You are on page 1of 3

Types of corrosion most commonly resulting in anodized aluminium:

Just a small amount of mercury paste caused the aluminum I-beam above
rusted half away in a few hours, something that would have taken an iron
beam years.
Pitting Corrosion:
Occurs only in the presence of an electrolyte (either water or moisture)
containing dissolved salts, usually chlorides. As the products of corrosion
often cover the points of attack, visible pits are rarely evident on aluminium
surfaces.
Pitting is primarily an aesthetic problem that, practically speaking, never
affects strength.
Galvanic corrosion:
Galvanic corrosion may occur where there is both metallic contact and an
electrolytic bridge between different metals.
Close-up of galvanic corrosion in an aluminium rail post (25 years use). The
rectangular hollow profile was held in place by a carbon steel bolt. The
contact surfaces between the steel and the aluminium were often wet and
attack was aggravated by wintertime salting.
I assumed this does not apply to our products!

Crevice corrosion

Crevice corrosion can occur in narrow, liquid-filled crevices. The likelihood of


this type of corrosion occurring in extruded profiles is small. However,
significant crevice corrosion can occur in marine atmospheres, or on the
exteriors of vehicles. During transport and storage, water sometimes collects
in the crevices between superjacent aluminium surfaces and leads to
superficial corrosion (water staining). The source of this water is rain or
condensation that, through capillary action, is sucked in between the metal
surfaces

Crevice Corrosion
I assume this does not apply as well.
Summary:
After looking into the various modes of corrosion, the one that might likely
apply to us could be the pitting corrosion. Few ways to counter that would be
by employing effective sealing technique. Long immersion in boiling-
hot deionized water or steam is the simplest sealing process, although it is
not completely effective and reduces abrasion resistance by 20%.The oxide
is converted into its hydrated form, and the resulting swelling reduces the
porosity of the surface. Cold sealing, where the pores are closed by
impregnation of a sealant in a room-temperature bath, is more popular due
to energy savings. Coatings sealed in this method are not suitable for
adhesive bonding. Teflon, nickel acetate, cobalt acetate, and hot sodium or
potassium dichromate seals are commonly used.
References:
1)http://aluminumsurface.blogspot.com/2009/05/three-most-common-
corrosion-mechanisme.html
2) http://www.keymarkcorp.com/anoAdvDis.php3
3) http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2004-09/amazing-rusting-aluminum
4) http://www.aluminiumdesign.net/design-support/aluminium-corrosion-
resistance/

You might also like