ORALS

Aluminum alloys find widespread use in industries such as aerospace, automotive, marine, and oil and gas, owing to their exceptional properties. However, their susceptibility to localized corrosion can lead to catastrophic failures in-service. Mechanical surface treatment emerges as a promising approach to enhance the mechanical and corrosion properties of aluminum alloys. Numerous recent studies have investigated the impact of mechanical surface treatment on the corrosion behavior of aluminum in various forms, including cast, wrought, powder metallurgy, and additive manufacturing. This review focuses on the corrosion response of aluminum alloys subjected to different mechanical surface processing techniques. A wide range of processes, such as peening, rolling, extrusion, laser shock peening, and equal channel angular pressing (ECAP), are systematically reviewed. These methods have the potential to significantly alter the microstructure, mechanical properties, and electrochemical response of the aluminum surface. The outcomes of such surface treatments include but are not limited to introduction of a residual stress field, increased dislocation density, grain refinement, enhanced surface roughness, and formation of surface damage or discontinuities. This review discusses the general corrosion behavior, susceptibility to localized corrosion, stress corrosion cracking (SCC), corrosion fatigue, intergranular corrosion, and cavitation, along with the influence of processing parameters on microstructure and corrosion properties. Additionally, a comprehensive comparison of corrosion testing results is provided where applicable.