Corrosion fatigue (Topic 11025)

The combined effect of a corrosive environment and cyclic tensions can cause crack growth in a material. This is called corrosion fatigue. The corrosive environment can cause a faster crack growth and/or crack growth at a lower tension level than in dry air.

Even relatively mild corrosive atmospheres can reduce the fatigue strength of aluminium structures considerably, down to 75ñ25% of the fatigue strength in dry air.

Results from investigations on one alloy in a simulated automotive environment are shown below.

Deterioration of strength caused by a simulated market environment of corrosion and chipping scratches for alloy AW-6061-T6, reduction of fatigue strength in the same environment for a cast iron part is included [39].

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