Damage Mechanism of 6061 Aluminum Alloy Accelerated by Corrosionand Wear Coupling Effect

ZENG Suqiong; WANG Ren; LI Gengxin; ZHOU Mao; PANG Chengze; WAN Silei; DU Min; XU Cheng

doi:10.7643/issn.1672-9242.2026.06.013

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Equipment Environmental Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 23 ›› Issue (6) : 142-154. DOI: 10.7643/issn.1672-9242.2026.06.013

Ships and Marine Engineering Equipment

Damage Mechanism of 6061 Aluminum Alloy Accelerated by Corrosionand Wear Coupling Effect

ZENG Suqiong^1,2, WANG Ren³, LI Gengxin^2*, ZHOU Mao³, PANG Chengze^2,4, WAN Silei³, DU Min⁴, XU Cheng²

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Abstract

The work aims to investigate the corrosion and wear coupling effect and its impact rules on 6061 aluminum alloy under extreme wear conditions and reveal its damage mechanism. The 6061 aluminum alloy specimens were subjected to cyclic corrosion and wear tests in a simulated marine atmospheric salt spray environment. Comprehensive analysis of the corrosion mechanism of the alloy after cyclic tests was carried out by means of corrosion-wear volume loss measurement, surface morphology observation, corrosion product composition characterization and electrochemical testing. Under sliding speeds of 10 m/s, 30 m/s and 50 m/s, the wear volume loss under neutral salt spray increased by 24.2%, 32.3% and 19.8%, and the proportion of synergistic effect in total damage was 63.38%, 83.5% and 87.04%, respectively. Under acidic salt spray, the wear volume loss increased by 31.9%, 41.9% and 30.4%, and the corresponding proportions of synergistic effect were 63.92%, 85.94% and 88.08%, respectively. Under the coupling effect of corrosion and wear, the damage mechanism of the aluminum alloy varies with sliding speed, and corrosion and wear promote each other. In particular, the acidic environment leads to more severe damage due to the formation of loose corrosion products with poor wear resistance.

Key words

6061 aluminum alloy / marine atmosphere / salt spray test / corrosionand wear / friction velocity / coupling effect

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ZENG Suqiong, WANG Ren, LI Gengxin, ZHOU Mao, PANG Chengze, WAN Silei, DU Min, XU Cheng. Damage Mechanism of 6061 Aluminum Alloy Accelerated by Corrosionand Wear Coupling Effect[J]. Equipment Environmental Engineering. 2026, 23(6): 142-154 https://doi.org/10.7643/issn.1672-9242.2026.06.013

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