Research progress on corrosion behavior and evaluation methods of high-strength aluminum alloys

Abstract

High-strength aluminum alloys have been widely used in aviation， aerospace and other industries because of their high specific strength and good machining property. Corrosion is an important factor affecting the safety and stability of high-strength aluminum alloys in service. Based on the preparation process of high-strength aluminum alloys， this paper focuses on the effect of structural evolution caused by heat treatment on the corrosion property of high-strength aluminum alloys. The corresponding relationship between the microstructure and corrosion behavior of high-strength aluminum alloys is analyzed. Research directions for improving the corrosion property of high-strength aluminum alloys are proposed. The segregation of elements and phases in high-strength aluminum alloys can easily lead to electrochemical inhomogeneity of microstructure， causing corrosion of substrate. Therefore， based on the optimization of composition， the melt casting process， deformation process and heat treatment process of high-strength aluminum alloys should be regulated to prepare the microstructure with uniform distribution of elements and second phases， and uniform electrochemical property， which is crucial for improving the corrosion property of high-strength aluminum alloys. In addition， the corrosion sensitivity of alloys is affected by the width of the precipitate free zone and the distance and distribution of the grain boundary precipitation phases of alloy. Thoroughly studying and clarifying the effect of various structures such as precipitate free zone on the corrosion behavior of alloys is the prerequisite for the preparation of high-strength aluminum alloys with high corrosion property. To balance the mechanical property and corrosion property of high-strength aluminum alloys， heat treatment methods such as aging and thermomechanical treatment should be optimized， and new composite heat treatment methods should be developed. Meanwhile， the test methods and evaluation methods for the corrosion property of high-strength aluminum alloys are discussed. In order to more efficiently and accurately evaluate the corrosion property and service safety of high-strength aluminum alloys， further research work should be carried out in the combined use of traditional evaluation methods with modern data processing technologies such as digital twin， virtual simulation and machine learning.

Keywords

• high-strength aluminium alloy
• corrosion behavior
• heat treatment
• test method
• evaluation method