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Optimizing corrosion behaviours of an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy through cold rolling and artificial ageing

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Abstract

The study optimizes the corrosion resistance of an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy by changing the sequence of cold-rolling (CR) and artificial ageing (AR) processes. The samples are artificially aged at 150 ºC for 45 min and subsequently cold-rolled by the cumulative deformation of 10%, 20%, 30%, and 36%, which are denoted as CR + AR samples. In comparison, the CR + AR samples are cold-rolled by a cumulative 30% reduction in thickness and then aged at 150 ºC for various periods from 1 min to 8 h. The hardness of AR + CR samples increases from 158.7 to 213.4 HV with the increasing cumulative CR passes. But in the CR + AR group, it increases from 166.2 to 228.3 HV for 30-min ageing and decreases slightly with the ageing time. η phase precipitates during artificial ageing are the dominant strengthening factor. The improved corrosion resistance in CR + AR samples is mainly attributed to the formation of discontinuous grain-boundary precipitates that obstruct the anodic corrosion pathway. The optimal corrosion resistance is achieved by 30% cold rolling and ageing at 150 ºC for 8 h. This sample owns the highest impedance (ǀZǀ = 985.0 Ω cm2) and the most positive corrosion potential (Ecorr = −0.748 V).

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Acknowledgements

This research has been funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51601162) and Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, China (No. 2021J011208).

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  1. Jiafan Chen and Xu Yuan have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Applications of Fujian Province, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, 361024, People’s Republic of China

    Jiafan Chen, Xu Yuan, Zhenghao Gong, Juan Zuo, Jingjing Sun, Bilan Lin, Houan Zhang & Ying Chen

  2. Faculty of Georesources and Materials Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, 52072, Aachen, Germany

    Jiafan Chen

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  1. Jiafan Chen
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Contributions

Jiafan Chen was involved in the investigation and writing—original draft. Xu Yuan contributed to the investigation and writing—review and editing. Zhenghao Gong assisted in the investigation, methodology, and data curation. Ying Chen contributed to the conceptualization, supervision, and funding acquisition. Juan Zuo and Jingjing Sun were involved in the investigation. Bilan Lin contributed to the writing—review and editing. Houan Zhang contributed to the resources and project administration.

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Correspondence to Ying Chen.

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Chen, J., Yuan, X., Gong, Z. et al. Optimizing corrosion behaviours of an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy through cold rolling and artificial ageing. J Mater Sci (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-024-10155-z

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