Influence of alloyed Nd content on the corrosion of an Al-5Mg alloy

The influence of neodymium (Nd) additions from 0 to 0.17 wt.% on the electrochemical response, corrosion, and hardness of a model 5xxx alloy (Al-5Mg) was studied. The combination of SEM, polarisation, constant immersion and nitric acid mass loss testing, followed by optical profilometry, revealed that Nd had no significant effect on pitting or general corrosion of Al-5Mg; however with Nd additions the extent of intergranular corrosion following sensitisation was decreased substantially. Nd additions also increased alloy hardness and thus microalloying with Nd was shown to improve the properties of Al-5Mg.