Strength and corrosion of aluminium and its alloys: properties, methods and developments

Aluminium is an essential structural material and it only gives in to ironbased alloys in terms of overall consumption. Such wide application of aluminium can be attributed to a good combination of strength and density, as well as to its impact and corrosion resistance. Thanks to the latter, aluminium has been successfully used for the production of various items – from household structures to structural components of airplanes. Such versatility gives relevance to this research study. The chemical compositions of a group of new alloys that find demand in today’s industry (including railway industry) contain higher amounts of alloying elements. Consequently, one should know how the composition of complex alloyed aluminium alloys may impact their corrosion properties. This paper describes the results of a study that looked at the corrosion resistance of aluminium alloys used in railway transportation (for both passengers and cargo) under exposure to aggressive environments. The paper gives a brief review of the behaviour of aluminium alloys as a function of their chemical composition, microstructure and the actual environment. A good understanding of these parameters is critical when making use of aluminium alloysand working on the development of ones offering higher strength. Inoculation and microstructure determine not only the mechanical strength of alloys but also their corrosion resistance. The authors demonstrate the advantage of using aluminium alloys for making railway containers and cars versus currently used steel, due to the high corrosion resistance of the former.Contributors to this research study include V. V. Ergasheva.

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