Study of intergranular corrosion of aluminium by pressurized water, and of its relationships with the structure of grain boundaries

In a first part, this research thesis describes and discusses the preparation of aluminium crystals with imposed orientations (controlled solidification technique, welding germs to platelets, and preparation of bi-crystalline germs). Then, the author reports the study of aluminium intergranular corrosion in pressurized water by studying a given grain boundary (experimental techniques, preliminary observations, kinetic and micrographic study). He reports the study of the influence of the grain boundary geometrical nature on sensitivity to corrosion in the case of bending boundaries. The next part discusses the intergranular corrosion and structure of grain boundaries of pure aluminium (lattice model and various lattices, density defects and intergranular energy, assessment of intergranular entropy)