A Review on Tribocorrosion Behavior of Aluminum Alloys: From Fundamental Mechanisms to Alloy Design Strategies

Tribocorrosion, a research field that has been evolving for decades, has gained renewed attention in recent years, driven by increased demand for wear- and corrosion-resistant materials from biomedical implants, nuclear power generation, advanced manufacturing, batteries, marine and offshore industries, etc. In the United States, wear and corrosion are estimated to cost nearly USD 300 billion per year. Among various important structural materials, passive metals such as aluminum alloys are most vulnerable to tribocorrosion due to the wear-accelerated corrosion as a result of passive film removal. Thus, designing aluminum alloys with better tribocorrosion performance is of both scientific and practical importance. This article reviews five decades of research on the tribocorrosion of aluminum alloys, from experimental to computational studies. Special focus is placed on two aspects: (1) The effects of alloying and grain size on the fundamental wear, corrosion, and tribocorrosion mechanisms; and (2) Alloy design strategies to improve the tribocorrosion resistance of aluminum alloys. Finally, the paper sheds light on the current challenges faced and outlines a few future research directions in the field of tribocorrosion of aluminum alloys.