Study of Corrosion-Fatigue Fracture of Industrial Aluminum Alloys Al–Mg
摘要
Fatigue and corrosion-fatigue tests were carried out on commercial aluminum alloys of the Al–Mg system: AMg2, AMg5, and 1570. These alloys have a coarse-grained deformed microstructure with two types of inclusions oriented along the rolling axis. Fatigue tests were carried out at room temperature, using a bending-rotation scheme in air and in a 3% aqueous NaCl solution. Fatigue curves for tests in air and in a corrosive environment can be described using the Basquin equation and a crack tip plastic deformation model. Reduced fatigue limits (σ–1) of commercial Al–Mg alloys during fatigue tests in air are due to the presence of micron-sized inclusions. When tested in air, an increase in the strength of Al–Mg alloys is accompanied by an increase in σ–1 and a slight decrease in the fatigue curve slope (an increase in the plastic deformation activation energy at the crack tip ΔF/kT). The decrease in σ–1 and ΔF/kT during corrosion-fatigue testing of Al–Mg alloys is due to the Rehbinder effect and the occurrence of corrosion defects on the surface of aluminum alloys, primarily pitting and crack-like defects of intergranular corrosion on β-phase particles that form microgalvanic pairs with a crystal lattice.