Effect of Oxide Inclusions on Electrochemical Properties of Aluminium Sacrificial Anodes

Oxide films are incorporated into melts by an entrainment process, and are expected to be present in most metals, but particularly cast Al alloys. The oxides are necessarily present as folded-over double films (bifilms) that are effectively cracks. Their effect on the electrochemical behaviour of cast Al-5Zn-0.02ln sacrificial anodes was studied in 3 wt pct sodium chloride solution using the NACE efficiency evaluation. Three methods were employed to entrain progressive amounts of oxide in the alloy, including the addition of Al-Zn-ln maching chips to the charge, increasing the pouring height, and agitating the melt. The introduction of oxide bifilms in the cast alloy resulted in the deterioration of the electrochemical properties of the sacrificial anodes, such as current capacity and anode efficiency, and introduced increasing variability in these properties. The results suggest that corrosion behaviour is strongly related to the presence of bifilms suspended in the liquid alloy because bifilms provide crack paths allowing the corrodant to penetrate deeply into the metal matrix, and simultaneously provide localized galvanic cells because of the precipitation of Fe rich intermetallic compounds on their outer surfaces.