Effect of surface depletion of lithium on corrosion behaviour of aluminium alloy 8090 in a marine atmosphere

Abstract

Aluminium-lithium alloy 8090 is of great interest due to its low density and good mechanical properties. The high reactivity of lithium, however, makes it more prone to corrosion than other aluminium alloys, limiting its use in certain fields. In general, there is an intergranular attack with exfoliation in the most severely attacked sections of this alloy in marine and industrial environments. This attack also depends on the metallurgical history of the material, i.e. the part of the ingot from which the specimens are extracted. After one and two years' exposure to a moderately aggressive marine atmosphere, it was found that the materials taken from the centre of the ingot have a more widespread attack than specimens taken from the edges. This might be explained by the differing composition of the specimens according to their origin; more precisely, by the uneven distribution of the lithium, which tends to spread though the matrix of the ingot and form a lithium-impoverished layer several microns deep as a consequence of the series of thermal treatments applied.