Aircraft are subjected to extreme weather conditions in coastal areas. This study reports long-term atmospheric exposure tests carried out on an epoxy primer-coated aluminum alloy in a coastal environment for 7, 12, and 20 years. The micromorphology and characteristics of the section and surface, the products of corrosion, electrochemical impedance, and molecular structure of the coated specimens were examined through a spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). The results showed that the angles of contact of the specimens with different numbers of years of atmospheric exposure satisfied the normal distribution. Their fractal dimensions increased with an increase in the duration of exposure. Intergranular corrosion and exfoliation corrosion appeared in the specimens after 20 years, where the product of corrosion was Al(OH)₃. The impedances and thermal properties of the epoxy coatings were influenced by the synergistic effects of aging and post-curing. The impedances of the coatings decreased greatly after long-term atmospheric exposure. After 20 years of corrosion, the specimen showed the characteristics of the substrate being corroded. The mechanism of corrosion and the electrochemical equivalent circuit were also analyzed.

Based on the real annual average value of atmospheric environmental data in the Wanning area of Hainan Province in China by selecting 7075 ultra-high-strength aluminum alloy specimens for aviation, a new corrosion solution was designed and the traditional alternate immersion corrosion method of using the alternate immersion corrosion test box was improved to simulate the environment of the internal structure of the aircraft. On this basis, two kinds of corrosion damage parameters, the depth of corrosion pits and corrosion rate, were quickly and accurately obtained by the three-dimensional profile of the specimen and binarization images’ method. The optimal linear regression equation combination of pitting depth and corrosion rate was established, and the dynamic evolution equation of the depth of corrosion pits and corrosion rate was obtained. The results showed that: The depth of corrosion pits in the early stage of corrosion (8 h and 24 h) obeyed the Gumbel distribution and Weibull distribution, respectively, and the later stage (48 h, 72 h, 96 h, and 120 h) conformed to the normal distribution; the depth of corrosion pits’ evolution law was in the form of double straight lines and the corrosion rate evolution law was in the power function form (y = a × x^b); and the depth of corrosion pits changed rapidly in the early stage and gradually slowed down in the later stage, while the corrosion rate was just the opposite.