International Journal of Fatigue 133 (2020) 105420

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International Journal of Fatigue

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijfatigue

Fatigue characteristics of 6061 aluminum alloy subject to 3.5% NaCl T

environment
Kittisak Chanyathunyaroja, , Sompob Phetchcraia, Ghit Laungsopapunb,
⁎

Amornsak Rengsomboona
a
National Metal and Materials Technology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency, 114 Thailand Science Park, Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani
12120 Thailand
b
Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research, 35 Moo 3 Khlong Ha, Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: The rotating bending fatigue life of extruded 6061 aluminum alloy in a 3.5% NaCl environment was studied. It
6061 aluminum alloy was found that under this environment solution fatigue life was significantly reduced by over 51 times, the
Pitting corrosion fatigue life being shortened from several days to a few hours. Moreover, fatigue under the 3.5% NaCl solution
Rotating bending fatigue could remove the endurance limit. The solution promoted the generation of many tiny pits, which were created
rapidly on the surface of the specimens. These pits acted as crack nucleation sites leading to fatigue failure. The
results indicate that pitting corrosion can markedly decrease the fatigue life.

1. Introduction 95 MPa which is 34.55% YTS (30.65% UTS) [6,7].

6061 aluminum alloy is a popular grade of wrought aluminum alloy
used in various applications; such as automobiles, buildings, furniture,
pipelines and structures that require strength, weldability and corrosion
resistance. In the T6 condition it has a ultimate tensile strength (UTS)
and a yield tensile strength (YTS) of 310 MPa and 276 MPa, respec-
tively [1]. Normally, YTS is the factor used to design a static structure
or machine. However, the design of parts subjected to dynamic loading
must be based on a lower stress level known as the fatigue limit or
endurance limit. This limit indicates the resistance of a material to
withstand dynamic loads without failure. For most steels the values of
stress amplitude at the endurance limit are in the range of 35% to 50%
of the tensile strength [2]. The Wohler (stress-life or S-N) diagram, an
important tool for fatigue life prediction, of a mild steel shows a
characteristic “knee point” (the point where fatigue life abruptly in-
creases from 105 to over 107 cycles), which is called the endurance
limit. It is generally accepted that there is no fatigue limit or endurance
limit (knee point at 105–107 cycles) in aluminum alloys which have a
face-centered cubic (fcc) structure [3–5]. Based on 5 × 108 cycles of
completely reversed stress using the R.R. Moore type of machine and
specimen, the endurance limit of Al alloys has been defined as the stress
amplitude which the specimen can withstand without failure for at least
107 fatigue cycles [2]. The stress amplitude value of 6061 aluminum
alloy at this defined endurance limit of 107 fatigue cycles is quoted as
Metals and alloys are prone to various forms of attack in corrosive
environments. For example, the chloride ion, naturally found in the
seawater, is a common cause of corrosion damage in steel and alu-
minum alloys. In aluminum alloys pitting corrosion often develops
when chloride is present on metal surfaces as Cl- ions are adsorbed on
the natural oxide film in the initiation stage of corrosion [8–10]. In
previous studies, the corrosion of 6061 aluminum alloy is generally
observed as pitting and intergranular attack [11,12]. The 6061 alloy is
susceptible to pitting corrosion in chloride containing solutions [13].
Pitting corrosion can develop when aluminum alloys are in permanent
or intermittent contact through aqueous media such as water, rainwater
and seawater [14].
Previous studies have reported on the combined effects of corrosion
and fatigue in 7xxx aluminum alloys [15–19] showing that the bending
fatigue resistance of 7075-T651 specimens was drastically decreased by
pre-corrosion in a chloride solution. A decrease in fatigue life by a
factor of 10 was observed [20]. The effect of pitting on 7075-T6 sig-
nificantly reduced the bending fatigue performance to 60% of fatigue
strength under no-corrosion conditions [21]. Pre-existing corrosion
pits, produced by immersion in seawater, were found to reduce the
fatigue life (piezoelectric accelerated fatigue test) of 7075-T6 aluminum
alloy by a factor of 10–100 [22]. The fatigue lives of 2xxx aluminum
alloys also decreased when tested in NaCl solution [23–25]. In a study
of the combined effect of corrosion and fatigue in 6xxx aluminum alloys

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: kittisak_chanya@hotmail.com, kittisak.chanya@mail.kmutt.ac.th (K. Chanyathunyaroj).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2019.105420
Received 6 September 2019; Received in revised form 15 November 2019; Accepted 11 December 2019
Available online 12 December 2019
0142-1123/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
K. Chanyathunyaroj, et al. International Journal of Fatigue 133 (2020) 105420

Table 1
Chemical composition of 6061 alloy.
Alloy Element (Weight Percent)

Si Fe Cu Mn Mg Cr Al

Standard AA6061 0.40–0.80 < 0.7 0.15–0.40 < 0.15 0.8–1.2 0.04–0.35 Balance
Specimen 0.70 0.21 0.24 0.05 1.05 0.13 Balance

Fig. 1. (a) Dimensions of tensile specimen conforming to ASTM B557M, (b) Dimensions of rotating bending fatigue specimen conforming to ASTM E466, (c) The
schematic of the environmental control module fitted to the fatigue testing machine.

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K. Chanyathunyaroj, et al.
Fig. 2. Macrographs, optical micrographs and mechanical properties of 6061
aluminum alloy as extruded: (a) parallel direction macrograph; (b) cross section
macrograph; (c) parallel direction micrograph; (d) cross section micrograph; (e)
Brinell hardness (HB); (f) yield strength, ultimate tensile strength (MPa) and
elongation (%).
the fatigue life (tension cycle) of 6061-T651 aluminum alloy was found
to be significantly reduced when tested in a 3.5% NaCl solution [26].
Some studies have simulated pitting corrosion by incorporating artifi-
cial holes made by mechanical or chemical actions in the surfaces of
6061-T6 aluminum alloy specimens. This artificial pitting could
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International Journal of Fatigue 133 (2020) 105420
significantly reduce fatigue life as determined via rotating bending fa-
tigue [27,28] and ultrasonic fatigue methods [29]. However, to the
authors’ knowledge, there are no published reports on the effects of
corrosive environments on aluminum alloy specimens tested by a ro-
tating bending fatigue machine, which performs both torsion and ten-
sion actions. Most previous investigations were performed under dif-
ferent actions, such as bending fatigue testing, piezoelectric fatigue
testing, tension fatigue, and ultrasonic fatigue testing.
This work was undertaken to identify the influence of a corrosion
environment on fatigue resistance under rotating bending fatigue test
conditions. The rotating bending fatigue test pieces were prepared from
commercial extruded 6061 aluminum alloy. During fatigue testing each
test piece was subjected to a corrosive environment of 3.5% NaCl so-
lution.
2. Experimental details
The fatigue test pieces were prepared from 6061 aluminum alloy
extruded rod with 16 mm in diameter. To avoid undesirable variations
in chemical compositions, they were prepared from the same batch.
Likewise, to avoid any variations in microstructure, macrostructure,
and precipitation from heat treatment, they were prepared from as-
extruded aluminum rod. The chemical composition of the 6061
Aluminum alloy as determined by emission spectrometry is given in
Table 1.
The rotating bending fatigue specimens with polished surface of
controlled roughness, as shown in Fig. 1(b), were prepared by using a
CNC machine following ASTM E466 [30]. A Mitutoyo Surftest SV-3000
machine was used to measure the surface roughness. All rotating
bending fatigue specimens had Ra values below 1 μm. The minimum
diameter was 4 mm, and the radius R was 34 mm (Fig. 1(b)). The stress
amplitude for testing was determined as a percentage of the YTS and
varied from 35% YTS to 90% YTS (25%-60% UTS). A Yamamoto Giga
Quad equipped with the environmental control module as shown in
Fig. 1(c) was used for fatigue testing. The testing was divided into 2
conditions; (1) ambient environment and (2) 3.5% NaCl environment,
Tests under both conditions were operated at a frequency of 50 Hz.
During testing under the potentially corrosive environment, 1 ml/mm
of 3.5% NaCl solution was dropped at the center of each specimen. A
scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with EDS was used to
examine the fracture surfaces of specimens after fatigue testing. Also,
an Olympus LEXT OLS4100 3D laser measuring microscope was used to
study the fracture surfaces and the corroded surfaces.
The specimens for macro- and micro-structural examination were
prepared by standard metallographic procedures in directions trans-
verse and parallel to the extruded direction. Tucker’s reagent was used
as a macro-etchant for 6061 aluminum alloy, following ASTM E340
[31]. Fig. 2 shows the macrographs and optical microstructure image of
extruded 6061 aluminum alloy. Fig. 2(a) and (b) show the macro-
structures observed in the parallel and transverse sections respectively.
The figures show that the grain size inherited from production was
variable but within a 5 mm radius from the center of the extruded rod,
the grain size was homogeneous. The grain structure viewed in the
parallel specimen was elongated in the working direction as shown in
Fig. 2(c) and (d). The hardness was determined using a Brinell (2.5 mm
ball) for both directions of the extruded rod. The hardness in the cross
section (103 HB) was slightly lower than that in the parallel direction
(108 HB), as shown in Fig. 3(e). Tensile test pieces following ASTM
B557M [32], as shown in Fig. 1(a) were prepared by CNC machining.
Gauge length was 75 mm with 12.5 mm diameter. An Instron 8801 (100
kN) machine was used for tensile testing at a strain rate of 1 mm/min.
K. Chanyathunyaroj, et al. International Journal of Fatigue 133 (2020) 105420

Fig. 3. Rotating bending fatigue results: (a) stress amplitude versus the number of cycles; (b) stress amplitude versus fatigue life.

Table 2 The yield strength was determined based on 0.2% offset. The yield and
Load applied, stress amplitude and % YTS used in fatigue testing. ultimate tensile strengths of the extruded 6061 aluminum alloy em-
Load (kg) Stress amplitude (MPa) % YTS ployed in this experiment were 232 MPa and 342 MPa, respectively
with elongation of 13.30% as shown in Fig. 2(f). The yield strength in
3.24 204 88 Fig. 2(f) was used to calculate the testing weights. The load applied to
3.14 198 85 the testing machine, W (kg), was calculated according to Eq. (1).
3.04 192 83
2.94 185 80 W= ( d3)/(32gL) (1)
2.84 179 77
2.74 173 75 where σ is the stress amplitude (MPa), d is the gauge diameter (mm), L
2.54 160 69 is the distance from the center of gauge diameter to loading point (mm),
2.44 154 66
and g is the gravitational constant (m/s2). Table 2 showed the applied
2.24 141 61
2.04 129 56 loading which covered values between 35 and 90% YTS and the stress
1.84 116 50 amplitudes used in this experiment. Previous studies on 6061 aluminum
1.74 110 47 alloy (ambient environment) have reported that the stress amplitude at
1.64 103 44
the endurance limit, based on a minimum fatigue life of 107 cycles, was
1.44 91 39
1.34 84 36
not below approximately 35% YTS [6,7], and have used a frequency of
50–55 Hz for rotating bending fatigue testing [27,28]. Thus, the testing
frequency used in this experiment followed these previous studies.

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K. Chanyathunyaroj, et al. International Journal of Fatigue 133 (2020) 105420

Fig. 4. 3D laser measuring image, Macrograph and SEM images of fracture at high-stress amplitude (low number of cycles) in ambient environment.

Fig. 5. 3D laser measuring image, Macrograph and SEM images of fracture at low-stress amplitude (high number of cycles) in ambient environment.

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K. Chanyathunyaroj, et al.
Fig. 6. 3D laser measuring image, Macrograph and SEM images of fracture at high-stress amplitude (low number of cycles) for exposure with 3.5% NaCl solution.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Rotating bending fatigue properties
Fig. 3(a) shows the results of rotating bending fatigue testing. The
dead weights were used as the loads in the experiment. The endurance
limit for aluminum alloys is defined as the stress amplitude that the
specimen can withstand for at least 107 fatigue cycles [2]. Under non-
corrosive ambient conditions it was found that, when the stress am-
plitude was less than 75% YTS, the fatigue life of the as-extruded 6061
aluminum alloy was over 107 cycles. As expected, the fatigue life in-
creased with decreasing load, e.g. for a stress amplitude of 56% YTS
(129 MPa) the fatigue life approached 108 cycles. The specimens tested
with 129 and 116 MPa (50% YTS) loads were not ruptured. Fig. 3(b)
shows the observed relationship between stress amplitude and fatigue
life in hours. Under the test frequency of 50 Hz, the specimen that failed
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International Journal of Fatigue 133 (2020) 105420
after 106 cycles took 5–6 h while that for 107 cycles took 2–3 days and
that with 108 cycles took 23–24 days. When the stress amplitude was
less than 75% YTS, the failure time was over 24 h (1 day). When the
129 and 116 MPa stress amplitudes were employed, the specimens
could endure over 566 h (23.5 days) without any rupture.
When tested with exposure to 3.5% NaCl solution the fatigue life of
the 6061 alloy was reduced by a factor 10 compared to the ambient
condition. At high-stress amplitudes (low number of cycles), the impact
of the salt solution on the fatigue life was considered low (107 down to
106 cycles). However, at low-stress amplitudes (high number of cycles),
its impact was high. The solution decreased the fatigue life from
1.0 × 108 cycles (without any rupture) to 1.9 × 106 cycles at the stress
amplitude of 116 MPa (50.00% YTS), a reduction of about 51 times. At
high-stress amplitudes, the time to failure was shortened from several
hours to a few hours. When the stress amplitude was over 75% YTS, the
fatigue life was less than 106 cycles such that no specimens could
K. Chanyathunyaroj, et al.
Fig. 7. 3D laser measuring image, Macrograph and SEM images of fracture at low-stress amplitude (high number of cycles) for exposure with 3.5% NaCl solution.
endure over 5 h when exposed to 3.5% NaCl solution. At low-stress
amplitudes, the time was shortened from several days to several hours.
At stress amplitudes below 75% YTS, the fatigue life was less than 107
such that no specimens could endure over 28 h when exposed to 3.5%
NaCl solution. The presence of 3.5% NaCl solution significantly reduced
the 107 fatigue cycles endurance limit of the 6061 alloy. Moreover,
when the minimum stress amplitude (84 MPa) was applied, the testing
time was quite short, e.g., only 13 h
The fatigue failure under exposure to 3.5% NaCl solution was more
severe than was expected. In general, due to good corrosion resistance
of the 6061 aluminum alloy, exposure for 24 h to 3.5% NaCl solution is
not likely to cause significant corrosion attack [33]. However, the ex-
perimental results indicate that in 6061 exposed to 3.5% NaCl solution
fatigue failure can take place in a relatively short period of time even at
low stress amplitudes. Therefore, fatigue behavior of 6061 must be
carefully considered when the alloy is be used in environments exposed
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International Journal of Fatigue 133 (2020) 105420
to salt water. Moreover, an understanding of the mechanisms by which
fatigue failure of 6061 can be accelerated by exposure to chloride ions
is crucial in mitigation and prevention of problems during service.
3.2. Fracture under rotating bending fatigue
Figs. 4 and 5 show SEM and 3D laser measurement images of
fractures that occurred under high-stress and low stress amplitudes (low
and higher number of cycles). Typical fatigue failure consists of 3
stages: stage I is crack initiation, stage II is crack propagation and stage
III is final fracture [34]. The fracture surfaces given in Figs. 4 and 5
show typical fatigue fracture characteristics. Fig. 4(c) and Fig. 5(c)
show only one crack initiation site on each specimen. Fig. 4(d) and
Fig. 5(d) show the fatigue striations which appear in stage II of the
fatigue failure. The fatigue striations that have been produced under
high-stress amplitude are wider than those produced at lower stress
K. Chanyathunyaroj, et al.
Fig. 8. Fracture of specimens: (a) ambient environment; (b) with 3.5% NaCl solution, the red line is center of the specimens.
amplitude. The ratio of stage II and stage III area in Fig. 4(b) was ap-
proximately 1:1. The specimen shown in Fig. 5 was subjected to a lower
stress amplitude than the specimen shown in Fig. 4 and hence the area
of stage II is larger than that of stage III, as indicated in Fig. 5(b). The
final fracture areas of each specimen, as shown in Fig. 4(f) and Fig. 5(f),
both exhibit dimpled surfaces that are characteristic of ductile failure
via micro-void nucleation and coalescence.
Figs. 6 and 7 show SEM and 3D laser measurement images of
fractures produced at high-stress amplitude and low-stress amplitude
under exposure to 3.5% NaCl solution. The fracture surfaces given in
Figs. 6 and 7 also show typical features of fatigue fracture, but several
crack initiation sites are observed on the surfaces. The crack initiation
sites are described as major and minor. The major crack initiation sites
are shown in Fig. 6(d) and Fig. 7(d) while the minor sites are shown in
Fig. 6(b), (c) and (f) and Fig. 7(b), (c) and (f). The presence of minor
crack initiation sites indicates the effect of 3.5% NaCl solution on
multiplication of crack nucleation sites. Stages II and III of the fracture
surfaces of specimens tested under 3.5% NaCl solution are similar to
those of the specimens tested without the solution. The fracture surfaces
of the specimens tested without the solution (Fig. 4(b) and Fig. 5(b)) are
smoother than those of the specimens tested with 3.5% NaCl solution
(Fig. 6(e) and Fig. 7(e)). The roughness around the major crack in-
itiation sites are illustrated by the 3D laser measurement images
(Fig. 4(a), 5(a), 6(a) and 7(a)). These images confirm that the speci-
mens tested without the solution (Fig. 4(a) and Fig. 5(a)) have fracture
surfaces around the major crack initiation sites that are smoother than
those of the specimens tested with 3.5% NaCl solution (Fig. 6(a) and
Fig. 7(a)).
Fig. 8 shows the fractured specimens tested with and without 3.5%
NaCl solution. The red line refers to the center of specimens. The
fracture of the specimens tested without 3.5% NaCl solution (Fig. 8(a))
frequently occurs at the specimen center which has minimum cross-
sectional area and hence can withstand less loading than other posi-
tions. In contrast, some fracture positions of the specimens tested with
3.5% NaCl solution (Fig. 8(b)) are displaced from the center by a few
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International Journal of Fatigue 133 (2020) 105420
millimeters. These fracture positions have larger diameters and are
capable of bearing higher stress levels than the center. Hence the dis-
placed positioning of these fractures has most likely resulted from
corrosion damage due to contact between the specimen surface and the
NaCl solution in the presence of oxygen. Fig. 9 shows optical micro-
graphs of parallel and cross sections taken from fractured specimens.
The fracture of the specimens tested without 3.5% NaCl solution
(Fig. 9(a)) shows round and smooth surface. Whereas, the fracture of
specimens tested with 3.5% NaCl solution (Fig. 9(b) and (c)) show some
pits at the surface near fracture position. It is considered that these pits
have been produced by corrosion and that such pitting corrosion fa-
cilitates crack nucleation leading to reduced resistance to fatigue
failure.
3.3. The effect of 3.5% NaCl solution on the surface of the 6061 aluminum
alloy
To better understand the corrosion behavior of 6061alloy in 3.5%
NaCl solution, polarization tests were conducted using an Ag/AgCl
standard reference electrode. As shown in Fig. 10(a) the polarization
curve for the as-extruded surface has a current peak at approximately at
−0.65 V (Ecorr = -0.65 V), whereas the polarization curve of the as-
machined surface has a peak at approximately −0.83 V
(Ecorr = −0.83 V) The polarization curves indicate that the machined
surface of 6061 was more vulnerable to corrosion than the as-extruded
surface. The form of corrosion that occurred during the polarization
tests was identified as pitting corrosion. The nature of corrosion was
also examined by testing a fatigue specimen on the fatigue machine
under no applied load with 3.5% NaCl solution dropped at the center.
After 1, 4 and 24 h, the specimen was removed from the machine and
its surface was examined. Fig. 10 shows a 2D photograph of this spe-
cimen taken by using a 3D laser measurement microscope. Fig. 10(b)
shows some scratches, remaining from polishing, on the surface of
specimen. After 1 h (at the same area), there some small pits appeared
on the surface of specimen as shown in Fig. 10(c). When the time was
K. Chanyathunyaroj, et al.
Fig. 9. Optical micrographs of parallel direction and cross section from frac-
tured specimens: (a) ambient environment; (b) and (c) with 3.5% NaCl solution.
increased to 4 h (Fig. 10(d)), the number and size of the pits increased.
After 24 h the number of pits has further increased with the pit size
becoming much larger than in the 4-hour example. Fig. 11 shows a SEM
image of pitting corrosion caused by 3.5% NaCl solution dropped on the
surface of the un-loaded 6061 fatigue specimen tested for 24 h. Table 3
shows chemical compositions determined by EDS of a pitting area (as
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International Journal of Fatigue 133 (2020) 105420
Fig. 10. (a) Polarization curves for as-extruded and as-machined surfaces. Also
shown are 2D images (from 3D laser measurement microscope) for a fatigue
specimen under no applied loading (zero stress amplitude) tested with 3.5%
NaCl solution at different times: (b) 0 h; (c) 1 h; (d) 4 h; (e) 24 h.
indicated in Fig. 11). The area A in Fig. 11 is a free from pits: for this
area no Fe, Cu, Cr and Mn was detected by EDS. For the B area, which
contains pitting, EDS revealed the presence of Fe, Cu, Cr, and Mn al-
loying elements, indicating that pitting corrosion had occurred near the
intermetallic compounds present in the microstructure of 6061alloy.
Park et Al [35] suggested that Al3Fe intermetallic in 6061 Alumi-
nium alloy serves as a local cathode and creates cavities in the host
metal. Acosta and Veleva [36] investigated the corrosion of 6061-T6
aluminum alloy in diluted substitute ocean water and also found that
Fe-rich intermetallic particles of Al-Fe-Si act as cathodes. Liang et Al
[37] reported that alloying elements in the 6061 aluminum alloy af-
fected corrosion rate. In agreement with other work [35,36] Zander et
Al [38] concluded that pitting penetration followed the distribution of
the Fe-rich intermetallic particles. The addition of Cu increases strength
of 6061 but decreases corrosion resistance. The naturally formed oxide
K. Chanyathunyaroj, et al. International Journal of Fatigue 133 (2020) 105420

leading to migration of Cl- ions toward this position in order to balance

Fig. 11. SEM image of no load (zero stress amplitude) specimen after testing for
24 h with 3.5% NaCl solution.
the positive charge on the Al3+ ions thus resulting in AlCl3 formation
inside each pit [39]. Hydrolysis of AlCl3 then leads to formation of HCl
and Al3+ with the HCl at the root of the pit causing acidification up to a
pH value < 3 which further accelerates pit propagation. The Al3+ ions
concentrated inside the pit will diffuse towards the pit opening and
form Al(OH)3 corrosion product via the reduction reaction at the lateral
surfaces near the top of the pit. For electron transfer pitting corrosion
takes place near the intermetallic compounds. Thus, the distribution
and size of pitting corrosion depend on the distribution and size of the
intermetallic compounds in the microstructure. It has been recognized
that the presence of pits, nucleated on second phase particles or pre-
cipitates, can significantly reduce the fatigue life under tension fatigue
conditions [26]. The pits provide crack nucleation sites. After crack
nucleation, subsequent fatigue cracking will depend on the loading
conditions. Thus, when the crack initiation occurs rapidly, the fatigue of
the aluminum alloy under the rotating bending fatigue is accelerated.
Fig. 12 shows fracture paths in the 179 MPa stress amplitude specimen
with exposure to 3.5% NaCl solution. Fig. 12 (a) and (b) show macro-
graphs of fracture paths in different areas of the same specimen. The
white arrow in Fig. 12(b) indicates pitting corrosion which can act as
minor crack nucleation. Fig. 12(c) shows the major fracture path fol-
lows pitting corrosion damage. These observations strongly confirm
that the pitting corrosion facilitates crack nucleation of the fracture
path.

Table 3
Chemical compositions of the pitting area from Fig. 11(b) measured by EDS 4. Conclusions
(weight %).
Positiion Element (Weight Percent) Fatigue characteristics, under rotating bend testing of 6061 alu-
minum alloy exposed to 3.5% NaCl environment can be summarized as
Mg Al Si Cr Mn Fe Cu follows:
A 0.33 98.69 0.97 – – – –
B – 65.47 17.02 1.62 1.19 12.69 2.01 1. At high stress amplitude, greater than 75% yield strength, the fa-
tigue life of extruded 6061 aluminum alloy is less than 107 cycles.
Exposed to the 3.5% NaCl environment the fatigue life is decreased
to around 106 cycles and the fatigue test duration is shortened from
film on aluminum alloy becomes unstable in an environment containing one day to just a few hours.
chloride ions since the Cl- is adsorbed into the oxide film causing film 2. At low stress amplitude, lower than 75% yield strength, the fatigue
breakdown with formation of micro-cracks a few nanometers in size life is almost 108 cycles. Exposure to the 3.5% NaCl environment
[9,14,36]. The oxide film formed near the intermetallic compounds is decreased the fatigue life from 1.0 × 108 cycles to 1.9 × 106 cycles,
thinner than in other areas. Hence preferential corrosion will tend to a significant reduction of 51x. The fatigue test duration is also de-
occur where this film is damaged by chloride attack. leading to for- creased from several days to several hours.
mation of pits. The pitting corrosion propagates according to the fol- 3. The 3.5%NaCl solution causes corrosion pits on the surface of 6061
lowing electrochemical reactions [14,39]: aluminum alloys specimens which can act as crack nucleation sites.
During the rotating bending fatigue, such pitting corrosion rapidly
Oxidation at the anode (inside a pit): facilitates the nucleation of small cracks which are considered to be
responsible for premature fatigue failure.
Al → Al3+ + 3e

Al3+ + H2O → Al(OH)3 + 3H+ (Hydrolysis of AlCl3) Further study should be focused on effective protection of alu-
minum alloy subject to NaCl or other corrosive environments. Practical
surface treatments should be investigated in terms of efficiency and
Reduction at the cathode (outside the pit cavity): effectiveness.
+
2H + 2e− → H2

O2 + 2H2O + 4e− → 4OH− Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial

Previous studies have suggested that for electron transfer the pits
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ-
would appear near the intermetallic compounds. The formation of Al3+
ence the work reported in this paper.
ions from the oxidation reaction takes place at the bottom of a pit

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K. Chanyathunyaroj, et al.
Fig. 12. Macrograph and 2D images (from 3D laser measurement microscope) of fracture path from 179 MPa stress amplitude specimen with 3.5% NaCl solution: (a)
and (b) macrograph of fracture path (from same specimen); (c) minor fracture; (d) major fracture.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported financially by National Metal and
Materials Technology Center (MTEC Grant No. MT-B-62-MET-07-296-
I). I would like to thank Dr. Julathep Kajornchaiyakul and Dr. Ruangdaj
Tongsri for their expert advice and encouragement throughout this
experiment.
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