Regenerative surface treatment for aluminum alloys

Abstract

A protected component is provided, which includes: a substrate defining a surface; and a regenerative surface treatment on the surface of the substrate. The substrate comprises an aluminum-based alloy. The regenerative surface treatment comprises an array of environmentally reactive deposits dispersed on the surface of the substrate, with each environmentally reactive deposit of the array defining a discrete region on the surface. The array of environmentally reactive deposits comprise at least one reactive element comprising Al, Zn, V, Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, La, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sc, Sm, Tb, Tm, Y, Yb, Mo, Si, Ca, W, a mixture thereof, or alloys thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A protected component, comprising:
 a substrate defining a surface, wherein the substrate comprises an aluminum-based alloy; and   a regenerative surface treatment on the surface of the substrate, wherein the regenerative surface treatment comprises an array of environmentally reactive deposits dispersed on the surface of the substrate, each environmentally reactive deposit of the array of environmentally reactive deposits defining a discrete region on the surface, wherein the array of environmentally reactive deposits comprise at least one reactive element comprising Al, Zn, V, Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, La, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sc, Sm, Tb, Tm, Y, Yb, Mo, Si, Ca, W, a mixture thereof, or alloys thereof.   
     
     
         2 . The protected component of  claim 1 , wherein each discrete region on the surface is separated from an adjacent discrete region by a protective layer grown on the surface via reaction between a corrosive species and the at least one reactive element. 
     
     
         3 . The protected component of  claim 1 , wherein the regenerative surface treatment comprises at least two reactive elements comprising Al, Zn, V, Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, La, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sc, Sm, Tb, Tm, Y, Yb, Mo, Si, Ca, W, a mixture thereof, or alloys thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The protected component of  claim 1 , wherein the regenerative surface treatment comprises at least three reactive elements comprising Al, Zn, V, Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, La, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sc, Sm, Tb, Tm, Y, Yb, Mo, Si, Ca, W, a mixture thereof, or alloys thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The protected component of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one reactive element comprises V, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sc, Sm, Tb, Tm, Y, Yb, a mixture thereof, or alloys thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The protected component of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one reactive element comprises Al, Zn, Ce, La, Mo, Si, Ca, W, a mixture thereof, or alloys thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The protected component of  claim 1 , wherein the array of environmentally reactive deposits comprises an aluminum-based alloy having the at least one reactive element alloyed therein. 
     
     
         8 . The protected component of  claim 1 , wherein the array of environmentally reactive deposits further comprises a binder having the at least one reactive element alloyed therein. 
     
     
         9 . The protected component of  claim 8 , wherein the binder is a non-water soluble binder. 
     
     
         10 . The protected component of  claim 1 , wherein the array of environmentally reactive deposits are embedded into the surface of the substrate. 
     
     
         11 . The protected component of  claim 1 , wherein the array of environmentally reactive deposits are exposed on the surface of the substrate so as to contact an environment of the protected component. 
     
     
         12 . The protected component of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one reactive element comprises a high entropy alloy. 
     
     
         13 . The protected component of  claim 1 , wherein each discrete region on the surface is separated from an adjacent discrete region by an exposed area of the surface prior to exposure to a corrosive species. 
     
     
         14 . The protected component of  claim 1 , wherein the regenerative surface treatment are substantially free from chromium. 
     
     
         15 . A method of using the protective component of  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 exposing the surface of the substrate and the regenerative surface treatment to an environment containing at least one corrosive species.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one corrosive species reacts with the at least one reactive element in the regenerative surface treatment to form a reaction product. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the reaction product forms a protective layer on the surface of the substrate between the discrete regions defined by the array of environmentally reactive deposits. 
     
     
         18 . A method for forming a protected component, the method comprising:
 disposing an array of environmentally reactive deposits on a surface of a substrate to form the protected component, wherein the substrate comprises an aluminum-based alloy, and wherein the array of environmentally reactive deposits comprise at least one reactive element comprising Al, Zn, V, Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, La, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sc, Sm, Tb, Tm, Y, Yb, Mo, Si, Ca, W, a mixture thereof, or alloys thereof.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 prior to disposing the array of environmentally reactive deposits on the surface of the substrate, forming an environmentally reactive composition comprising the at least one reactive element.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 prior to forming the environmentally reactive composition; formulating the environmentally reactive composition based on an anticipated environmental contaminant for the protected component.