Corrosion damage evolution of the aircraft aluminum alloy 2024 T3

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to quantify the corrosion damage evolution that has occurred on the aircraft aluminum alloy 2024 after the exposure to Exfoliation Corrosion Test (EXCO) solution. Moreover, the effect of the evolving corrosion damage on the materials mechanical properties has been assessed. The relevance of the corrosion damage induced by the exposure to the laboratory EXCO for linking it to the damage developed after the exposure of the material on several outdoor corrosive environments or in service is discussed. Design/methodology/approach – To induce corrosion damage the EXCO has been used. For the quantification of corrosion damage the metallographic features considered have been pit depth, diameter, pitting density and pit shape. The effect of the evolving corrosion damage on the materials mechanical properties has been assessed by means of tensile tests on pre corroded specimens. Findings – The results have shown that corrosion damage starts from pitting and evolves to exfolia...