Characterization of 2017A Anodized Aluminum Alloy by Infrared Thermographic Techniques and SEM Observations During Tensile Testing

The aim of this research is to determine the effect of an electrochemical treatment (anodizing) on the mechanical behavior of 2017A aluminum alloys to improve corrosion. Two surface treatments state, namely, anodized and unanodized were considered. Meanwhile, the tensile and fracture tests for laboratory specimens to failure, yield strength, tensile strength and fracture surface of anodic films at different conditions were investigated. The damage initiation and progression during tensile testing was tracked through the use of complementary non-destructive evaluation by means of technique called infrared thermography. The results showed that the fracture life of anodized specimens was reduced a lot compared to aluminum alloy, which can be attributed to the surface crack sites initiated at the oxide layer. The fracture surface analyses also revealed that the number of crack initiation sites enlarged on the anodizing specimens.