Studying the Impact of T4 and T6 Heat Treatments on Corrosion and Mechanical Properties of 6082-Al Alloy Treated with Al-5Ti-1B Grain Refiner

The mechanical and corrosion characteristics of aluminum alloys can be influenced not only by the addition of grain refiners but also by heat treatment that modifies the microstructure and introduces variations in these characteristics. The purpose of this work was to examine how the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of 6082-Al alloy with Al-5Ti-1B grain refiner are affected by both artificial and natural aging heat treatments. By using the permanent mold casting process, the required specimens of the investigated alloys were produced. A VHS-1000 microhardness testing apparatus is used to measure microhardness at a 100 g load. A sliding wear test is carried out using a pin-on-disk apparatus. Potentiodynamic polarization curves in a 3.5 weight percent NaCl solution are used to assess the corrosion behavior of every specimen. The current results revealed that the mechanical properties improved markedly with the additions of Al–5Ti-1B grain refiner to the investigated alloy, this is maybe due to the microstructure changes as a result of grain refiner additions. Although the addition of Al-5Ti-1B grain refiner to 6082-Al alloy improved the hardness and wear resistance, it showed a negative influence on the corrosion resistance of these alloys. The results also demonstrated that, when compared to as-cast condition, artificial heat treatment of 6082-Al alloy inoculated by Al-5Ti-1B grain refiner improved their hardness, wear resistance, and corrosion properties significantly. Furthermore, compared to natural aging heat treatment, artificial aging heat treatment demonstrated a noticeably improved level of hardness, wear, and corrosion behavior. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.