Effect of Aging Treatment on the Corrosion Resistance Properties of 7N01 Extrusion Aluminum Alloy

• Main Authors: Yitai Li, Weiou Qin, Shuyuan Yu, Jun La, Yaokun Fu, Jidong Li, Wenchao Yang, Yongzhong Zhan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
• Series: Materials
• Subjects: aluminum alloy corrosion; 7N01 alloy corrosion; corrosion rate; aging treatment; non-isothermal aging
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/13/3615

The influences of non-isothermal aging (the temperature range is 150–180 °C, and the heating rate is 5 and 20 °C/h alternately), single-peak aging (aging at 120 °C for 24 h, then water quenched was followed at room temperature), and two-stage aging (aging at 105 °C for 8 h first, then increasing aging temperature to 135 °C and keeping for 12 h, followed by water quenching at room temperature) on the corrosion resistance and microstructure of the 7N01 aluminum alloy under 3.5 wt.% NaCl were investigated using electric polarization curve test and exfoliation corrosion. After aging, the hardness of samples was measured by a Vickers micro-hardness tester, and the electrical conductivities were obtained using the eddy current method. The results show that the steady phase η and metastable phase η′ are precipitated in the grain boundary of 7N01 aluminum alloy after non-isothermal aging, and their distribution is discontinuous. The hardness of the alloy can reach 136.9 HV1 and the electrical conductivity can reach 35.8% IACS, which is close to the hardness of single-peak aging and the conductivity of two-stage aging, respectively. Compared with single-peak aging, the corrosion current density of non-isothermal aging is reduced by 15.5%, and that of two-stage aging is reduced by 28.9%.