Influence of aeration on the localized trenching on aluminium alloys

This paper aims to make the difference between alcalinisation and micro-galvanic corrosion in the mechanism of the corrosion of Al alloys. Using a pH microprobe, the pH changes inside a pure water droplet deposited on a thermal aged 2011 aluminium alloy were scanned. These pH variations, depending on the position inside the droplet, were related to the heterogeneous corrosion attacks of the aluminium surface quantified by AFM measurements. A modelling investigation is proposed to evaluate the distinct roles of alcalinisation, due to the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and the galvanic coupling between intermetallic particles and the surrounding matrix. It can be concluded that the former controls corrosion initiation and lateral extension whereas the latter governs the propagation kinetics.