CORROSION

• Atmospheric Corrosion
• Most aluminum alloys have an excellent resistance to atmospheric corrosion, and in many outdoor applications do not require treatments, protective coatings, or maintenance

• Corrosion in Water
• Aluminum alloys of the 1xxx, 3xxx, 5xxx and 6xxx series are resistant to corrosion in many waters. There are many important factors controlling the corrosiveness of water including; water temperature, pH (Low pH indicates acidity while high pH indicates Alkalinity), and the amount of metallic ions dissolved in the water commonly identified as conductivity and the presence or absence of heavy metals, the corrosion potentials and pitting potentials of the specific alloys.
• Two aluminum alloys which have high strength and are extremely corrosion resistant are 6061 and 6063. That is why the semiconductor industry uses 6061 aluminum as their base metal for highly corrosive environments. In comparison 7075, exhibits superior strength, over 1.5 times that of the 6xxx series but is much more susceptible to corrosion.