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.

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The present disclosure relates generally to regenerative surface treatments for substrates formed on an aluminum alloy.

BACKGROUND

The operating environment of an aluminum alloy often contains reactive species that interact with exposed aluminum on the surface of a component made of the aluminum alloy. For example, submersion in water, particularly ocean water or other salt-containing liquids, may lead to pitting corrosion issues within the surface of an aluminum-based component due to breakdown of the naturally occurring protective barrier (as a passive layer) formed on aluminum alloys. Therefore, improved anti-corrosion coatings would be welcome in the art, particularly for aluminum-based components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present disclosure, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended Figs., in which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a portion of a protected component having a regenerative surface treatment that includes an array of environmentally reactive deposits dispersed on a surface of a substrate according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the protected component shown in FIG. 1A after exposure to corrosive species to form a protective layer on the surface of the substrate according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A is a is a perspective view of the protected component shown in FIG. 1B after formation of a crack or other defect in the regenerative surface treatment on the surface of the substrate according to embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the protected component shown in FIG. 2A after exposure to corrosive species to form a protective layer covering the crack or other defect on the surface of the substrate according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a close-up perspective view of the protected component shown in FIG. 1B where the chemical reactions are generically represented between at least one reactive element of the regenerative surface treatment and a corrosive species within the environment to form a reaction product that forms the protection layer; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a protected component having a regenerative surface treatment as a relatively thin dopant layer.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the present disclosure.

Definitions

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Additionally, unless specifically identified otherwise, all embodiments described herein should be considered exemplary.

The singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

As used herein, the term “substantially free” is understood to mean completely free of said constituent, or inclusive of trace amounts of same. “Trace amounts” are those quantitative levels of chemical constituent that are barely detectable and provide no benefit to the functional or aesthetic properties of the subject composition. As used herein, the term “chromate” refers to chromate ion, dichromate ion, and any other form of hexavalent chromium.

In the present disclosure, when a layer is being described as “on” or “over” another layer or substrate, it is to be understood that the layers can either be directly contacting each other or have another layer or feature between the layers, unless expressly stated to the contrary. Thus, these terms are simply describing the relative position of the layers to each other and do not necessarily mean “on top of” since the relative position above or below depends upon the orientation of the device to the viewer.

Chemical elements are discussed in the present disclosure using their common chemical abbreviation, such as commonly found on a periodic table of elements. For example, hydrogen is represented by its common chemical abbreviation H; helium is represented by its common chemical abbreviation He; and so forth.

As used herein, “Ln” refers to a rare earth element or a mixture of rare earth elements. More specifically, the “Ln” refers to the rare earth elements of scandium (Sc), yttrium (Y), lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), lutetium (Lu), or mixtures thereof.

As used herein, “alumina” refers to an aluminum oxide, such as in the form of Al₂O₃, which may also be represented as AlO_1.5 or aluminum oxide hydroxide, which in different crystallographic forms is represented by AlO(OH) or AlHO₂.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS

Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the present disclosure, not limitation of the present disclosure. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

This disclosure generally relates to a protected component having a regenerative surface treatment formed on a surface of a substrate, particularly in the form of an array of environmentally reactive deposits on a surface of a substrate. Methods are also generally provided for forming the array of environmentally reactive deposits on the surface of the substrate. Generally, the array of environmentally reactive deposits on the surface may chemically interact with corrosive species encountered in the environment in which the protected component operates. It has been found that full coverage of the surface is not required for an effective protective treatment.

The regenerative surface treatment, through its array of environmentally reactive deposits, may mitigate pitting corrosion issues in severe service environments such as submersion in water (particularly ocean water), salt sprays, aerosol environments generated near bodies of water, in corrosive atmospheric aerosols. Due to the discontinuous nature of the array of environmentally reactive deposits, the present disclosure may be particularly suitable for substrates with complex geometries that are difficult to conventionally barrier coat surfaces to be protected. In addition, partial coverage of a surface by discrete deposits helps to mitigate fatigue crack initiation that can occur in continuous coatings.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a protected component 10 is generally shown that includes a substrate 12 defining a surface 13 with a regenerative surface treatment 15 thereon. In embodiments, the substrate 12 comprises an aluminum-based alloy. As used herein, an aluminum-based alloy has at least 50% by weight of aluminum in its alloy composition. Such a substrate 12 of an aluminum-based alloy is particularly susceptible to corrosion, and thus a protection layer 32 is greatly desired thereon. The surface 13 of the substrate 12 generally includes a naturally occurring passive layer 14 that comprises alumina. Such a passive layer 14 forms on the surface 13 of the substrate 12 upon exposure of the aluminum-based alloy to oxygen (e.g., during manufacturing).

In the embodiment of FIG. 1A, the regenerative surface treatment 15 includes an array 16 of environmentally reactive deposits 18 dispersed on the surface 13 of the substrate 16. Each environmentally reactive deposit 18 of the array 16 of environmentally reactive deposits 18 defines a discrete region 20 on the surface 13 of the substrate 12. Although shown in the shape of a dome in FIG. 1A, the environmentally reactive deposits 18 may have any suitable size or shape as desired. For example, the environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be in the form of powders, particles, flakes. Deposits may be attached using permeable or porous binders that provide a time-release effect for the encapsulated reactive elements.

Generally, the regenerative surface treatment 15 includes at least one reactive element that is chemically reactive with a corrosive species within its operating environment 24 to produce reaction product 33 (FIG. 3) that form a protective layer 32 on the exposed areas 22 of the surface 13, as shown in FIG. 1B. The environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be deposited in a structured pattern or random pattern to provide protection to the adjacent exposed area 22 of the surface 13 through growth of the protective layer 32 from the environmentally reactive deposits 18 onto the exposed area 22 of the surface 13. Thus, the array 16 of environmentally reactive deposits 18 forms a discontinuous network of chemically active solid-state deposits that are tailored to interact with corrosive species 28 (FIG. 3) within the operating environment 24 of the protected component 10.

That is, FIG. 1B shows the protected component 10 after exposure of the regenerative surface treatment 15 to its environment such that the array 16 of environmentally reactive deposits 18 creates a protective layer 32 through reaction with corrosive species 28 (FIG. 3). Generally, the protective layer 32 may include reaction products of the environmentally reactive deposits 18 and the corrosive species 28 (FIG. 3), with the reaction products combining with and dispersing throughout the alumina of the passive layer 14. As such, the reactive element(s) works with the passive layer 14 to enhance the protection of the underlying substrate 12. The protective layer 32 produced is self-regenerating through continued exposure of the array 16 of environmentally reactive deposits 18 to the corrosive species 28 (FIG. 3) present in the environment 24 (FIG. 3). In one embodiment, the protective layer 32 is an anodic layer on the surface 13 of the substrate 12. Thus, the array 16 of environmentally reactive deposits 18 may mitigate corrosion and improve the corrosion fatigue life of substrate 12.

Thus, the regenerative surface treatment 15 allows the environmentally reactive deposits 18 to undergo preferential and controlled corrosion when exposed to its operating environment to produce reaction products that coalesce and form the protective layer 32 on the exposed area 22 of the surface 13. The environmentally reactive deposits 18 may remain active sites throughout the life of the protected component 10 allowing the protective layer 32 to regenerate, if it's damaged or worn away. The regenerative nature of the environmentally reactive deposits 18 and the protective layer 32 thereby arrest any further corrosion of the aluminum-based alloy of the substate 12. The protective layer 32 also shields any precipitates in the aluminum-based alloy to prevent galvanic corrosion at a precipitate-alloy interface and thereby prevents pitting corrosion. Generally, the protective layer 32 may be relatively thin on the surface 13 of the substrate 12, such as being less than 10 μm in thickness such as less than 1 μm, to help mediate against fatigue cracking.

In embodiments, the regenerative surface treatment 15 may include at least one reactive element that includes 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. In particular embodiments, more than one reactive element may be present in the regenerative surface treatment 15, such that the regenerative surface treatment 15 may include at least two reactive elements that include 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. In particular embodiments, more than two reactive element may be present in the regenerative surface treatment 15, such that the regenerative surface treatment 15 may include at least three reactive elements that include 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.

In embodiments, the regenerative surface treatment 15 may include the reactive elements in the form of a high entropy alloy. As used herein, the term “high entropy alloy” (“HEA”) refers to an alloy formed by mixing five or more reactive elements, particularly in similar atomic amounts relative to each other. That is, the regenerative surface treatment 15 may include at least five of the reactive elements of Al, Zn, V, Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, La, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sc, Sm, Tb, Tm, Y, Yb, Mo, Si, Ca, or W, with each of the reactive elements present in the HEA having substantially equal atomic amounts to each other.

In embodiments, at least one reactive element of the regenerative surface treatment 15 may include a rare earth element that comprises V, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sc, Sm, Tb, Tm, Y, Yb, a combination thereof or alloys thereof. Additionally or alternatively, at least one reactive element of the regenerative surface treatment 15 may include a Al, Zn, Ce, La, Mo, Si, Ca, W, a mixture thereof, or alloys thereof.

In a particular embodiment, the array 16 of environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be utilized as a substitute for coating containing hexavalent chromium. Thus, the array 16 of environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be substantially free from hexavalent chromium, and in embodiments may be substantially free from chromium.

In embodiments, the environmentally reactive deposits 18 may also include a binder in which at least one reactive element is included. That is, the environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be formed by applying a binder having at least one reactive element included therein onto the surface 13 of the substrate 12. For example, the binder may be a non-water soluble porous or permeable ceramic binder.

In embodiments, the environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be formed from an aluminum alloy containing at least one reactive element therein as an alloying element. For example, the environmentally reactive deposits 18 may include at least one reactive element in a total concentration of 0.5 wt % to 50 wt %, with the balance being aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The aluminum alloy containing at least one reactive element may be produced by conventional methods, such as melting and atomization processes, melted and solidified by a rapid cooling processes (ribbon, spin cast, etc.), or mechanically alloyed with powders of at least one reactive element.

The environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be formed via any suitable method, such as via physical deposition methods. For example, the environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be formed from an alloy powder or a mixture of powders of individual metallic elements added to a binder (such as described above). The environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be formed via additive manufacturing or printing (e.g., via an inkjet application), as an alloy powder or a mixture of powders of individual metallic elements thermally sprayed onto the surface 13 or cold sprayed onto the surface 13. The environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be formed from a wire of a metal or alloy, with the wire being welded, diffusion bonded, or soldered onto the surface 13. The environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be formed as via electron beam (EB) spot welding onto the surface 13. In certain embodiments, the environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be embedded within the surface 13, such as by injecting into crevices or regions of the surface. In certain embodiments, the environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be formed by including the reactive element(s) within a carrier phase (e.g., a carrier liquid) that may be applied to the surface such that the environmentally reactive deposits 18 deposit thereon. Thus, the environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be formed in areas that are inaccessible for conventional application methods, spraying, brushing, etc.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the array 16 of environmentally reactive deposits 18 may be designed so that when individual environmentally reactive deposits 18 and/or the protective layer 32 were to be breached at any given location (shown as crack 34), the environmentally reactive deposits 18 adjacent to in the crack 34 may act to regenerate a protective layer 32 within the crack 34 upon exposure to the corrosive species 28 as shown in FIG. 2B.

FIG. 3 is a close-up view of an exemplary regenerative surface treatment 15 with an array 16 of environmentally reactive deposits 18 on the surface 13 of the substrate 12, such as shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B, with a representation of exemplary chemical reaction occurring upon exposure to an environment 24. Reactive elements 26, 26′, and 26″ are released from the environmentally reactive deposits 18 to chemically react with corrosive species 28, 28′, and 28″ to form reaction products 30, 30′, and 30″, respectively, within the protective layer 34. In FIG. 3, reactive elements 26, 26′, and 26″ are shown as element A, element B, and element C, which each represent any of the reactive elements discussed above (i.e., Al, Zn, V, Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, La, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sc, Sm, Tb, Tm, Y, Yb, Mo, Si, Ca, or W). Similarly, corrosive species 28, 28′, and 28″ represent any corrosive element or compound that may be reactive with the reactive element to form the respective reaction product 30, 30′, and 30″.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of a protected component 10 having a regenerative surface treatment 15, in the form of a continuous layer 40, over the surface 13 of the substrate 12. In this embodiment, the continuous layer 40 is relatively thin, such as having a thickness that is 25 μm or less, such as 1 μm to 20 μm. Due to its relatively thin nature, the continuous layer 40 is less likely to undergo fatigue cracking on the surface 15. Generally, at least one of the reactive elements discussed above may be included in the continuous layer 40. Thus, the at least one reactive element from the continuous layer 40 may disperse within the naturally occurring passive layer 14 of alumina on the surface 13, effectively forming a combined continuous layer 40 that includes alumina and the at least one reactive element. As such, the reactive element(s) works with the passive layer 14 to enhance the protection of the underlying substrate 12.

Further aspects of the present disclosure are provided by the subject matter of the following clauses:

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.

The protected component of any preceding clause, 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.

The protected component of any preceding clause, 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.

The protected component of any preceding clause, 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.

The protected component of any preceding clause, 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.

The protected component of any preceding clause, wherein the at least one reactive element comprises Al, Zn, Ce, La, Mo, Si, Ca, W, a mixture thereof, or alloys thereof.

The protected component of any preceding clause, wherein the array of environmentally reactive deposits comprises an aluminum-based alloy having the at least one reactive element alloyed therein.

The protected component of any preceding clause, wherein the array of environmentally reactive deposits further comprises a binder having the at least one reactive element alloyed therein.

The protected component of any preceding clause, wherein the binder is a non-water soluble binder.

The protected component of any preceding clause, wherein the array of environmentally reactive deposits are embedded into the surface of the substrate.

The protected component of any preceding clause, 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.

The protected component of any preceding clause, wherein the at least one reactive element comprises a high entropy alloy.

The protected component of any preceding clause, 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.

The protected component of any preceding clause, wherein the regenerative surface treatment are substantially free from chromium.

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 a continuous layer on the surface of the substrate, the continuous layer comprising 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.

A method of using the protective component of any preceding clause, the method comprising: exposing the surface of the substrate and the regenerative surface treatment to an environment containing at least one corrosive species.

The method of any preceding clause, 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.

The method of any preceding clause, 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.

A method for forming the protected component of any preceding clause.

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.

The method of any preceding clause, 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.

The method of any preceding clause, further comprising: prior to forming the environmentally reactive composition; formulating the environmentally reactive composition based on an anticipated environmental contaminant for the protected component.

This written description uses exemplary embodiments to disclose certain embodiments, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

Claims

1. A protected component, comprising: a substrate defining a surface, wherein the substrate comprises an aluminum-based alloy; anda 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.