Abstract

Significant grain refinement and corrosion resistance improvement were achieved in industrial pure Al through equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). The effect of microstructure change on its corrosion resistance was investigated by optical/electron microscopy observation, constant immersion tests, polarisation tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in aqueous NaCl solution. The ultrafine grained (UFG) bulk pure Al (with grain sizes of 300–500 nm) has a higher pitting potential E_pit, a lower corrosion current density I_corr in polarisation tests and an increased polarisation resistance R_p from EIS plots, along with reduced corrosion damage in immersion tests, compared with the as cast material. It was found that the improved corrosion resistance resulted from the uniform distribution of fine Si containing impurities and the formation of a denser oxide film. The ECAPed samples with smaller Si containing impurities have lower microgalvanic currents and reduced susceptibilities of pitting corrosion, which is consistent with the classical ‘small cathode, large anode’ mechanism. The strain induced crystalline defects, for example, high angle grain boundaries and dislocations, appear to provide more nucleation sites for the formation of a denser and thicker oxide film, thus enhancing its corrosion resistance.