College

College of Engineering and Polymer Science

Date of Last Revision

2023-05-04 07:16:04

Major

Corrosion Engineering

Honors Course

4250:497

Number of Credits

3

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Date of Expected Graduation

Spring 2021

Abstract

Aluminum alloys are a steadily growing material being commonly used in lieu of typical steels. Additional alloying, heat treatment, and other property enhancing processes are expanding the use of these alloys. However, with this expansion, galvanic corrosion is becoming more of an issue in the design stage due to the combination of these alloys with steels. The automotive industry is one industry where the use of aluminum alloys is becoming common practice. Aluminum alloys provide a lightweight aspect over the conventional carbon steel that was used previously. As a result of this transition towards more lightweight materials, galvanic coupling is becoming a major issue in the automotive industry. A key understanding of the mechanism and kinetics is required in order to continue this transition to lightweight materials safely and economically.

Three materials were investigated individually and coupled in two solutions. The materials were carbon steel 1018, aluminum alloy 6111, and aluminum alloy 6022 investigated in solutions of 0.6M NaCl and 0.06M NaCl. To simulate the effects of atmospheric environments, rotating disk electrode setup was used while performing cyclic potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The investigated speeds were 0, 100, 500, 1000, and 2000 rpm.

Research Sponsor

Dr. David M. Bastidas

First Reader

Dr. Robert Scott Lillard

Second Reader

Dr. Qixin Zhou

Honors Faculty Advisor

Dr. Hongbo Cong

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