Influence of equal-channel angular pressing on the corrosion fatigue behaviour of an Al-Mg-Si aluminium alloy for automotive conductors

Abstract The influence of equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) on the corrosion fatigue behaviour of an Al-Mg-Si alloy was studied. Preliminary fatigue tests in air showed an increase in fatigue lifetime for ECAP samples, as compared to as-received samples, related to the ECAP-induced grain refinement. After pre-corrosion, the fatigue lifetime was lower for ECAP samples than for as-received samples, because the fragmentation of coarse intermetallics during ECAP led to an increase in the density of corrosion defects. Corrosion fatigue tests demonstrated a synergy between cyclic mechanical loading and corrosion processes for all samples; a deleterious effect of ECAP was also noted.