Sensitization, Intergranular Corrosion, and Environment-Induced Cracking of Aluminum-Magnesium Alloys

During the fall of 2013, we were approached by Dr. John R. Scully, in his capacity as Technical Editor of CORROSION, to consider acting as guest editors for a special issue dedicated to the topic of “Corrosion and Environmental Cracking of Al-Mg alloys.” This directly followed on from the service issues occurring in marine environments and other situations that were highlighted at a U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) Workshop on “Sensitization of Aluminum Alloy 5XXX Series” held near Washington, D.C., in August 2011. The workshop was memorable both for the rare earthquake that cleared the conference venue during one of our presentations and the realization of the scale of the problem facing welded marine vehicles including those in the U.S. Navy. The seriousness of the corrosion and environment-induced cracking problem has inevitably led to a resurgence of interest and research activity stimulated by both scientific curiosity and the...