Effect of pitting corrosion on very high cycle fatigue behavior

In this study, the effect of pre-existing corrosion pits on the fatigue behavior of 7075/T6 aluminium alloy in very long life range and in the near threshold regime was investigated by using piezoelectric accelerated fatigue test. The results indicate that the presence of pre-existing corrosion pits, produced by 1-day, 4-day, and 7-day immersion in salt water significantly reduces the fatigue life of the aluminum alloy by a factor of 10-100. (C) 2003 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.