Corrosion behavior of 6061/Al-15 vol. pct. SiC(p) composite and the base alloy in sodium hydroxide solution

The corrosion behavior of 6061/Al-15 vol. pct. SiC(p) composite and 6061 Al base alloy was investigated in a sodium hydroxide solution. The electrochemical parameters were derived from potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) techniques. The results showed that the corrosion resistance of the composite was lower than that of the base alloy in selected corrosion media. The corrosion rates of both the composite and the base alloy increased with the increase in the concentration of sodium hydroxide and also with the increase in temperature. The surface morphology of the metal surface was investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Activation energy was evaluated using Arrhenius equation, and enthalpy of activation and entropy of activation values were calculated using transition state equation.