated samples in the 3.5% NaCl solution. The corrosion rate and change of morphology were recorded and the corrosion behavior was further investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicated that the corrosion rate of the WE43 alloy decreased after heat treatment. It was observed that the eutectic gradually damages the protective film on the surface of the as-cast WE43 in the process of corrosion, which further increases the corrosion rate. The Zr-rich phase formed a domed structure resulting in the adjacent area being further corroded. The Y-rich phase has little effect on the corrosion reaction.
Highlights
Magnesium has the preponderance of its weight as structural metal and it has the advantages of high specific strength, high specific stiffness and strong energy absorption ability, which can well meet the current trend of “lightweight”
WE43-T5 was investigated by employing thickness of the corrosion layer of the alloy since it may punch through and damage the layer
The cathodic reaction occurs in the Zr-rich phase, which generates more hydroxide and increases the pH value, producing more Mg (OH)2 corrosion films, which alleviates the corrosion rate of WE43 to some extent
Summary
Magnesium has the preponderance of its weight as structural metal and it has the advantages of high specific strength, high specific stiffness and strong energy absorption ability, which can well meet the current trend of “lightweight”. It has attracted extensive attention in automobile, 3C industry, military, aerospace and other fields [1]. As the most active metal among all industrial alloys, the standard electrode potential of magnesium is −2.37 V, which is about 2 V lower than that of iron and about 0.7 V lower than that of aluminum [3,4], it means that Mg alloys are prone to oxidation and corrosion in the working environment without any treatment [5]. The corrosion rate of Mg alloy products will be reduced by coating [6,7,8,9], alloying [10,11,12,13,14]
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