Although steel is widely used in industry, its low corrosion resistance limits the life of the equipment and hinders certain applications such as shipping and implementation of marine technologies. Now, researchers from the Korea National Ocean and Maritime University have developed a new aluminum-magnesium-silicon (Al-Mg-Si) alloy that can greatly increase the corrosion resistance of steel.
One of the most common methods of improving the corrosion resistance of steel is coating it with other metals such as aluminum (Al). But the use of Al in marine applications is limited owing to its tendency to react with chloride ions in sea water, leading to corrosion. The addition of other elements, such as magnesium (Mg) and silicon (Si), to form an alloyed coating is a promising way around this problem. But Mg cannot be easily deposited as a coating using the conventional method of dipping the steel into a hot bath of metal salts.