Room temperature corrosion properties of AZ31 magnesium alloy processed by extrusion and equal channel angular pressing

The electrochemical properties of AZ31 magnesium alloy processed by extrusion and equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) were investigated. The electrochemical properties were evaluated using potentiodynamic tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in corrosion solution of 0.1 M sodium chloride. The electrochemical changes of the sample surface were correlated with microstructure evolution. Material processed by extrusion and subsequently by 8 passes of ECAP shows similar or even inferior corrosion resistance to the extruded material after immersion time up to 96 h. However, corrosion resistance of material after extrusion and ECAP is significantly better than that of the extruded material for immersion time of 168 h. This sudden improvement is caused by different formation and fall off of protective corrosion products. Microstructure after extrusion is inhomogeneous and contains relatively large grains, whereas material after ECAP possesses homogeneous ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure. As a result, material after ECAP offers more corrosion nucleation sites, but UFG microstructure causes that only smaller clusters of corrosion products fall off the surface. The easier and faster corrosion protective layer restoration on the surface of UFG material after ECAP leads to enhanced corrosion resistance.