Corrosion Behaviour of Multiaxial Compressed AlMgSi alloy

Abstract

In the present study, AlMgSi alloy was processed through multi-axial compression (MAC) to produce ultrafine-grained microstructure at room temperature. The AlMgSi alloys are widely used in automobile industries for making cylinder heads and brake disks etc. MAC was performed up to three cycles and showed improvement in mechanical properties. The impact of different strain levels upon microstructure changes is investigated using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The average grain size reduced from an initial average grain size of ~ 124 to ~ 3 μm after completion of three cycles of MAC processing. Samples were tested for mechanical properties using uniaxial tensile test, hardness measurements, and corrosion. Tensile test results show a considerable increase in yield strength from ~90 MPa to ~249 MPa after 3 cycles of MAC. The average hardness value increased from 52 VHN to 90 VHN after 3 cycles of MAC. The corrosion resistance of MAC processed samples was found to decrease in comparison to solution-treated samples.