Anodizing of aluminium and AA 2024-T3 alloy in chromic acid: Effects of sulphate on film growth

Chromic acid anodizing is important for the corrosion protection of aerospace aluminium alloys. Previous study has demonstrated that SO42 − impurity in the chromic acid affects the film growth on aluminium at a voltage of 100 V. The present work further investigates aluminium and extends the study to industrial anodizing conditions (Bengough-Stuart (B-S) process) and to the AA 2024-T3 alloy. It is shown that SO42 − concentrations between ~ 38–300 ppm reduce the film growth rate for aluminium anodized at 100 V in comparison with an electrolyte than contains ≤ 1.5 ppm SO42 −, whereas ~ 1500–3000 ppm SO42 have an opposite effect and lead to an unstable pore diameter. Under the B-S process, the…