Effects of Corrosion Inhibitor on Corrosion of Al-based Alloys in Ethylene Glycol-Water Coolant Environment

The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) as a corrosion inhibitor on the pitting corrosion behavior of aluminum alloys used in electric vehicle battery cooling systems within a mixture of ethylene glycol and water (EG-W) coolant. Potentiodynamic polarization testing revealed unstable passive film formation on the aluminum alloys in the absence of SDBS. However, the addition of SDBS resulted in a robust passive film, enhancing the pitting corrosion resistance across all examined alloys. Pitting corrosion was predominantly observed near intermetallic compounds in the presence of Cl? ions, which was attributed to galvanic interactions. Among tested alloys, A1040 demonstrated superior resistance due to its lower areal fraction of precipitates and donor density. The incorporation of SDBS inhibitors mitigated the overall pitting corrosion process by hindering Cl? ion penetration. These findings suggest that SDBS can significantly improve pitting corrosion resistance in aluminum alloys employed in battery coolant environments.