Wear Under Load and Corrosion Behaviors of AM60 Alloys with Si and Cd Additions in a CH3COOH-Containing Medium

This study investigates the effect of adding silicon (Si) and cadmium (Cd) elements to AM60 (Mg) magnesium alloy on its corrosion and tribocorrosion (abrasive wear) properties at pH 2.4. Optical Microscopy (OM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), SEM mapping, and SEM line methods were applied to the alloys. Additionally, the effect of Cd addition on the alloys was investigated using potentiodynamic polarization corrosion in a medium containing CH3COOH (vinegar) at pH 2.4 (acetic acid) and 20 N and 40 N reciprocal abrasive wear tests in the same medium. The hardness of alloy A1 was determined to be 58.6 HV. Hardness increased by 0.92% in alloy A2, 4.18% in alloy A3, and 10.66% in alloy A4, with the hardness increase occurring as Cd content increased. In potentiodynamic corrosion tests, the corrosion rate (CR) increased with increasing Cd content. In abrasive wear tests, Cd addition increased the abrasive wear rate, and the alloys were ranked in order of increasing wear as follows: A1 < A3 < A2 < A4. These results will contribute to the automotive, aerospace, agricultural, construction, and machinery industries operating in acidic environments, as well as to the scientific literature.