Effect of Sodium Aluminate Concentration in Electrolyte on the Properties of Anodic Films Formed on AZ31 Mg Alloy by Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation

Magnesium alloy have good physical properties such as good castability, good vibration absorption, high strength/weight ratios. Despite the desirable properties, the poor resistance of Mg alloy impedes their use in many various applications. Therefore, magnesium alloy require surface treatment to improve hardness, corrosion and wear resistance. Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) is one the surface treatment methods to form oxide layer on Mg alloy in alkali electrolyte. In comparison with Anodizing, there is environmental process having higher hardness and faster deposition rate. In this study, the characteristics of oxide film were examined after coating the AZ31 Mg alloy through the PEO process. We changed concentration of sodium aluminate into $K_2ZrF_6$, KF base electrolyte. The morphologies of the coating layer were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Corrosion resistance also investigated by potentiodynamic polarization analysis. As a result, propertiy of oxide layer were changed by concentration of sodium aluminate. Increasing with concentration of sodium aluminate in electrolyte, the oxidation layer was denser and the pore size was smaller on the surface.

AZ31 마그네슘 합금의 플라즈마 전해 산화에서 Sodium Aluminate 농도가 산화막 특성에 미치는 영향