The fatigue life of aluminium 6061-T651 at various applied stress amplitudes in the unwelded and welded condition was found to be significantly reduced on immersion in a 3.5% NaCl simulated sea water solution, compared to that measured in ambient air. The ratio of fatigue life in NaCl test solution to that in air increased as the stress amplitude decreased. The observed reduction in the fatigue life in the NaCl test solution was most likely due to the presence of pits which nucleated on second phase particles or precipitates. Welded joints performed using pulsed gas metal arc welding and ER5183 filler wire failed at the interface between the weld metal and the heat-affected zone as a result of a high pitting rate in this region.

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The polished 6061-T651 aluminium alloy was immersed in 3.5% NaCl solution with about 7 ppm dissolved oxygen. Scanning Electron Microscopy equipped with Energy dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy revealed the presence of Al-Si-Fe-containing particles that acted as cathodic sites and promoted the matrix dissolution. The effect of pH and chloride solution is assessed.

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