TY - INPR A1 - Kloiber, Jessica A1 - Anetsberger, Viktoria A1 - Schultheiss, Ulrich A1 - Hornberger, Helga T1 - Electropolishing of Magnesium Alloy Az31 with Varying Electrolyte Concentrations and Applied Potentials N2 - Magnesium alloy AZ31 is a light material with a good mechanical stability and is used in various engineering applications. Although its tendency to localized corrosion is a limiting factor in its use. Electropolishing is a widely used process for improving the surface roughness and corrosion behavior of metals. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the electropolishing of magnesium and its alloys. In this study, an optimal electropolishing process for AZ31 was developed to improve the surface properties by varying the electrolyte concentration and the applied potential. The electrolyte composition was a mixture of phosphoric acid, ethanol and deionized water. The applied potentials were selected based on measured current density potential curves. Thereby, electropolishing was performed up to an electric charge of 18 As. The experimental results indicate that the electropolishing process should be carried out at a low current density to avoid bubble evolution and surface defects. Therefore, the concentration of the electropolishing electrolyte should have an appropriate low conductivity, and the applied potential should be in the transient or passive region of the polarization curve recorded prior to electropolishing. It could be shown that an optimized electropolishing process improved the surface of AZ31 by providing a bright and mirror-like surface and a lower roughness compared to a mechanically ground surface. KW - magnesium alloy KW - AZ31 KW - electropolishing KW - electrolyte KW - surface characterization KW - polarization curve Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4991311 PB - SSRN ER -