Electrochemical Investigations of Al-8088/TiO2/SiC Hybrid Composites developed using stir Casting method

Abstract

Aluminium alloys are employed in aerospace, automotive, and other structural uses due to their high strength and lightweight qualities. Moreover, when aluminum alloys are exposed to different conditions at different temperatures, corrosion becomes a life-limiting problem. In this study Alumina (TiO2) and palm kernel shell ash (SiC) were used as reinforcement particles in Al 8088 matrix alloy, this work examines the corrosion behaviour of hybrid composites at various mix ratios. The method of double stir casting was employed to develop the composites. Both gravimetric analysis and electrochemical measurements were used to examine the corrosion behaviours of the composites in NaCl solutions. The results obtained by the gravimetric analysis, suggested that the composite film was defective and that corrosion products were forming on the specimens' surface. Pitting and general corrosion were the mechanisms of corrosion that were detected in the samples. The Al8088 matrix's reinforcements served as active locations for the onset of corrosion. E Corr and I corr in 3.5% NaCl varied from −220.62 to −899.46 mV and 5.45 to 40.87 µA/cm2, respectively, at 24 hours. At 72 hours, E Corr values were between 255.88 and −887.28 mV, while I corr values were between 7.19 and 16.85 µA/cm2. The samples under investigation's electrochemical corrosion behaviour were shown by the Nyquist and Bode plots, which connected the main surface responses to processes related to charge transfer. The samples' relative resistance to corrosion is determined by the thin oxide layer that develops on their surface.