In order to improve the intergranular corrosion resistance of high strength Al-Mg alloys, the effect of stabilizing treatment was systematically investigated. Microstructure evolutions of Al-Mg alloys after different stabilizing treatments have been studied by scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy. Mechanical properties and corrosion resistance were measured. It was found that the mass loss of samples after sensitizing treatment decreased with an increase in the stabilizing temperature. It was suggested that the susceptibility to intergranular corrosion for high strength Al-Mg alloys has a strong relation to the stabilizing temperature that modify the morphology and distribution of precipitates. The precipitates continuously precipitated along the grain boundary when the stabilizing temperature was lower than 250°C, corresponding to a poor corrosion resistance. However, the precipitates randomly precipitated in the matrix as globular particles, and discontinuously precipitated at the grain boundary after stabilized at 250°C and 275°C, resulted in an improved intergranular corrosion resistance.
Intergranular Corrosion Propagation in Sensitized Al-Mg Alloys
