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Effect of grain size on corrosion of high purity aluminium

journal contribution
posted on 2011-01-15, 00:00 authored by K Ralston, Daniel FabijanicDaniel Fabijanic, N Birbilis
A complete understanding of how grain refinement, grain size, and processing affect the corrosion resistance of different alloys has not yet been fully developed. Determining a definitive 'grain size-corrosion resistance' relationship, if one exists, is inherently complex as the processing needed to achieve grain refinement also imparts other changes to the microstructure (such as texture, internal stress, and impurity segregation). This work evaluates how variation in grain size and processing impact the corrosion resistance of high purity aluminium. Aluminium samples with a range of grain sizes, from ∼100 μm to ∼2000 μm, were produced using different processing routes, including cold rolling, cryo rolling, equal channel angular pressing, and surface mechanical attrition treatment. Evaluation of all the samples studied revealed a tendency for corrosion rate to decrease as grain size decreases. This suggests that a Hall-Petch type relationship may exist for corrosion rate and grain size. This phenomenon, discussed in the context of grain refinement and processing, reveals several interesting and fundamental relationships.

History

Journal

Electrochimica acta

Volume

56

Issue

4

Pagination

1729 - 1736

Publisher

Elsevier

Location

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

ISSN

0013-4686

eISSN

1873-3859

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2010, Elsevier