Tribocorrosion Measurements and Behaviour in Aluminium Alloys: An Overview

Tribocorrosion is a research field that combines tribological and corrosion studies. It involves studying the combined effects of wear and corrosion. Tribocorrosion has been found to contribute significantly to material degradation and could lead to failure of materials and high cost of maintenance and replacements. It has become a wide area of interests to researchers due to its economic importance on the durability and life of engineering materials. Several techniques involved in the evaluation of tribocorrosion behaviour of materials have been examined in this review. The combinations of various electrochemical methods for evaluating tribocorrosion behaviour are among the current knowledge acquired in the tribocorrosion field. A brief insight into the tribocorrosion testing standards made by researchers is also provided. This work further reviewed available literature concerning the development in the research of tribocorrosion characteristics of aluminium alloys by categorizing the tribocorrosion mechanism as influenced by various parameters. The review shows that there is significant interaction of corrosion and wear in aluminium alloys. Research gaps in the tribocorrosion study of aluminium alloys are also identified.