Corrosion properties of amg3 aluminum alloy treated by short-pulse plasma electrolytic oxidation in marine conditions

Aluminum alloys are increasingly used in marine engineering both for the construction of ship hulls and for the manufacture of various ship equipment, pipelines and other devices. However, the use of aluminum alloys in elements of marine technology exposed to direct contact with sea water or operating in the sea atmosphere requires additional study and development of ways to improve anticorrosion properties. The formation of protective coatings on the surface of aluminum alloys by the method of plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) enable one to increase the anticorrosive characteristics. The paper presents the results of comprehensive studies of the corrosion resistance and morphology of PEO coatings formed on the AMg3 aluminum alloy in a salt spray chamber and during field tests in sea water and in the marine atmosphere. It is shown that the treatment of the AMg3 aluminum alloy by the method of plasma electrolytic oxidation with the use of a short-pulse polarizing signal leads to an improvement in the corrosion characteristics of the formed coating.