Effect of Surface Roughness on Pitting Corrosion of AZ31 Mg Alloy

Magnesium is a highly desired material for multiple applications including automotive, aircraft, and biomedical components due to its high strength to weight ratio, non-toxicity, and its good machinability. The main drawback of magnesium use is its poor resistance to corrosion. The goal of this experiment was to determine the effect of surface roughening treatments on the rate of corrosion and to characterize the resultant magnesium oxide (MgO) and brucite (Mg(OH)(2)) corrosion products. Three samples of AZ31 alloy with varying initial surface roughness were exposed to simulated marine conditions using a salt fog chamber for 672 h. The salt fog experiments used a 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution and were conducted in accordance with the ASTM B117 test protocols. One sample was tested in an as-received state, served as the control, another sample was roughened using a grit blaster, and another was polished to a mirror finish. Formed oxide scales were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The samples with a higher roughness underwent the severest corrosion and ensuing formation of the thickest oxide layers. The results indicate that the initial surface roughness has a profound effect on the resulting severity of pitting corrosion in Mg alloys and that mechanical polishing can substantially reduce the propensity for uniform and pitting corrosion to occur.