General Corrosion Resistance Comparisons of Medium- and High-Strength Aluminum Alloys for DOD Systems Using Laboratory-Based Accelerated Corrosion Methods

Test specimens of various aluminum alloys common to U.S. Department of Defense DOD systems or proposed for use in DOD systems were identically prepared and exposed under bare uncoated conditions in chamber-based, laboratory-accelerated corrosion test methods to assess their relative susceptibilities to general corrosion attack. The methods used were ASTM B 117 neutral salt fog NSF and General Motors Standard 9540P GM 9540P cyclic accelerated corrosion. The NSF specimens were compared at intervals of 18, 72, and 168 h. The GM 9540P specimens were assessed at 1, 5, and 10 cycle intervals. The corrosion assessments were graphically obtained using flatbed scanning techniques.