Corrosion Behaviour Correlation of the Secondary Aluminium Casts in Natural Atmosphere and Laboratory Conditions

The secondary aluminium alloys are very important material in actual industry from economic and ecological point of view. The secondary aluminium used for production of casts, however, contains some elements, i.e. iron, – affecting physical, chemical and mechanical behaviour. The subject of our investigation has been corrosion behaviour in natural atmosphere of the hypoeutectic AlSi7Mg0.3 cast alloys with various content of iron, because the Fe content affects not only mechanical properties but corrosion resistance, as well. Three types of the AlSi7Mg0.3 cast alloys were exposed for 9 months in natural atmosphere and the measure of their degradation by corrosion was found by determination of the weight loss and the light microscopy. In addition, a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses and evaluation of surface changes were used. The corrosion behaviour in natural atmosphere was compared to results of the carried out electrochemical and exposure laboratory experiments in chloride solutions.