Role of Mg in the stress corrosion cracking of an Al-Mg alloy

The corrosion and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility of an Al-Mg alloy, AA5083, has been shown to depend on the precipitation of the Mg-rich β phase, (Al₃Mg₂), but not the enrichment of elemental Mg at grain boundaries to an enrichment ratio of 1.4. These results were determined by measuring the progress of Mg enrichment at grain boundaries, for increasing thermal-treatment times, using auger electron spectroscopy (AES) of grain boundaries exposed by fracture within the spectrometer and by analytical electron microscopy (AEM) of thin foils. The progress of the β phase precipitation was followed by AEM and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), for the same thermal-treatment times. The lack of a Mg-segregation effect on SCC was demonstrated by results obtained with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of Mg-implanted Al following in-situ electrochemical tests and SCC tests, while the dominance of β phase precipitation was demonstrated by electrochemical analysis and SCC testing. Crack-growth tests of alloy AA5083 demonstrated faster cracking at potentials anodic to the open circuit potential (OCP) with no increase at potentials cathodic to the OCP.