Effect of pulse current parameters on the mechanical and corrosion properties of anodized nanoporous aluminum coatings

In this study, the effects of pulse current parameters on corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of anodized coatings were evaluated. Hardness measurements, polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests were employed to investigate the mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of these coatings. Also, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to analyze the surface morphology and microstructure of the coatings. It was found that the properties of anodized coatings were dependent on various parameters, among which, time, temperature and pulse current parameters (current density limit, frequency and duty cycle) were optimized. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was conducted in order to optimize the results of designed experiments for predicting the hardness of anodic Al2O3 coatings. Experimental results showed that the temperature and the interaction of quadratic behavior of minimum current density with frequency and duty cycle were the most important factors influencing the hardness of these coatings. It was indicated that the highest hardness value of 642 HV was attained at the maximum and minimum current densities of 4.4, 1.27 A/dm2, respectively, a frequency of 82 Hz, procedure time of 27.2 min, duty cycle of 80.2% and the bath temperature of 13.5 °C. In addition, the FE-SEM micrographs showed that the highest density is obtained through the mentioned optimum conditions. Moreover, the electrochemical tests revealed that the highest polarization resistance obtained at optimum conditions was more than 20 times greater than the other samples.