Corrosion Fatigue Behavior of Aluminum Alloys

Dear Colleagues,

Al alloys have been consistently attracting attention and are used in extensive applications in a variety of fields, e.g., aerospace as well as marine and automotive industries, due to their low density, high strength, and high specific strength. However, extended applications of Al alloys are still limited by their inadequate resistance to fatigue and corrosion cracking when under the combined impact of chemical and microstructural heterogeneities, external mechanical loading, and exposure to corrosive environments. For example, certain aerospace components composed of Al alloys, including landing gear parts, the wing spar, the engine blade, and other structural parts, often undergo fatigue loading during atmospheric corrosive environment exposures and are prone to both corrosion and fatigue cracking. In view of this, an assessment of the corrosion fatigue cracking behavior of engineered Al alloys is critical for the safety and extended service lifetime of the relevant parts and components. 

Recent research and progress on the corrosion fatigue cracking of Al alloys have been extended in several aspects. (1) Studied materials have been extended from legacy Al alloys, such as AA2024, AA5083, and AA7075, to advanced Al–Cu–Li alloys, such as AA2070, AA2099, and AA2199. (2) The service environments Al alloys are exposed to has expanded to a wider spectrum, meaning a higher risk of corrosion fatigue cracking and material failure. For example, airframe structural components can experience a significant loading at a high altitude ranging from 3000 m to 15,000 m, at which the temperature can range from −5 °C to −60 °C. (3) In terms of prevention strategies, surface modifications and coatings have seen improvements in enhancing hardness, fatigue, and corrosion resistance. (4) In addition, the understanding of AI alloy corrosion fatigue behavior has significantly improved based on advanced ex situ, in situ, or operando characterizations and/or with the integration of multiscale modeling. Therefore, it is of great interest to the relevant academic and industrial committees to launch a Special Issue on the study of Al alloy fatigue corrosion cracking to document the recent progress and perspectives, thereby guiding future efforts in developing more reliable materials and extended applications.

Dr. Yakun Zhu
Guest Editor

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• Corrosion behavior
• Localized corrosion
• Corrosion fatigue cracking
• Aluminium Alloy
• Intermetallic phases