Work

Pulse laser cleaning of aircraft aluminum alloy skin composite paint layer: Electrochemical corrosion behavior

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: To analyze the influence of laser cleaning on the corrosion resistance of aircraft skin surfaces, this paper used a pulsed laser to clean the composite paint layer on the aircraft aluminum alloy skin surface, and the effects of different energy densities on the surface morphology, composition, and electrochemical corrosion resistance of 2024 aluminum alloy were analyzed. The reasons for the improvement of corrosion resistance and the corrosion mechanism was explored. The results showed that when the laser energy density at 5.87 J/cm2, the functional groups on the sample surface disappeared, the roughness Sa decreased to 0.363 μm, and the content of the unique Ti element in the paint layer decreased to 0.15%, at which point most of the surface paint layer was removed. Meanwhile, at this energy density for laser cleaning, the corrosion rate is 0.15 mm/year, which is only 26.32% compared to the corrosion rate of mechanically polished samples. Combined impedance spectroscopy and corrosion morphology analysis, the oxide film significantly increases the overall impedance of the sample. The corrosion resistance is related to the integrity of the surface anodic oxide film. When the laser energy density at 5.87 J/cm2, the sample formed only slight cracks in the corrosion solution under the combined action of stress, exhibiting better corrosion resistance in a sodium chloride solution.

Source: Journal of Materials Research and Technology

DOI: 10.1016/j.jmrt.2025.03.284