123 ISSN 1067-8212, Russian Journal of Non-Ferrous Metals, 2018, Vol. 59, No. 2, pp. 123–134. © Allerton Press, Inc., 2018. Sulfuric Containing Sugar Bath and Permanent Weak Magnetic Field Effect during Anodizing AlCu 6 Si Alloy Sheet Surfaces 1 Nacer Zazi a, *, Hocine Aouchiche a , Chabane Benbaha a , and Jean Paul Chopart b a Laboratoire de Mécanique, Structures et Energétique, Université Mouloud Mammeri de Tizi-Ouzou, Tizi-Ouzou, 15000 Algeria b Universite de Reims Champagne Ardenne, LISM EA 4695 UFR SEN, BP1039, Moulin de la Housse, Reims, Cedex, 51687 France *e-mail: zazinacer@yahoo.fr Received September 10, 2017; in final form, December 2, 2017; accepted for publication December 5, 2017 Abstract⎯Rolling and perpendicular to rolling surfaces of AlCu 6 Si aluminum sheet have been anodized at 27 ± 1°C in 20 wt % sulfuric acid containing an additive of white sugar powder with and without permanent weak magnetic field. After one hour of anodizing, some hillocks-shaped micropores are developed and cra- ters are formed in the oxide layers. The micropores obtained in rolling faces are often smaller than those obtained on other faces. Sulfuric anodizing at 21 V causes the formation of combined micropore-nanopore structures in rolling surface. It demonstrated that sugar additive increases the density of micropores in spher- ical shape in rolling surface and the increasing of sugar concentration changes the pores to hillocks form. In addition, the application of weak magnetic field induces homogeneous repartition of micropores. Keywords: sulfuric anodizing, microspores, AlCu 6 Si aluminum alloy, sulfuric containing sugar bath, weak magnetic field, thermo-mechanical treatments DOI: 10.3103/S1067821218020128 1. INTRODUCTION Aluminum has a high technological value and large range of use in industrial applications. It is a highly reactive and corrosion-sensitive metal in a corrosive environment such as sea water [1–3]. The aluminum resistance to corrosion and that of its alloys depend on the composition of the surface phases. The aluminum oxide is relatively chemically inert [4] and prevents further oxidation of the alumi- num beneath the surface layer. Thus in many instances, the oxide formed is sufficient to protect the body material. However in some environments, sup- plementary protections are required since the alumi- num alloy corrosion is related to the presence of het- erogeneities in the alloy surface [5] and on the thermo- mechanical pretreatment of the material [3]. The oxide film formed in the surface of aluminum alloys is made of composite elements, which have been identi- fied by several researchers as insulators, with a band gap ranging from 8 to 9 eV [6]. In this context, recent studies concerning the conductivity of aluminum oxide films show n-type of semi-conducting proper- ties [6, 7]. The aluminum impurities with a small solubility are mainly iron (~0.05 wt % at 655°C), cobalt (<0.02 wt % at 657°C), nickel (~0.04 wt % at 640°C), and zirconium (~0.08 wt % at 660.5°C), etc. The alu- minum impurities with a high solubility are essentially cadmium (~0.4 wt % at 649°C) and vanadium (~0.4 wt % at 661°C) [8–10]. When the impurities exceed their solubility limit, they form, with alumi- num and other elements, chemical and/or intermetal- lic compounds. The noblest compounds, compara- tively to the aluminum matrix, such as FeAl 3 , induce cathodic reactions [11] and localized corrosions sur- rounding the aluminum matrix, while the less noble compounds, such as MgSi 2 , increase the anodic activ- ity and dissolve in the corrosion environment [12]. The compounds with similar potential comparatively to aluminum matrix, such as MnAl 6 , did not imply electrochemical reactions [9]. Note that these com- pounds represent surface heterogeneities. When alu- minum alloys of series 2xxx are immersed in corrosive medium, a complex electrochemical behavior may be generated due to differences between the electrochem- ical potentials of the various phases (matrix and com- pound phases) [13]. 1 The article is published in the original. METALLURGY OF NONFERROUS METALS