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Understanding the influence of carbon addition on the corrosion behavior and mechanical properties of Al alloy “covetics”

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Abstract

The recent invention of a new processing method for metals and alloys involving the addition of carbon has led to several reports demonstrating an enhancement in the mechanical properties of the materials known as “covetics.” In this work the corrosion behavior and mechanical properties of a 6061 aluminum–carbon covetic are investigated and explained. Covetic samples with carbon added were found to exhibit a corrosion potential 40–70 mV higher than samples processed without the addition of carbon. However, the corrosion current density of the covetic with carbon added relative to samples without carbon added was also increased. Surface characterization following the corrosion testing using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction revealed significant differences between the covetic with carbon added and the covetic parent material processed without carbon addition. After corrosion, the surface of the covetic with carbon added showed a alloying element rich surface morphology from the parent alloy and exhibited a smaller grain size than the material processed without carbon. Additionally, changes in the mechanical properties of the covetic were observed with both the hardness and the compressive strength of the covetic increasing as a result of carbon addition. The observed change in corrosion behavior and mechanical properties of the covetic with carbon added, along with the physical characterization, are consistent with the formation of a secondary phase in the alloy induced by carbon addition during the process used to make the covetic.

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Acknowledgements

J.A.V acknowledges a Robert Carr Fellowship from the Chemistry Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. J.A.V, A.M.D, X.C., and A.A.G thank the US National Science Foundation Grant CHE-1534184. M.B. and I.J. acknowledge DOE-STTR Grant (DE-SC0015115) and funding from the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This work was carried out in part in the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory Central Facilities, which are partially supported by the US Department of Energy (DE-FG02-07ER46453 and DE-FG02-07ER46471).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Jason A. Varnell, Angela M. DiAscro, Xinyi Chen & Andrew A. Gewirth

  2. Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Mete Bakir & Iwona Jasiuk

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Energy Processes, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA

    Sabrina Nilufar

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  1. Jason A. Varnell
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Correspondence to Iwona Jasiuk or Andrew A. Gewirth.

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10853_2018_2998_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Supplementary material 1: Open circuit potential measurements and comparison to published literature, degradation rate curves for 2.3% covetic (PDF 340 kb)

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Varnell, J.A., Bakir, M., DiAscro, A.M. et al. Understanding the influence of carbon addition on the corrosion behavior and mechanical properties of Al alloy “covetics”. J Mater Sci 54, 2668–2679 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-2998-5

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