Corrosion Resistance of Friction Stir Welded Al-Cu-Li Alloy AA2099-T8

In order to study the effect of friction stir welding (FSW) on corrosion resistance of Al-Cu-Li alloy AA2099-T8, the microstructure and microhardness of FSW joints were characterized, and then, the corrosion behavior of the FSW joints was investigated by the immersion and potentiodynamic polarization tests in a 3.5% NaCl solution at room temperature. It is indicated that the alloy was softened by FSW, with the lowest hardness appearing at the boundary between the nugget zone and the thermo-mechanically affected zone. When exposed to the NaCl solution, the FSW joint was characterized by shallow pits and was free of severe localized corrosion, probably due to dissolution of T₁ (A₂CuLi) phase in the FSW joint. It is suggested that further work should be carried out to evaluate the galvanic coupling effect between the FSW joint and the base metal, as well as the stress corrosion cracking resistance of the FSW joint.