Intergranular Corrosion of Copper-Containing AA6x x x AlMgSi

Aluminum Alloys
Magnus Hurlen Larsen, John Charles Walmsley, Otto Lunder, Ragnvald H. Mathiesen and Kemal
Nisancioglu

J. Electrochem. Soc. 2008, Volume 155, Issue 11, Pages C550-C556.

doi: 10.1149/1.2976774

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C550 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 155 共11兲 C550-C556 共2008兲
0013-4651/2008/155共11兲/C550/7/$23.00 © The Electrochemical Society

Intergranular Corrosion of Copper-Containing AA6xxx AlMgSi

Aluminum Alloys
Magnus Hurlen Larsen,a,*,d John Charles Walmsley,b,c Otto Lunder,c,**
Ragnvald H. Mathiesen,b and Kemal Nisancioglua,**,z
a
Department of Materials Science and Engineering and bDepartment of Physics, Norwegian University
of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
c
SINTEF Materials and Chemistry. N-7465 Trondheim, Norway

AlMgSi 共AA6xxx-series兲 aluminum alloys are generally resistant to intergranular corrosion 共IGC兲. However, copper may introduce
susceptibility to IGC; its role was investigated by using model alloys with 0.02, 0.18, and 0.7 wt % Cu. The lowest copper-
containing alloy was resistant to IGC in accelerated corrosion testing. The 0.18 wt % copper alloy showed superficial etching in
the naturally aged condition and was highly susceptible to IGC in the underaged temper, but was only slightly susceptible in the
peak aged or overaged condition. High-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy imaging showed no visible grain
boundary precipitation in the T4 and underaged tempers, whereas the T6 and overaged tempers had grain boundaries decorated
with Cu-containing precipitates. Field emission transmission electron microscopy investigation of the underaged material showed
a copper-enriched grain boundary layer and an adjacent copper-depleted zone. The reduced susceptibility to IGC upon extended
artificial aging was attributed to the consumption of the copper-rich grain boundary film by the growth of grain boundary
precipitates.
© 2008 The Electrochemical Society. 关DOI: 10.1149/1.2976774兴 All rights reserved.

Manuscript submitted April 17, 2008; revised manuscript received June 18, 2008. Published September 22, 2008.

Aluminum alloys in the AA6xxx-series 关AlMgSi共Cu兲兴 are gener-
ally considered to be corrosion resistant although they can be sus-
ceptible to intergranular corrosion 共IGC兲, and it has been proposed
that this could be caused by Si and Cu depletion,1-3 precipitation of
elemental Si or Cu-containing phases,2-7 or the anodic dissolution of
the intermetallic phase Mg2Si4,8 along grain boundaries. Shi9 re-
ported that model analogs of alloy AA6111, containing 0–1.47 wt %
Cu, were all susceptible to IGC, the susceptibility increasing with
increasing Cu content. While investigating filiform corrosion on a
painted AA6111 sheet, which was subjected to rectification by
grinding and a simulated paint bake heat-treatment, Liu et al.10 ob-
served IGC in the deformed surface layer, formed as a result of high
shear surface deformation of the alloy.11-14 They found Q-phase
共Al4Mg8Si7Cu2兲 precipitates along the grain boundaries of the layer,
while no such precipitates were present in the bulk grain boundaries.
Solute depletion was not detected along the grain boundaries. More-
over, the IGC did not affect these grain boundary precipitates, and
IGC was attributed to microgalvanic coupling between the cathodic
precipitates and the surrounding matrix.
In a series of recent papers, Svenningsen et al.15-18 showed the
importance of heat-treatment on the IGC resistance of a model
AA6xxx alloy extrusions containing nominally 共wt %兲 0.5 Mg, 0.6
Si, 0.2 Fe, 0.2 Mn, and about 0.02 or 0.2 wt % Cu. The alloy with
lower Cu was not susceptible to IGC, while the alloy with the higher
Cu content was susceptible in the air-cooled and naturally aged con-
dition following extrusion. This was attributed to the formation of a
continuous copper-rich film along the grain boundaries together with
coarse Q-phase particles. However, the expected corresponding sol-
ute depletion of adjacent grain was not detected. The alloy became
resistant after aging to the T6 condition, even though additional
Q-phase precipitated along the grain boundaries. This was attributed
to the copper-rich film by becoming discontinuous and incorporated
into the precipitates. It was also observed that water-quenched ma-
terial became susceptible to IGC at early stages of age hardening,
before grain boundary precipitation became noticeable. Overaging
caused an increased susceptibility to pitting corrosion, resulting
from the coarsening of the Q-phase precipitates both along the grain
boundaries and within grain interiors and the corresponding deple-
tion of the surrounding matrix.
The purpose of the present work was to provide further detailed
analysis of the grain boundary microstructure of IGC-susceptible
tempers without extensive grain boundary precipitation to elucidate
a better understanding of the IGC mechanism. Accelerated corrosion
testing was combined with scanning electron microscopy 共SEM兲 and
scanning transmission electron microscopy 共STEM兲.
Experimental
Materials.— Two of the alloys prepared, containing 0.02 and
0.18 wt % Cu 共alloys A and B, respectively兲, were similar to those
reported by Svenningsen et al.15-18 A third alloy, with a higher Cu
concentration of 0.7 wt %, denoted alloy C, was used for additional
investigation of the grain boundary microstructure of the IGC-
susceptible tempers by using the higher copper content to facilitate
the analytical STEM study. The properties of alloy C were otherwise
not of prime interest in this work, and it was therefore not investi-
gated to the same extent as alloys A and B. The chemical composi-
tions of the alloys are given in Table I. Alloys A and B were ex-
truded in a laboratory press, whereas alloy C was supplied as a
rolled plate. All materials were given a solution heat-treatment
共30 min at 540°C兲 in a molten salt bath, followed by water quench-
ing to room temperature. The quench delay was less than 2 s. In
addition to samples in the as-quenched and naturally aged T4 tem-
per, samples of all alloys were aged at 185°C for 42 min 共under-
aged兲, 5 h 共peak aged T6兲, and 24 h 共overaged兲. The underaged
temper was similar to the paint bake treatment used for painted
sheets and extrusions in automotive applications.19
Corrosion testing.— The accelerated corrosion test 共BS-ISO
11846 method B兲,20 was used to rank the susceptibility of samples to
IGC. The test involved degreasing, alkaline etching, and desmutting
in concentrated nitric acid, followed by 24 h immersion in 30 g
NaCl/l + 1 vol % HCl solution. The morphology and degree of at-
tack were assessed by examination of metallographic cross sections.
Table I. Chemical composition of the alloys used (in weight per-
cent). The compositions were determined by use of optical emis-
sion spectroscopy.

Mg Si Cu Fe Mn Cr
* Electrochemical Society Student Member.
** Electrochemical Society Active Member. Alloy A 0.50 0.59 0.02 0.22 0.15 0.03
d
Present address: Nexans Norway AS, P.O. Box 42, N-1751 Halden, Norway. Alloy B 0.52 0.60 0.18 0.21 0.14 0.02
z
E-mail: kemaln@material.ntnu.no Alloy C 0.61 0.80 0.70 0.26 0.21 0.02

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 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 155 共11兲 C550-C556 共2008兲 C551

SEM and TEM characterization.— SEM samples were prepared

by mechanical grinding and polishing to 1 ␮m diamond paste finish.
These samples were then electropolished in cold 共−32 to − 37°C兲
1 part HNO3 + 2 parts methanol solution for 2 min at an applied
voltage of 12 V to show grain boundaries. This method was sug-
gested and used by Svenningsen for visualization of the grain
boundary precipitates.15 It is not useful for analytical characteriza-
tion because the chemical treatment alters the composition and mi-
crostructure of the intermetallic phases.
Transmission electron microscopy 共TEM兲 samples were prepared
by grinding and polishing specimens to about 100 ␮m in thickness,
followed by electropolishing in the same solution as above, main-
tained at −30°C, at an applied voltage of 20 V. The foils were
ion-beam milled at low voltage and angle 共2.5 kV and 3.5–4°兲 for
30–45 min prior to TEM examination to remove electropolishing
artifacts.
A JEOL 2010F field emission-TEM operated at 200 kV was used
for STEM imaging and microanalysis. Energy dispersive spectros-
copy 共EDS兲 X-ray analysis was performed at a nominal probe size
of 0.7 or 1.0 nm using an Oxford Inca EDS analysis system
equipped with automatic drift compensation. Element mapping was
used to analyze enrichment and depletion as this introduces less
beam damage as compared to point and line analyses and gives a
good local impression of compositional variation.21-23 Care was
taken to align the grain boundaries parallel to the electron beam
before mapping started. Diffraction patterns were used to confirm
that the analyzed boundaries were of high angle type. The EDS
maps were further processed statistically by geometrical filtering of
the images followed by integration of the line scans along selected
grain boundary segments to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. In the
case of the Cu maps, a background correction was obtained by in-
terpolating the background signals on either side of the Cu K␣ peak
and subtracting this from the Cu signal map. The standard deviation
of the remaining data scatter was then calculated. This was not pos-
sible for the Mg and Si K␣ peaks due to the nonlinear background Figure 1. Cross-sectional micrographs of alloy A in 共a兲 underaged temper
signal in that part of the EDS spectra and their partial overlap with and 共b兲 overaged temper after accelerated corrosion test according to BS-ISO
the intense Al K␣ peak and L-peaks of heavier elements 共Fe, Cr, 11846 method B.
Mn兲. In this case, the maps were filtered geometrically by using a
combination of nearest-neighbor two-dimensional 共2D兲 median and
smoothing algorithms. The grain boundary geometry was approxi- SEM imaging.— SEM investigation of the naturally aged and
mated in the form of straight line segments, and the image pixels underaged alloys did not show any grain boundary precipitation, as
were grouped by their distance to the grain boundary line. This shown in Fig. 4a for alloy B. Peak aged and overaged materials
allowed the calculation of integrated composition profiles as a func- showed grain boundaries decorated with precipitates, as shown in
tion of distance from the grain boundary line segment. Grain bound- Fig. 4b for alloy B. The particles were characterized earlier15-17 as
ary precipitates were treated as excluded image regions, such that
either the Q-phase 共Al4Mg8Si7Cu2兲 or a precursor phase. Grain
the resulting composition profiles would not be affected by their
presence. The reported compositions are expressed as X-ray counts boundary precipitation of the cathodic Q-phase clearly did not cor-
per pixel, and these results should be regarded as semiquantitative, relate with the observed susceptibility to IGC.
showing the trends for enrichment and depletion at and adjacent to TEM characterization.— Observation of a number of grain
the grain boundaries. boundaries during examination of thin foils of several replicate
samples confirmed that the grain boundaries of the naturally aged T4
Results temper of all alloys were free from precipitates. Only scattered,
discrete dispersoids of AlFeMnSi-type were detected, as shown for
Corrosion test.— Figure 1 shows that alloy A 共0.02 wt % Cu兲 alloy B in Fig. 5a. The dispersoids showed dark contrast in the
was not susceptible to intergranular corrosion in the tempers inves- bright-field images as they scatter electrons more strongly than the
tigated. Figure 2a shows that alloy B 共0.18% Cu兲 was corroded in adjacent matrix. However, small precipitates, which were too small
the naturally aged condition 共T4兲, but the attack was not intergranu- to be visible on electropolished samples in the SEM, were imaged
lar. The underaged alloy B was highly susceptible to IGC to a depth on the grain boundaries of the underaged temper of all alloys as
of more than 500 ␮m over the entire surface 共Fig. 2b兲. In the peak- shown for alloy C in Fig. 5b. Matrix precipitation of the Q⬘-phase
aged 共T6兲 and overaged tempers, the material was still slightly sus- was still not detectable in these tempers. The grain boundaries in the
ceptible to IGC, but with only a localized, shallow attack 共Fig. 2c兲. overaged temper were decorated with precipitates, as shown for al-
The results for alloys A and B confirm the similar results obtained loy B in Fig. 5c. Extensive matrix precipitation was also evident.
by Svenningsen et al.15-18 The high Cu alloy 共alloy C兲 was highly Alloy C was selected in Fig. 5b instead of alloy B because the same
susceptible to IGC in the underaged temper, as shown in Fig. 3. area of alloy C in Fig. 5b was investigated again later in the paper
Corrosion of this alloy was not investigated in other tempers be- 共Fig. 10兲 for Cu depletion of the grain boundaries. Underaged alloy
cause the purpose of including alloy C in this paper was to throw B is investigated in more detail in Fig. 6-8.
indirect light to the grain boundary microstructure of alloy B, espe- STEM imaging of the underaged tempers of alloys B and C
cially the grain boundary depletion of Cu, as will be shown below, showed precipitates along the grain boundaries, with typical size in
which was not easily observable in the low Cu content alloy B. the range 20–50 nm 共Fig. 6兲. Qualitative EDS analysis showed that

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C552 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 155 共11兲 C550-C556 共2008兲

Figure 3. Cross-sectional micrograph of alloy C in the underaged temper

after accelerated corrosion test.

To examine grain boundary depletion profiles, a larger area for

analysis was chosen, with a slightly bigger spot size and a higher
probe current. The elemental maps and the corresponding integrated
line scan are shown in Fig. 7 and 8, respectively, for the underaged
alloy B showing the clear Si depletion profile although no Cu deple-
tion profile was found. A slight indication of Mg depletion of the
grain boundary zone could be inferred from Fig. 7d. EDS mapping
of grain boundaries in the overaged material 共alloy B兲 showed ex-
tensive precipitation of Q-phase discrete precipitates along the grain
boundaries, as shown in Fig. 9. In addition, matrix precipitation of
the Q⬘-phase could be seen.24

Figure 2. Cross-sectional micrographs of alloy B in 共a兲 T4, 共b兲 underaged,

and 共c兲 T6 tempers after accelerated corrosion test. Corrosion morphology of
the overaged variant was similar to that of T6.

the precipitates were a quaternary phase containing Al, Mg, Si, and
Cu. These particles were recently identified as the Q⬘-phase in an
alloy with similar composition and thermal history to alloy B.24 The
most significant observation was the continuous, copper-enriched
film, which was only a few nanometers thick, as shown in Fig. 6,
together with EDS elemental mapping, for alloy B. This observation
is consistent with earlier findings from studies of a similar alloy
susceptible to IGC.16 The analysis showed the layer contained little Figure 4. SEM micrographs of 共a兲 underaged and 共b兲 overaged tempers of
or no Mg or Si. alloy B. The samples were electropolished to enhance the image contrast.

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 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 155 共11兲 C550-C556 共2008兲
Figure 5. Typical 共S兲TEM images of 共a兲 naturally aged 共T4兲 alloy B 共bright-
field image兲, 共b兲 underaged alloy C 共dark-field image兲, and 共c兲 overaged
alloy B 共bright-field image兲. The gray precipitates decorating the grain
boundaries in 共b兲 and 共c兲 are the Q⬘ and Q phases, respectively. The large
black spots at the grain boundary in 共a兲 and at the bottom right of 共c兲 are
AlMnSiFe dispersoids.
Due to the low level of Cu in solid solution 共⬍0.2 wt %兲, grain
boundary depletion of this element could not be easily studied due
to the sensitivity limits of the EDS technique. Alloy C 共0.7 wt %
Cu兲 was therefore used to investigate Cu segregation and depletion
at grain boundaries at a level suitable for the sensitivity of the
STEM analysis. TEM imaging of underaged alloy C revealed
Q⬘-phase particles along the grain boundaries. A similar result was
obtained for alloy B, although not shown here. Results for grain
boundary precipitation in alloy B were also published earlier.16,24
Figure 10a shows an integrated line scan analysis across the same
grain boundary of alloy C as in Fig. 5b. As grain boundary precipi-
tates were excluded from the analysis, the line scan represents only
the Cu in solid solution near the grain boundary and the Cu-rich film
at the grain boundary. The Cu profile shows the presence of Cu-
depleted zones on both sides of the grain boundary as compared to
the bulk level attained approximately 50 nm away from the grain
boundary. Figures 10b and c show, respectively, 2D maps of Cu and
Si for an analyzed area that includes Q⬘ dispersoids.
Figure 6. 共Color online兲 Bright-field image of underaged alloy B 共left兲 and
corresponding EDS elemental mapping of marked grain boundary area.
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C553
Figure 11a shows a bright-field image and compositional profiles
across a grain boundary area of alloy B in the T4 temper 共naturally
aged after solution heat-treatment兲. This alloy–temper combination
was not susceptible to IGC, although a low level of Cu segregation
along with the corresponding curve for the standard deviation of
data and a weak but clear segregation of Si at the grain boundaries
are indicated in the X-ray EDS line scans shown in Fig. 11b. In
contrast, Si segregation was not detected in the precipitate-free grain
boundary segments of the artificially aged tempers. The standard
deviation of the Cu signal indicates that the grain boundary Cu
enrichment is real within at least a 95% confidence level.
Table II summarizes the results from corrosion testing and mi-
crostructure analysis. The table indicates that MgSi-type phases
were not detected at the grain boundaries in the Cu-containing
phases in the conditions listed in the table. In all these cases, the
grain boundary phases, which could be characterized, were Q⬘ for
the underaged24 and Q for T6 and overaged tempers. Recall that the
present specimens were quenched in water after solution heat-
treatment. MgSi-type phases were detected in earlier work15-18 at the
grain boundaries of specimens similar to alloy B, which were air
cooled after extrusion or solution heat-treatment.
Discussion
The present results support the earlier findings16 that the Cu-
enriched film along the grain boundaries of the susceptible under-
aged temper is the main cause of the occurrence of IGC in the
accelerated corrosion test. Copper segregation also causes a deple-
tion of copper from the adjacent matrix from Cu. However, the
Cu-depleted zone was detected only in the high Cu alloy 共alloy C兲.
The microgalvanic couple created by the noble Cu film and the
adjacent copper and silicon-depleted zone, causes the intense IGC
corrosion attack observed. Given the IGC resistance of the T6 and
overaged tempers, this type of IGC morphology cannot be explained
by the presence of discretely spaced Q⬘-particles alone, although
both the film and the particles act as the local cathodes in the propa-
gation of IGC. The Cu-free sample 共alloy A兲 is not susceptible to
IGC, although a solute 共Si兲-depleted grain boundary zone may form
also in this alloy. Hence, the Si-depleted zone alone, without the
continuous Cu-rich film along the grain boundary, does not provide
the conditions necessary for IGC.
Thermodynamic calculations16 indicate that elemental Cu and an
AlCu phase cannot form at the temperatures used for heat-treatment.
Based on this, it was argued16 that the grain boundary film had to be
a precursor to the Q-phase, although Mg and Si could not be de-
tected. The structure of this grain boundary film could not be clari-
fied in the present study. However, the results show that the film
does not contain appreciable amounts of Mg or Si, and hence it
probably consists of nonequilibrium 共supersaturated兲 Cu in solid so-
lution or a nonequilibrium AlCu compound. Segregation of Mg and
Si, along with Cu, to the grain boundaries is evident due to the
formation of the Q⬘-phase particles. The absence of Mg and Si in
the film can be explained by the higher mobility of these elements at
the grain boundaries, thus readily becoming incorporated in particles
rather than remaining in the film. The assumed lower mobility of
copper at the grain boundaries inhibits the incorporation of Cu in the
grain boundary precipitates. This preserves the continuous grain
boundary film between the grain boundary particles in the under-
aged condition.
Although the reported near-grain boundary concentration profiles
are semiquantitative, the background corrected line scan in Fig. 10a
indicates that the Cu concentration approaches zero close to the
boundary. The Si depletion 共Fig. 7 and 8兲 could not be corrected for
the background signal, suggesting that the solute depletion could be
considerably larger than it appears in the reported data. The deple-
tion of Si also appears to extend farther into the grain than the
corresponding Cu depletion, probably owing to the higher diffusiv-
ity of Si.
In the peak-aged and overaged tempers, the susceptibility to IGC
was reduced, but not completely eliminated. The elimination of the
C554 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 155 共11兲 C550-C556 共2008兲

Figure 7. Bright-field 共S兲TEM image of

the analyzed grain boundary region of 共a兲
underaged alloy B with corresponding 共b兲
Cu, 共c兲 Si, and 共d兲 Mg maps.

grain boundary film as a result of aging appeared to reduce the

susceptibility. However, some limited Cu-enriched film was present
at some grain boundaries in the overaged material, which could
account for the localized and superficial IGC observed. IGC prob-
ably occurred locally at the grain boundaries with a copper-enriched
film. Extensive precipitation of Q⬘-phase particles also occurred
within the grains. This process lowered the Cu content in solid so-

Figure 8. 共Color online兲 Integrated line scans of Si and Cu, showing deple-
tion of Si along the grain boundary and grain boundary enrichment of Cu. Figure 9. 共Color online兲 Low-magnification STEM analysis of an overaged
The line scans were extracted from the maps in Fig. 7 using the procedure sample 共alloy B兲, showing the bright-field TEM image 共top兲 along with Cu,
described in the text. Si, and Mg EDS maps of the area outlined in the bright-field image.

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 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 155 共11兲 C550-C556 共2008兲 C555

Figure 11. Bright-field STEM image of the grain boundary area of a natu-
rally aged alloy B sample, and corresponding integrated line scans of Si
共upper curve兲 and Cu 共middle curve兲. The lowest curve is the standard de-
viation of the Cu signal. The profiles were extracted from unfiltered data.

Shi9 as “Swiss cheese” in appearance. The grain boundary segrega-

tion in the naturally aged T4 temper 共Fig. 11兲 is statistically reliable.
However, we do not know whether the result can be generalized to
all boundaries, and whether the observed segregation is continuous

Figure 10. 共Color online兲 共a兲 Copper distribution across a particle-free seg- Table II. Summary of corrosion results and electron optical
ment of a grain boundary of underaged alloy C 共0.7 wt % Cu; see Fig. 5b兲, characterization.
obtained by integration of line scan data along the grain boundary, as de-
scribed earlier in the paper. The calculated local standard deviation showing
Corrosion Grain boundary Grain boundary
the smoothed-out error in the integrated profile is also plotted. 2D maps of
type precipitates depletion
共b兲 Cu and 共c兲 Si concentrations of the analyzed area, in which the lightest
areas exhibit the highest concentrations. Alloy A—T4 NCa NDb ND
—Underaged NC ND ND
—T6 NC MgSi type ND
—Overaged NC MgSi type ND
lution and thus equalized the potential difference between the grain Alloy B—T4 Superficially ND; slight Si and ND
boundary areas and the bulk grains, thereby reducing the risk of etched; no IGC Cu enrichment
IGC. —Underaged Extensive IGC Q⬘ dispersoids Si and slight Mg
In contrast to the aged tempers, no significant grain body pre- connected with
cipitation was present in the underaged temper. Hence, the grain continuous Cu
bodies in this case are expected to exhibit the corrosion potential of film
the AlMgSiCu solid solution rather than that of a solute-depleted —T6 Slight, localized Discrete Q-phase ND
matrix. Because the corrosion potential of the solid solution matrix IGC particles
would be expected to be nobler than the depleted grain boundary —Overaged Slight, localized Discrete Q-phase ND
zone, the electrochemical driving force for IGC would be further IGC particles
enhanced. Alloy C Extensive IGC Q⬘ dispersoids Si and Cu
—Underagedc connected with
The naturally aged material 共T4兲 was not susceptible to IGC. continuous Cu
However, the Cu-containing alloys showed superficial etching dur- film
ing the corrosion test. It is believed to be caused by selective corro-
sion of aluminum, autocatalytically driven by the simultaneous en- a
NC: No corrosion.
b
richment of solid solution Cu at the surface, which acts as the ND: Not detectable.
c
cathode. This corrosion mode is probably similar to that reported by Investigated only in the underaged condition.

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C556 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 155 共11兲 C550-C556 共2008兲
or localized along the grain boundaries. Answers to these questions
require a more comprehensive TEM study of the T4 temper. It
should be reiterated, however, that segregation of Cu was at least an
order of magnitude smaller than the grain boundary segregation
found in the underaged temper. Moreover, Si segregation was in the
form of enrichment rather than depletion. Si is known to form a
highly passivating layer of SiO2,25,26 and in this form it does not
participate in the corrosion process. These conditions are not suffi-
cient to cause IGC.
Conclusions
1. AlMgSiCu alloys were susceptible to IGC in the underaged
temper as a result of a nearly continuous, Cu-enriched film along the
grain boundaries and an adjacent zone depleted of Cu and Si.
2. The IGC susceptibility of the underaged temper was due to
microgalvanic coupling between the noble Cu film and the adjacent
solute-depleted active zone.
3. The reduced susceptibility observed after artificial aging to
the maximum hardness T6 condition was attributed to the loss of the
Cu-rich film due to discrete Q-phase precipitation.
4. Precipitation of the hardening Q⬘-phase in the bulk grains
further reduced the microgalvanic driving force causing IGC.
5. High IGC resistance and good mechanical properties can be
achieved simultaneously by optimizing the artificial aging process to
obtain favorable precipitation both at the grain boundary and grain
interior, and a near-optimal property combination is obtained with
the T6 temper.
Acknowledgments
Fabian Eckermann 共ETH Zürich兲 provided the high Cu model
alloy. This work was part of a Norwegian national research program
entitled “Light Metal Surface Science,” supported by The Norwe-
gian Research Council and Hydro Aluminium.
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Norwegian University of Science and Technology assisted in meeting the
publication costs of this article.
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