The correlation between intergranular corrosion resistance and copper content in the precipitate microstructure in an AA6005A alloy

Abstract

A positive correlation is observed between the amount of Cu incorporated in hardening precipitates and intergranular corrosion resistance in an artificially aged Cu-containing 6005A alloy. Three mechanisms have been identified to increase Cu absorption in hardening precipitates: by increasing aging temperature, by pre-deformation, and by slow cooling from solution heat treatment. These findings demonstrate the possibility for development of new processing routes to produce Cu-containing Al-Mg-Si alloys with improved corrosion resistance.