Corrosion Behaviour of Friction Stir Welded 1050 Aluminium Alloys: Influence on Microstructure and mechanical properties
By Saoussan El Mouhri (ENSAM-Meknes), Abdellah Laazizi (ENSAM-Meknes), Said Ettaqi (ENSAM-Meknes), Stephane Benayoun (Ecole centrale de Lyon)

This paper reports the effects of corrosion on microstructure and mechanical properties of welded joints of AA 1050 aluminum alloy produced by friction stir welding process. Corrosion properties of base metal and welded joints were studied by cyclic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests. All tests were performed in an aerated 3.5% NaCl aqueous solution with pH = 6.5. The microstructure of nugget zone (NZ), thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) and parent alloy were analyzed using optical microscopy. Also, the tensile properties, such as yield strength, tensile strength and elongation are evaluated after immersion of tensile specimens in 5% NaCl solution.