Numerical Investigation of Micro-Galvanic Corrosion in Mg Alloys: Role of the Cathodic Intermetallic Phase Size and Spatial Distributions

Magnesium alloys are of increasing interest in structural applications due to their low-density, moderate specific strength and stiffness, recyclability, and high damping among other properties. However, the wide-scale applicability of magnesium alloys in structural applications has been limited due to many factors including its poor corrosion resistance. In this work, a numerical investigation to simulate the micro-galvanic corrosion behavior was performed to examine the influence of the size and distribution of cathodic intermetallic phase (beta-Mg17Al12) in a Mg matrix. The ratio of cathodic to anodic surface area was kept constant in each simulation condition to understand the effect of size and spacing distributions. In general, fragmentation of a larger intermetallic particle into smaller ones was determined to enhance the localized current density. However, the uniform distribution rather than clustered or non-uniform distribution of this small intermetallic phase throughout the matrix was found to reduce the overall dissolution current density and hence, pitting corrosion severity.