Numerical investigation of pitting corrosion in clinched joints

Abstract The effect of corrosion on mechanically joined components is not well understood. While recent research shows that a brief exposure of clinched specimens to a salt spray environment improves the specimens’ fatigue life, other research shows a decrease in load bearing capabilities with increasing corrosion times. These studies primarily focus on galvanic corrosion. It is not entirely clear how other corrosion phenomena, such as pitting corrosion, affect the fatigue life of clinched joints. In this work, a numerical model is used, which is able to simulate corrosion pit growth in EN AW-6014. The experimental polarization data of EN AW-6014 are used directly in the calculation of the interface kinetics parameter of the model.