Filiform corrosion attack on pretreated aluminum alloy with tailored surface of epoxy coating

In the study, on the basis of material analysis of 6016 aluminum alloy widely used in Europe automotive industry, the influences of surface pretreatment on filiform corrosion and adhesion of epoxy coating/aluminum alloy interface were investigated, and the effect of rolling direction and coating property on filiform corrosion was also examined. The alloy surfaces were pretreated with etching solution, and then, respectively, with Aminopropyl silane solution, Aminopropyl phosphonate solution, and hexamethyldisiloxane plasma.The results showed that the susceptibility of pretreated surface to filiform corrosion was basically consistent with the distribution of intermetallic particles, and that water permeation and the tensility of coating were necessary for filament to grow. HMDSO plasma pretreatment could not only efficiently cover the matrix of 6016 aluminum alloy and cathodic intermetallic particles containing Al, Si, Mn, and Fe, but also apparently promote the adhesion of epoxy coating/aluminum alloy, as a result, the specimens with plasma pretreatment exhibited the superior performance in the filiform corrosion and peeling tests, so it was suitable to apply for the pretreatment of aluminum alloy in automotive industry.