Corrosion resistance of additively manufactured aluminium alloys for marine applications

Additive manufacturing opens new possibilities for designing light-weight structures using aluminium alloys. The microstructure of two Al alloys and their corrosion resistance in NaCl and natural seawater environments were investigated. The newly designed Al-Mn-Cr-Zr based alloy showed a higher corrosion resistance than reference AlSi10Mg alloy in both environments in as printed and heat-treated conditions. The corrosion initiated in the Al matrix along the precipitates in the alloys where the Volta potential difference was found the highest. The coarser microstructure and precipitate composition of the new Al-alloy led to the formation of a resistant passive film which extended the passivity region of the Al-Mn-Cr-Zr alloy compared to the AlSi10Mg alloy. The effect of heat treatment could be seen in the microstructure as more precipitates were found in between the melt pool boundaries, which affected the corrosion initiation and slightly the pitting resistance. Overall, this study shows that a newly designed Al-alloy for additive manufacturing has a suitable corrosion resistance for applications in marine environments.