Corrosion behaviour of magnesium alloys with RE additions in sodium chloride solutions

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Authors

The corrosion performance of new creep resistant magnesium-rare earth alloys was studied and related to its microstructure and chemical composition. The commercial alloy MEZ™ was used as reference. The alloys were produced by the Squeeze Cast Technique. Corrosion was studied in two media: ASTM Water (mild medium) and in 3.5% NaCl at pH 11 (strong medium) by measuring electrochemical polarization curves and by examination of the pitting morphology. Mg-Al-RE alloys had the best corrosion resistance in mild medium. In the aggressive medium, the reference alloy with high RE-content was the best, followed by the Mg-Al-RE alloys. High ratios of Fe/Mn were found detrimental for the corrosion properties of the alloys, especially in strong media. The microstructure played an important role: the eutectic phases of the alloys were cathodic to the matrix and acted as barriers against the propagation of the pitting corrosion. Filiform corrosion was observed additionally in the Mg-Al-RE alloys.

Original languageEnglish
JournalMaterials Science Forum
Volume419-422
Issue numberII
Pages (from-to)867-872
Number of pages6
ISSN0255-5476
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15.03.2003
Externally publishedYes
EventSecond Osaka International Conference on Platform Science and Technology for Advanced Magnesium Alloys 2003 - Osaka, Japan
Duration: 26.01.200330.01.2003
Conference number: 2

    Research areas

  • 3.5% NaCl, ASTM Water, Filiform corrosion, Magnesium, Microstructures, Pitting corrosion, Polarization curves, Rare earths, Squeeze cast
  • Engineering