The aluminum alloys with zinc as the primary alloying element (AA7XXX series) exhibit high strength and are widely used as aircraft structural materials. These categories of aluminum alloys in their peak aging condition (T6) are known to be highly susceptible to general as well as stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Retrogression and reaging (RRA) treatment of this category of alloys leads to improvement in the corrosion resistance without significant compromise in strength. SCC was found to be improving in general in these alloys, but the intergranular corrosion (IGC) and exfoliation corrosion (EXCO) need to be evaluated. The effect of RRA heat treatment on the IGC and exfoliation of AA7010 aluminum alloy has been investigated and compared with T6 and T73 temper conditions of the alloy. The results indicate that the corrosion susceptibility of AA7010 aluminum alloy decreased by subjecting the alloy to multistage (RRA) heat treatment. It is attributed to the grain boundary precipitate coarsening and is also the major factor responsible for reducing the susceptibility to IGC and EXCO.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.