In conjunction with Luna Inc. and engineers at the Air Force Corrosion Prevention and Control Office, researchers at the Air Force Research Laboratory have developed a new corrosion and coating evaluation system, CorRES, that can measure the ability of coatings to protect aircraft structures by using sensor panels that measure localized changes during corrosion testing. Unlike conventional coating tests that rely on an expert’s visual evaluation of a test panel at the conclusion of a test cycle, the CorRES takes measurements throughout a coating’s test and transmits data in real-time to a base station for evaluation. (Courtesy photo)
https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/new-corrosion-evaluation-system-enable-smart-aircraft-maintenance/Udt3TeIRbLJu0YuWiSpouL/
By Marisa Alia-Novobilski, Air Force Research Laboratory
As next-generation material development drives advances in Air Force technology, understanding the ability of new materials to perform in the operational environment is paramount to transition success. This is particularly important to scientists working to develop new, high performance Air Force coating technologies that meet strict environmental compliance needs in diverse operational conditions.
Through a small business innovation research project with Luna Innovations Inc., scientists at the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Air Force Corrosion Prevention and Control Office supported the development of an improved system for coating materials performance evaluations that will accelerate the screening, qualification and implementation of new aircraft coatings.
“By better understanding the corrosion performance of materials we put on an aircraft, we can help control corrosion costs and enable smart maintenance,” said Dr. Chad Hunter, the team lead for corrosion and erosion in the Systems Support Division at the AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate. “Corrosion maintenance costs are more than $5 billion a year for the Air Force, so if we can better understand a material from the start, we can enable smart maintenance and ultimately reduce costs throughout the lifecycle.”
The new corrosion and coating evaluation system, CorRES, measures the ability of coatings to protect aircraft structures by using sensor panels that perform electrochemical measurements during corrosion testing. Unlike conventional coating tests that rely on an expert’s visual evaluation of a test panel at the conclusion of a test cycle, CorRES records corrosion rate data throughout a test and transmits the data to a base station for evaluation. This enables researchers to know not only if a coating fails, but exactly when this occurs during a test.
“Legacy systems do not produce time-based, quantitative measurements inside of the test chamber, but rather, these are taken after a panel is removed. There’s a lot of variability in corrosion tests, and CorRES allows us to monitor this variability and provides quantitative data that help us better understand a coating’s performance in the lab so we can project how it will perform in the operational environment,” said Hunter.
Aircraft coatings are the first line of defense when it comes to mitigating structural corrosion of an air platform. As new coatings are developed, particularly those that contain non-chrome primers, there is a need for researchers to qualify the coatings for use on military aircraft prior to implementation on flying systems. The process, which includes laboratory tests, outdoor environmental exposure and aircraft trials, can be extensive and expensive. However, material qualification is a necessary risk-reduction activity for Air Force systems.
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