Cathodic Corrosion Protection of Steel with Electroplated Aluminum Alloys

摘要

Aluminum has excellent corrosion properties due to the formation of a dense oxide layer. This layer spontaneously forms in contact with air and protects the bulk material from further oxidation. Unfortunately, the formation of the natural oxide layer renders pure aluminum passive so that it is not a good candidate for the corrosion protection of a more noble substrate like steel. Therefore, for applications as a corrosion protection layer aluminum should be alloyed with other elements to prevent complete passivation.