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Effect of TiN particulate reinforcement on corrosive behaviour of aluminium

6061 composites in chloride medium

Article in Bulletin of Materials Science · November 2013

DOI: 10.1007/s12034-013-0560-2

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Bull. Mater. Sci., Vol. 36, No. 6, November 2013, pp. 1057–1066. 
c Indian Academy of Sciences.

Effect of TiN particulate reinforcement on corrosive behaviour

of aluminium 6061 composites in chloride medium

H C ANANDA MURTHY ∗ , V BHEEMA RAJU† and C SHIVAKUMARA‡

Department of Chemistry, R N Shetty Institute of Technology, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bangalore 560 098, India
† Department of Chemistry, Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Technology, Bangalore 560 056, India
‡ Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India

MS received 12 April 2012; revised 20 July 2012

Abstract. In the present investigation, the corrosive behaviour of Al 6061–TiN particulate composites prepared by
liquid metallurgy has been studied in chloride medium using electroanalytical techniques such as Tafel, cyclic polari-
zation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Surface morphology of the sample electrodes was
examined using scanning electron micrography and energy dispersive X-ray methods. X-ray diffraction tech-
nique was used to confirm inclusion of TiN particulates in the matrix alloy and identify the alloying elements
and intermetallic compounds in the Al 6061 composites. Polarization studies indicate an increase in the co-
rrosion resistance in composites compared to the matrix alloy. EIS study reveals that the polarization resistance (Rp )
increases with increase in TiN content in composites, thus confirming improved corrosion resistance in composites.
The observed decrease in corrosion rate in the case of composites is due to decoupling between TiN particles and Al
6061 alloy. It is understood that after the initiation of corrosion, interfacial corrosion products may have decoupled
the conducting ceramic TiN from Al 6061 matrix alloy thus eliminating the galvanic effect between them.

Keywords. Composites; corrosion; SEM; EDX; EIS

1. Introduction decrease with increase in TiB2 content as reported by Sun

et al (Paciej and Agarwala 1986). In the case of TiC–Al 2024
Particulate-reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites composites, the TiC reinforcement is reported to decrease
(Al MMCs) and other aluminium-based materials having a the anodic current density as well as amount and size of the
wide range of applications in diverse fields such as light pit (Trowsdale et al 1996). AlN particles which are highly
weight automotive structures, forgings for suspension, cha- insulating are reported to increase the susceptibility to pitt-
ssis, as well as advanced automotive components are exposed ing attack attributable to microgalvanic coupling between
to a wide variety of corroding environments. Alloys of the matrix and reinforcement and hydrolysis of AlN parti-
Al reinforced with ceramic oxides, carbides, nitrides and cles (Pfeifer 1977). The corrosion resistance of Al–Mg and
mineral silicate particulates possess attractive characteris- Al–Cu composites is found to be higher than that of compo-
tics such as high specific modulus, high specific strength, sites reinforced with mica particles (Trzaskoma et al 1983).
low thermal expansion coefficient, light weight and low cost The conflicting results can possibly be explained by diffe-
(Berghezan 1966; Kelly 1967; Chawla and Chawla 2006) and rences in fabrication methods and composition which yield
superior corrosion resistance. dramatically different electrochemical behaviours (Griffiths
Studies on aluminium alloys reinforced with SiC (Clyne and Turnbull 1994).
and Withers 2001), B (Agarwal and Broutman 1980), The observed variation of corrosion resistance in Al MMCs
Al2 O3 (Chawla and Chen 2001), TiC (Kainer 2006) and is attributed to chemical or mechanical factors such as com-
ZrB2 (Froyen and Verlinden 1994) report lower corrosion position of the matrix alloy, nature of reinforcing particles,
resistance for the composites compared to matrix alloys, fabrication methods, chemical or mechanical factors such as
owing to galvanic corrosion. On the other hand, Al compo- alloying, segregation, interfacial reactions, oxidized layers,
sites reinforced with garnet (Trumper 1987), albite (Johansen residual stress around reinforced particles in the matrix and
2010), quartz (Nair et al 1985) and glass fibre (Pohlman galvanic coupling between matrix and reinforcement.
1978) exhibited higher corrosion resistance compared to The corrosive behaviour of reinforced Al composites
their matrix alloys. Recent studies on the corrosion resistance investigated in acidic, neutral, alkaline and various salt media
of TiB2 particulate-reinforced A356 alloy show a marked reveal that Al composites suffer greater localized pitting co-
rrosion in chloride ion environment compared to other media.
Thus since Al MMCs lose their mechanical properties due
∗ Author for correspondence ([email protected]) to corrosion and lead to failure during service, research on

1057
1058 H C Ananda Murthy, V Bheema Raju and C Shivakumara

the corrosive behaviour is equally important as studies on cut into rectangular specimens of 2 cm length, 1 cm width
fabrication and mechanical behaviour of Al MMCs. and 1 mm thickness and prepared as described above.
The present investigation involves the study of corrosive
behaviour of unreinforced Al-6061 matrix and its TiN parti-
culate composites in NaCl medium. Titanium nitride is a
hard, dense and refractory material with low electrical resisti- 3. Results and discussion
vity (∼10−7 ohm cm) and is isomorphous with TiC. TiN is
a good reinforcement for aluminium matrix, as it is known 3.1 Polarization measurements
to enhance corrosion resistance of the matrix. The main
Titanium nitride is a hard, dense and refractory material with
objective of the present study is to establish the role and
low electrical resistivity (∼10−7 ohm cm) and is isomorphous
effectiveness of TiN on the corrosive behaviour of Al 6061
with TiC. Also, TiN particles have poor wettability with
composites.
liquid aluminium. The open circuit potentials (OCP) were
recorded for Al6061 matrix alloy and its TiN composites
2. Experimental: Material selection (2, 4 and 6 wt%) in three different concentrations of neu-
tral NaCl media, viz. 0·1 N, 0·5 N and 1·0 N solutions. The
2.1 Aluminium alloy 6061 matrix plots for the matrix alloy and the composites in decinormal
NaCl medium is shown in figure 1 and the evaluated open
Aluminium alloy 6061 had the composition: Si – 0·6%, circuit potentials are given in table 1. It is observed that
Fe – 0·1%, Cu – 0·3%, Mn – 0·02%, Mg – 0·8%, Zn, Cr, the OCP values increase in positive direction with increase
Ti – 0·01% each and remaining Al. in TiN content, from −0·8062 V for Al 6061 matrix to
−0·7487 V for reinforced composites (6 wt% TiN) in 0·1 N
NaCl medium. Similar increase in OCP values in the positive
2.2 Reinforcement
direction with increase in TiN content is observed in 1 N NaCl
TiC of A.R. grade was obtained from Sigma Aldrich and used medium, from −0·8987 V for Al 6061 matrix to −0·7761 V
as reinforcement in the form of particulates. for reinforced composites (TiN – 6 wt%).
OCP values shift considerably towards negative direction
for Al 6061 matrix alloy and its TiN composites, as shown
2.3 Composite preparation in figures 2 and 3. The increase in OCP value in the cathodic
direction is about 90 mV as the concentration of NaCl is
The liquid metallurgy route using vortex technique was
increased by one order of magnitude, for the matrix alloy
employed to prepare the composites. Addition of reinforce-
as well as the composites. However, this increase in OCP
ment material TiO2 into the molten Al-6061 alloy melt was
value of 90 mV for TiN reinforcement is lower when com-
carried out by creating a vortex in the melt using a mechani-
pared to the corresponding increase of 140 mV for Al–TiO2
cal stainless steel stirrer coated with alumina (to prevent
composites.
migration of ferrous ions from the stirrer material to the
Typical polarization curves for Al 6061 matrix alloy
alloy). The stirrer was rotated at a speed of 450 rpm in order
and composites containing 2, 4 and 6% by weight of
to create the necessary vortex. TiO2 particles were pre-heated
TiN particulates in different concentrations of NaCl are
to 400 ◦ C and added into the vortex of liquid melt at a rate
shown in figures 4–6. The evaluated electrochemical corro-
of 120 g/min. TiO2 particulates were in the size range of
sion parameters for the matrix alloy and the composites are
50–80 μm. The weight percentage of TiO2 used was 2–6
in steps of 2%. The composite melt was thoroughly stirred
and subsequently degasifiers were added. Castings were pro-
duced in permanent moulds in the form of cylindrical rods
(diameter, 30 mm and length, 150 mm).

2.4 Specimen preparation

Cast material was cut into 20 × 20 mm cylindrical pieces

using an abrasive cutting wheel. The matrix alloy was also
cast under identical conditions as composites, for compari-
son. The samples were successively ground using 240, 320,
400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grade emery papers
and polished according to standard metallographic techni-
ques and degreased in acetone and dried. The samples were
weighed up to fourth decimal place using electronic balance
and the exact specimen dimensions were noted down. For Figure 1. Open circuit potentials for A1 6061 matrix alloy and its
polarization studies, composites and pure alloy matrix were TiN (2, 4 and 6 wt%) composites in 0·1 N NaCl medium.
 Corrosive behaviour of aluminium 6061 composites 1059

Table 1. Open circuit potentials of Al 6061 matrix alloy and its TiN compo-
sites in various concentrations of NaCl media.

OCP (Ecorr ) values (in volts) in various NaCl media

TiN content
in composites 0·1 N 0·5 N 1·0 N

0% −0·8062 −0·8594 −0·8987

2% −0·7678 −0·8398 −0·8531
4% −0·7562 −0·7568 −0·8007
6% −0·7487 −0·7503 −0·7761

Figure 4. Tafel polarization plots for Al 6061 matrix alloy and its
Figure 2. Open circuit potentials for Al 6061 matrix alloy and its TiN (2, 4 and 6 wt%) composites in 0·1 NaCl medium.
TiN (2, 4 and 6 wt%) composites in 0·5 NaCl medium.

Figure 5. Tafel polarization plots for Al 6061 matrix alloy and its
TiN (2, 4 and 6 wt%) composites in 0·5 NaCl medium.

Figure 3. Open circuit potentials for Al 6061 matrix alloy and its
TiN (2, 4 and 6 wt%) composites in 1·0 NaCl medium.
were found to be similar in overall shape. Cyclic polariza-
tion measurements show that the pitting potential increases
given in tables 2 and 3. The corrosion parameters, corro- towards positive direction with increase in TiN content con-
sion current density (Icorr ) and corrosion rate were obtained firming the results from other measurements that composites
from the Tafel polarization measurements. It can be observed of TiN are more corrosion resistant than the matrix alloy.
from the Tafel plots and the tables that corrosion current va- Open circuit potential measurements revealed that the
lues and corrosion rates decrease with increase in TiN con- corrosion susceptibility of the matrix alloy decreases with
tent in the composites, in each of the NaCl concentrations. increase in TiN content in the composites. TiN reinforcement
Cyclic polarization curves for Al 6061 matrix alloy and com- particles thus impart good corrosion resistance to the Al–TiN
posites containing 2, 4 and 6% by weight of TiN particulates, composites with an increase in the concentration of the chlo-
in 0·5 N NaCl solution are shown in figure 7. Cyclic polari- ride medium from 0·1 N to 0·5 N to 1·0 N NaCl. Our results
zation curves of the reinforced and unreinforced Al alloys suggest the presence of lower percentage of TiN particulates
1060 H C Ananda Murthy, V Bheema Raju and C Shivakumara

Figure 7. Cyclic polarization plots for Al 6061 matrix alloy and

Figure 6. Tafel polarization plots for Al 6061 matrix alloy and its its TiN (2, 4 and 6 wt%) composites in 1·0 NaCl medium.
TiN (2, 4 and 6 wt%) composites in 1·0 NaCl medium.

Table 2. Corrosion current densities (Icorr ) of Al 6061 matrix alloy and its
TiN composites in various concentrations of NaCl media.

Corrosion current density, I corr (Acm−2 )

TiN content
in composites 0·1 N NaCl 0·5 N NaCl 1·0 N NaCl

0% 6·626 × 10−7 7·653 × 10−7 1·006 × 10−6

2% 4·290 × 10−7 5·626 × 10−7 6·790 × 10−7
4% 1·597 × 10−7 2·605 × 10−7 3·643 × 10−7
6% 1·564 × 10−7 1·596 × 10−7 2·067 × 10−7

Table 3. Corrosion rates of Al 6061 matrix alloy and its TiN composites in
various NaCl media.

Corrosion rate (milli inches per year)

TiN content
in composites 0·1 N NaCl 0·5 N NaCl 1·0 N NaCl

0% 0·2842 0·3283 0·4300

2% 0·1840 0·2410 0·2960
4% 0·0841 0·1110 0·1560
6% 0·0670 0·0684 0·0886

in composites which could be attributed to its poor wetta- increase in Cl− ion concentrations yields more cathodic OCP
bility as compared to TiO2 particles (Rhee 1970). The con- values confirming enhanced adsorptivity of Cl− ions in both
ducting TiN particulate possibly forms microgalvanic couple matrix alloy and its TiN composites. This corroborates the
with Al 6061 matrix alloy and causes pitting corrosion. The report by earlier researchers suggesting greater degree of
observed decrease in corrosion rate in the case of compo- penetration ability of chloride ions into the passive hydrated
sites is due to decoupling between TiN particles and Al 6061. oxides of aluminium as well as reduction in the kinetics of
It seems that after the initiation of corrosion, interfacial co- oxide film repair.
rrosion products may have decoupled the conducting ceramic Tafel polarization results show that TiN-reinforced com-
TiN from Al 6061 matrix alloy, thus eliminating the galvanic posites have lower corrosion rate as compared to matrix
effect between them (Srinivasan 2005). alloy. Observations also show that both the Icorr values and
Increase in the corrosion susceptibility of both Al 6061 corrosion rate decrease with increase in content of TiN and
matrix alloy and composites at higher concentrations of increase with an increase in concentration of NaCl medium.
aggressive chloride ions is probably due to the breakdown of This observation contradicts the composite theory of corro-
stable oxide film on Al 6061 matrix as a result of increased sion according to which reinforcement particles cause cracks
adsorption of chloride ions. This indicates the lowest co- and discontinuity on the surface of metal/alloy (Trowsdale
rrosion tendency for the TiN (6 wt%)-reinforced composites et al 1996). It is observed that the interface between Al
as compared to matrix alloy. The results show that the 6061 matrix and TiN reinforcement is stronger as reported
 Corrosive behaviour of aluminium 6061 composites 1061

(Sharma 2001) in the study of corrosive behaviour of Al of immersion (Alaneme 2011). It has been reported that in
6061/albite composite. In the unreinforced Al alloy, the po- the case of TiN-reinforced Al MMCs fabricated by pow-
ssible cathodic sites could be eutectic silicon and/or inter- der metallurgical route (Ray et al 2002) that the presence of
metallic precipitates; however, in the composites, cathodic TiN-particles at grain boundaries played a significant role in
sites may be reinforcements, second-phase precipitates or its densification and improved mechanical as well as wear
interfacial reaction products (Nunes and Ramanathan 1995). resistance properties. The improved corrosion resistance in
The presence of a more conductive phase at the inter- TiN-reinforced Al 6061 composites compared to matrix alloy
face provides an easier path for the electron exchange nece- can be attributed to good interface bonding between the
ssary for oxygen reduction and drives the anodic reaction at a ceramic TiN and Al matrix alloy (Das 2004). TiN parti-
higher rate in MMCs than aluminium alloy. Improved corro- cle reinforced composites exhibit lesser surface irregularities
sion resistance has been reported (Wlodarczyk-Fligier et al which is due to refined microstructure as observed during the
2010) in Al composites reinforced up to 5% Ti(C, N) par- study of electrochemical behaviour of haematite particulates
ticulates when compared with the matrix alloy in 3% NaCl reinforced Al alloys (Jagadeesh et al 2005).
medium. This corroborates the prediction that presence of A probable explanation for the observed trend in pitting
a small amount of TiN reinforcement in composites fails to corrosion could be that the pitting is initiated at random
rupture the oxide layer of Al. It is believed that the nature sites of imperfections on the protective oxide layer of the
of the passive film formed on the TiN composites is su- matrix alloy, while in the composites, pits around the rein-
fficiently stable to reduce the corrosion rate after few min forcement particles coalesce to form a crevice. The active
nature of the crevices would cathodically protect the remain-
der of the matrix and restrict pit formation and propaga-
tion (Garrard 1994). It is found that E RP values increase in
the noble direction with increasing TiN content in compo-
sites. This points to the fact that pit propagation in the com-
posites is retarded more significantly than in the Al 6061
matrix alloy. The higher repassivation potential exhibited by
the TiN-reinforced composites is attributable to the reduc-
tion in the pit dissolution kinetics by the oxides of metals.
However, the repassivation potentials are more negative to
the pitting potentials for each of the composites as well as
the Al 6061 matrix alloy indicating a tendency to undergo
pitting. E 1 is the direct measure of pitting susceptibility
and is used to assess the repassivation behaviour of pro-
pagating pits, the ease with which local active sites can be
eliminated.
Figure 8. SEM micrograph of Al 6061 matrix alloy.

Figure 9. SEM micrograph of TiN particles.

1062 H C Ananda Murthy, V Bheema Raju and C Shivakumara

Figure 12. SEM micrograph of corroded Al 6061–TiN (4 wt%)

composite.
Figure 10. SEM micrograph of corroded Al 6061 matrix alloy.

Figure 13. SEM micrograph of corroded Al 6061–TiN (6 wt%)

composite.

Figure 11. SEM micrograph of corroded Al 6061–TiN (2 wt%)

composite.
TiN content as reported by others (Kiourtsidis and Skolianos
2007). The E 2 value of 93·6 mV in Al matrix alloy is found
to increase to 159·5 mV in Al–6 wt% TiN composite. It can
The pitting loop given by E 1 is observed to decrease
be seen that the addition of TiN to Al matrix significantly
from the matrix alloy to the composites and thus with
increases the passive range between the unreinforced matrix
increasing TiN content, a decreasing tendency to pitting in
alloy and the reinforced composites.
the TiN-reinforced composites is observed. However, the
magnitude of change in pitting potential was found to be
small (59 mV) varying from −0·7007 V in the matrix alloy 3.2 Scanning electron microscopy
to −0·6597 V in the composite with highest content of TiN
reinforcement (Murthy et al 2010). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the Al 6061
Pitting corrosion resistance of the TiN particle reinforced matrix alloy before corrosion test and reinforcement TiN
composites has been observed to increase with increasing particles are shown in figures 8 and 9, respectively. The
 Corrosive behaviour of aluminium 6061 composites 1063

Figure 14. Back-scattered electron SEM of Al 6061–TiN (6 wt%) composite showing

regions of Al–Fe–Si-rich phase and TiN particles.

Figure 15. EDX spectrum of interface between TiN and Al 6061 matrix.

particle size of reinforcement TiN particulates is about

2–10 μm as observed in the SEM image. SEM image of Al
6061 matrix alloy and its TiN (2, 4 and 6 wt%) compo-
sites taken after polarization studies in decinormal chloride
medium, after usual pretreatment, are presented in figures
10–13. A comparison of the SEM images of the samples
before and after the polarization studies clearly indicates
severe surface deterioration due to pitting corrosion in all the
samples. Pitting susceptibility for aluminium alloys is mainly
affected by the microstructural heterogeneity of these com-
mercial alloys. The decrease in corrosion deterioration of
composites can be attributed to matrix-reinforcement inter-
faces and formation of micro/sub-micro local cells at the
metal surface. Figure 16. XRD pattern of TiN particulates.
1064 H C Ananda Murthy, V Bheema Raju and C Shivakumara

A rapid dissolution of aluminium within the pit tends to surface. The back-scattered SEM image of TiN (6 wt%)-
produce an excess of positive charge in this area. The migra- reinforced Al 6061 sample is shown in figure 14. The pre-
tion of chloride ions towards the pit increases the concen- sence of less intense peaks for the elements Ti and N in the
tration of AlCl3 in the pit. Since the solubility of oxygen is EDX spectrum of TiN (6 wt%)-reinforced Al 6061 compo-
virtually zero in concentrated solution, no reduction of oxy- site confirms the incorporation of TiN particles into Al matrix,
gen occurs within the pit. Cathodic oxygen reduction on sur- but only to a small extent as it exhibits low wettability.
faces adjacent to pits tends to suppress the corrosion thereby Even though galvanic coupling is assumed to be esta-
protecting the matrix metal adjacent to the pit (Ramachandra blished between conductive TiN and Al matrix alloy, the
and Radhakrishna 2006). extent of corrosion is insignificant (Adler et al 2008) even
at 6 wt% of TiN particles in composites. It is observed that
3.3 Energy dispersive X-ray analysis the matrix alloy and composites contain Al–Fe–Si-rich and
Mg2 Si intermetallic phases.
Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis spectra shows the
The elements in these intermetallic phases undergo oxi-
presence of various elements in the TiN-reinforced Al 6061
dation to yield their respective oxides such as SiO2 , FeO
and MgO, which reduce the corrosion rate in composites by
decreasing the microgalvanic coupling between conducting
intermetallic phases and matrix alloy. The presence of SiO2 ,
FeO and MgO at the interface between TiN and Al 6061 is
confirmed by EDX spectrum which showed intense peaks for
Si, Fe, Mg and O as shown in figure 15. Corrosion resistance
is more pronounced in TiN-reinforced composites as they
contain higher amount of intermetallic phases due to the po-
ssible increased reactivity between the reinforcement particle
and other alloying elements.

3.4 X-ray diffraction studies

Figure 17. XRD pattern of TiN phase in Al 6061–TiN (6 wt%) X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the composite (6 wt%
composite. TiO2 -reinforced) and that of TiN particulates is given in
figures 16 and 17. XRD spectra of the composite clearly shows
major 2θ peaks of TiN (36·87◦ , 42·78◦ and 61·98◦ ) in the TiN
(6%)-reinforced Al 6061 composite indicating the incorpora-
tion of reinforcement particulates in the matrix alloy.

3.5 EIS studies

EIS study of the matrix alloy and its composites is carried

out at OCP in order to assess the contribution of oxide film
on Al to the corrosion resistance of the composites. Nyquist
plots of the Al 6061 matrix alloy and its TiN composites in
0·5 N NaCl medium is shown in figure 18. It can be observed
from the Nyquist plots that radius of the capacitive loops
above the real axis increased with increase in TiN content for
composites.
Figure 18. Nyquist plots of Al matrix alloy and its TiN compos- Electrochemical parameters obtained in EIS studies of Al
ites in 0·5 N NaCl medium. 6061 matrix alloy and its TiN composites are given in table 4.

Table 4. Electrochemical parameters for Al 6061 matrix alloy and its TiN
composites obtained from EIS studies.

TiN content Rs Rp CPE

in composites (ohm) (ohm) (F)

0% 2·843 13208 9·42 × 10−6

2% 2·981 15680 1·59 × 10−6
4% 3·873 23768 7·83 × 10−7
6% 4·432 29831 5·94 × 10−7
 Corrosive behaviour of aluminium 6061 composites 1065

Based on the analysis of the impedance spectra, an equivalent Impedance spectroscopic studies show decreasing trend
circuit model R[QR[LR]] was proposed for both the matrix of polarization resistance, RP , on increase of TiN
alloy (figure 19) and composites (figure 20), simulating their reinforcement.
electrochemical behaviour. The measured value of polarization resistance, Rp ,
It can be found that the impedance spectra of all the sam- increases while the CPE value decreases with increase in
ples are dominated by capacitance of the oxide film, but the TiN content. This shows that the corrosion rate decreases
diameters of the capacitance arcs increase with increase in with increase in the content of TiN reinforcement. It is also
TiN content, which means that the resistance of the surface observed that the Rp value increases with increase in TiN
oxide film on the composites increases with increase in TiN content confirming improved corrosion resistance in com-
reinforcement. posites. These results complement polarization tests and are
This can be attributed to the fact that the hydroxide formed similar to the TiO2 composites system.
by the oxides of Si, Mg and Al plays an inhibitive role around
conducting TiN and intermetallic phases. The equivalent cir-
cuit consists of a constant phase element (CPE), Q, in para- 4. Conclusions
llel with the parallel resistors, Rt (charge transfer resistance)
and RL (inductance resistance) and the latter is in series with The corrosion behaviour of unreinforced Al 6061 matrix
the inductor L. In this case, the polarization resistance can be alloy and its composites reinforced with TiN (2, 4 and
calculated using the formula as given below: 6 wt%) were studied in 0·1 N, 0·5 N and 1 N NaCl media.
Corrosion rates of the matrix alloy and the composites from
RL × Rt the polarization curves, show a decrease with increase in
Rp = .
RL + Rt the content of TiN reinforcement. Increased corrosion resis-
tance in composites is believed to be due to reinforcement
particulates modifying the microstructure of matrix and also
acting as physical barrier to the initiation and development
of pitting corrosion. Increase in the corrosion susceptibility
of both Al 6061 matrix alloy and the composites at higher
concentrations of aggressive chloride ions is probably due
to the breakdown of stable oxide film on Al 6061 matrix as
a result of increased adsorption of chloride ions. XRD and
EDX analysis of all the composites confirm positive inclu-
sion of the reinforcement particulates in the matrix alloy
and also the presence of intermetallic phases such as Al–
Fe–Si-rich and Mg2 Si formed at matrix-reinforcement inter-
face. SEM pictures reveal severe deterioration of the surface
of both matrix alloy and its composites of all the reinforce-
ments. The measured value of polarization resistance, Rp ,
increases while the CPE value decreases with increase in
Figure 19. Equivalent circuit model used to fit the experimental content of reinforcement in all the cases.
data of Al 6061 matrix alloy in 0·5 N NaCl medium.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Principal Dr M K Venkate-

sha, the Director Dr H N Shivashankar and the management
of RNS Institute of Technology, Bangalore and the Principal
and Management of Dr Ambedkar Institute of Technology,
for their support and encouragement towards our research.

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