•Microstructure and electrochemical activities of dissimilar AA2050 and AA7050 aluminum alloys.•The friction stir welding (FSW) of the dissimilar alloys affected the microstructure and the ...electrochemical behavior of the different regions investigated.•Galvanic interactions between the coupled welded zones were visualized by SVET and SIET analyses.•Spatially-resolved images of anodic and cathodic sites associated to corrosive attack, evolution of hydrogen and local pH changes were obtained and studied.
In this work, the effects of friction stir welding (FSW) on the microstructure and electrochemical activities of dissimilar AA2050 and AA7050 aluminum alloys have been investigated. Local electrochemical tests supported by surface analytical characterization were used to study the local electrochemical activities developed along the weld zones of the dissimilar alloys. The investigation was carried out on the cross-section of the welded Al alloys. The results showed that the friction stir welding (FSW) of the dissimilar alloys affected the microstructure and the electrochemical behavior of the different regions (HAZ, TMAZ, SZ) formed by the welding process. Scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) and micropotentiometry by using an ion-selective microelectrode showed that TMAZ was the zone with the highest electrochemical activity. This zone corresponded to the transition region between the two welded alloys. The high electrochemical activity observed in this region was associated with the effect of welding on the microstructure and, also, with the galvanic coupling between the two alloys, where the alloy AA7050 acted as an anode and the AA2050 as a cathode. Preferential corrosion attack on the AA7050 alloy was also evident.
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In this study, the corrosion mechanisms of the AA2024-T3 and the AA2098-T351 were investigated and compared using various electrochemical techniques in 0.005 mol L
−1
NaCl solution. The severe type ...of corrosion in the AA2098-T351 was intragranular attack (IGA) although trenching and pitting related to the constituent particles were seen. On the other hand, the AA2024-T3 exhibited severe localised corrosion associated with micrometric constituent particles, and its propagation was via grain boundaries leading to intergranular corrosion (IGC). Electrochemical techniques showed that the corrosion reaction in both alloys was controlled by diffusion. The non-uniform current distribution in both alloys showed that EIS was not a proper technique for comparing the corrosion resistance of the alloys. However, local electrochemical techniques were useful for the evaluation of the corrosion resistance of the alloys.
Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) were used to investigate the electrochemical behaviour of the top surface of the 2098-T351 alloy welded by ...friction stir welding (FSW). The SVET technique was efficient in identifying the cathodic and anodic weld regions. The welding joint (WJ), which comprises the thermomechanically affected zone (TMAZ) and the stir zone (SZ), was cathodic relative to the heated affected zone (HAZ) and the base metal (BM). The reactivities of the welding joint at the advancing side (AS) and the retreating side (RS) were analyzed and compared using SECM technique in the competition mode by monitoring the dissolved oxygen as a redox mediator in 0.005 mol L−1 NaCl solution. The RS was more electrochemically active than the AS, and these results were correlated with the microstructural features of the welded alloy.
In this study, the microstructure and corrosion resistance of the stir zone (SZ) of the AA2198-T8 Al-Cu-Li alloy welded by friction stir welding (FSW) were investigated by microscopy, immersion tests ...and electrochemical techniques such as measurements of open circuit potential variation with time, and scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) measurements. A low chloride-containing solution (0.005 mol L−1 NaCl) was employed in the corrosion studies and severe localized corrosion (SLC) was observed in the SZ related to intergranular attack. The results were compared to those of the non-affected areas by FSW, also known as base metal (BM). In the BM, SLC was found and the type of attack related to it was intragranular. In both zones, BM and SZ, SLC was due to precipitates of high electrochemical activity, specifically T1 (Al2CuLi) phase in the BM, whereas TB (Al7Cu4Li) / T2 (Al6CuLi3) in the SZ. Scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) analysis was very useful in the study of SLC in the AA2198-T8 alloy showing the development of high anodic current densities at the mouth of the SLC sites.
•The BM and the SZ of the AA2198-T8 FSWed presented SLC when tested isolated.•Corrosion attack was intragranular in the BM and related to T1 phase.•Corrosion attack was intergranular in the SZ and related to T2/TB phase.•Current densities for SLC are lower in the SZ comparatively to the SLC at the BM.
