5. Conclusion

Under atmospheric conditions or at neutral pH, aluminum is the most corrosion-resistant common metallic material, compared with low-alloy steels, zinc and copper.

However, in the case of aluminum alloys, corrosion behavior is highly diverse and varies greatly according to composition and metallurgical history (forming, heat treatments). Thus, understanding their behavior requires both knowledge of alloy metallurgy (primary precipitation of IM phases, precipitation of hardening IM phases, grain microstructures) and knowledge of the sometimes complex electrochemical properties of IM phases (complete or selective dissolution, passivation, galvanic coupling).

There are a number of easily applicable principles for making an initial choice of aluminum alloys based on the desired corrosion properties. However, a number of electrochemical and non-electrochemical...