Protective and Thermophysical Characteristics of Plasma-Electrolytic Coatings on the Ultra-Light Magnesium Alloy

Magnesium alloys are now widely used for various purposes due to their unique properties despite the significant disadvantage associated with low corrosion resistance. The plasma-electrolytic oxidation (PEO), which allows the formation of ceramic coatings on the surface of magnesium alloys, is the most advanced and effective method for their protection. But firstly, PEO process of magnesium alloys has some difficulties, and secondly, PEO coatings affect the thermophysical characteristics of the modified materials, in particular they reduce thermal diffusivity. The presented work is devoted to the development of the technological parameters for formation of protective coating on the ultra-light alloy Mg-8Li-1Al-0.6Ce-0.3Y by the PEO method. The results analyses of electrolytes acidity and specific electrical conductivity before and after PEO process and also investigation data of the coatings structure and surface morphology are presented. An integral assessment of the ability of thermal diffusivity and corrosion resistance of the modified alloy was made. Studying of protective and thermophysical characteristics of the obtained coating showed that it provides a sufficiently high corrosion protection, despite the relatively small thickness, and the presence of pores and slightly (not more than 5%) reduces the thermal diffusivity of the magnesium ultra-light alloy.