The Corrosion Behavior of Al-Cu-Li Alloy in NaCl Solution

Abstract

Al-Cu-Li alloys are widely used in aerospace due to their excellent mechanical properties. However, the surface of Al-Cu-Li alloy components is prone to localized corrosion, when it serves in humid environments such as the ocean, due to the action of moisture in the air and Cl− in the atmosphere. Therefore, it is significant to study the corrosion performance of typical third-generation Al-Cu-Li alloys in a marine environment. The corrosion tests of the experimental materials are carried out in different concentrations of NaCl solution, and their morphology and maximum corrosion depth are characterized to evaluate their corrosion resistance at a particular time. The corrosion behavior of the third generation typical Al-Cu-Li alloys (2A97-T3, 2A97-T6, 2060-T8, and 2099-T83) and high-strength Al alloy 2024-T4 in solution containing Cl− is investigated using correlative immersion testing. The results show that 2A97-T3 possesses the best corrosion resistance performance of all under the same concentration of NaCl solution and soaking time. The corrosion resistance performance of 2024-T4 is respectively stronger than that of 2060-T8 and 2099-T83, but weaker than that of 2A97 (T3, T6). The corrosion morphologies of 2060-T8 and 2099-T83 are characterized by deep pits and large areas of exfoliation corrosion, while the corrosion morphology of 2099-T83 is the worst, indicating that its corrosion resistance is the weakest of all. The local corrosion preferentially occurred in the boundary region between intermetallic compounds or precipitates and alloy matrix in NaCl solution, and the lithium is selectively dissolved during the dissolution process, which brings about the enrichment of copper-containing residues. Subsequently, the copper-rich residue serves as the cathodic relative to the Al matrix, which leads to the anodic dissolution of the peripheral Al matrix occurs.