Atmospheric Corrosion of AZ31B Magnesium Alloy in the Antarctic Low-Temperature Environment

doi:10.1007/s40195-023-01561-4

Abstract

Abstract:

In this work, the outdoor corrosion behavior of AZ31B magnesium alloy in the Antarctic atmospheric environment was investigated. The surface corrosion state of the specimens exposed to the Antarctic atmosphere for 1 month and 24 months differ significantly. The corrosion rate after 1 month during the summer season was 19.82 g/m²·year and it decreased to 13.87 g/m²·year after two years’ exposure. Corrosion is initiated with pitting corrosion and then evolved to uniform corrosion with prolonging exposure time. The skyward surface exhibited a much severe corrosion than that of the groundward surface, attributed to the long-term existence of the adsorbed electrolyte layer. The corrosion products formed on the alloy exposed in Antarctica environment were MgCO₃·3H₂O, MgCO₃·5H₂O and Mg₂CO₃(OH)₂·0.5H₂O, with the MgCO₃·3H₂O as the dominant phase in the initial stage and the Mg₂CO₃(OH)₂·0.5H₂O as the dominant phase after long-term exposure.

Key words: Magnesium alloy, Corrosion products, Antarctica, Low temperature

Xi-Zhao Shi, Zhong-Yu Cui, Jie Li, Bing-Chen Hu, Yi-Qiang An, Xin Wang, Hong-Zhi Cui. Atmospheric Corrosion of AZ31B Magnesium Alloy in the Antarctic Low-Temperature Environment[J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2023, 36(9): 1421-1432.

Figures/Tables 12

Table 1 Chemical composition of AZ31B magnesium alloy (wt%)

Al	Zn	Mn	Si	Fe	Cu	Ni	Mg
3.2	0.83	0.29	0.014	0.0028	0.0022	0.00072	Bal.

Table 2 Climate characteristics of Zhongshan station in 2019-2021 and Inexpressible Island in 2013

	Annual average temperature	Highest recorded temperature	Warm season (October to March) average temperature	Lowest recorded temperature	Annual average relative humidity	Climate
Zhongshan station	− 7.2 to − 12.6 ℃	9.6 ℃	− 4.1 ℃	− 36.4 ℃	62.5%	Subpolar continental climate
Inexpressible Island	− 15.3 to − 18.7 ℃	5.4 ℃	− 9.5 ℃	− 39.3 ℃	42.1%	Polar continental climate

Fig. 1 Corrosion rates of AZ31B magnesium alloy exposed to various locations including Zhongshan station (ZS), Xisha Island (XS) [15], Inexpressible Island (IE) and Turpan (TP) [18]

Fig. 2 Corrosion morphologies of AZ31B alloy before a-c and after d-f removing corrosion products after exposure in Zhongshan station for 1 month

Fig. 3 Temperature distribution of Zhongshan station in Antarctica in February and March

Fig. 4 Corrosion morphologies of AZ31B alloy before a, b after c, d removing corrosion products after exposure in Inexpressible Island for 24 months

Fig. 5 CLSM images of both sides of AZ31 alloy after exposure in Zhongshan station and Inexpressible Island for 1 and 24 months, respectively. The statistical analysis results are summarized and listed. Npit: pit number density; dmax: the maximum pit depth; davg: the average pit depth; Vmax: the maximum pit volume; Vavg: the average pit volume

Fig. 6 XRD analysis of the corrosion products formed on AZ31B magnesium alloy after exposure in Zhongshan station a and Inexpressible Island b for 1 month and 24 months, respectively, and the proportion of each component in corrosion products c

Fig. 7 Nyquist a, c, Bode b, d diagrams of AZ31B magnesium alloy after exposure in Zhongshan station for 1 month a, b, in Inexpressible Island c, d for 24 months

Fig. 8 Selection of the models for the EIS spectra for the alloys after immersion for different time and the corresponding equivalent circuits

Table 3 Fitted EIS parameters for AZ31B magnesium after exposure in different sites

	Immersion Time (h)	R_s (Ω·cm²)	CPE_f (Ω⁻¹·cm⁻²·sⁿ)	R_f (Ω·cm²)	CPE_dl (Ω⁻¹·cm⁻²·sⁿ)	R_ct (Ω·cm²)	R_L (Ω·cm²)	L (H·cm⁻²)
Zhongshan station	0.5	34.25	1.88 × 10^-6	1016	2.11 × 10^-8	3108	1.86 × 10⁴	3032
	4	47.58	8.32 × 10^-6	434.9	5.40 × 10^-7	1990	5008	627.6
	8	49.8	4.68 × 10^-6	107.5	4.41 × 10^-6	1219	3557	1134
	12	50.1	4.59 × 10^-6	68.1	6.65 × 10^-6	1377	3064	606
	24	47.84	1.12 × 10^-5	54.13	1.51 × 10^-5	1550	2809	380.4
	48	39.18	2.06 × 10^-5	115.4	1.44 × 10^-5	1428	2482	476.2
Inexpressible island	0.5	14.71	3.29 × 10^-6	807.8	4.35 × 10^-6	1.68 × 10⁵
	4	16.55	1.34 × 10^-5			413.2	270.4	464.7
	8	19.35	3.08 × 10^-5			334.6	401	484
	12	17.79	3.31 × 10^-5			375.5	270.8	459.2
	24	18.6	3.35 × 10^-5			576.5	554	4146
	48	17.48	2.95 × 10^-5			632.4	620.4	4687

Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of the corrosion mechanism of AZ31B in the Antarctic atmospheric environment. a Oxidation of magnesium alloy and further formation of Brucite; b brucite carbonation; c formation of hydrated magnesium carbonate; d formation of magnesium hydroxy carbonate

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