Non-Destructive Testing Method to Detect Red Plague Within an Insulated Silver-Plated Copper Conductor

We propose to develop a non-destructive test method to identify and quantify the formation of red plague corrosion within an insulated silver-plated copper wire. Cross-linked ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (XL-ETFE)-insulated silver-plated copper wire demonstrates high performance and is commonly used in military and aerospace applications as hook-up and lead wire, but is prone to galvanic corrosion that can lead to unpredictable in-flight failures after only 10 years of life.There is currently no acceptable method to determine the extent of corrosion in a silver-plated copper wire.Our proposed approach for red plague corrosion detection is to transmit a well-defined signal through the wire and accurately measure the output signal. By employing sophisticated analysis techniques, we will identify the signature of red plague corrosion and quantitatively calibrate it with the extent of corrosion present in the wire. Our approach to the measurement and analysis provides the sensitivity needed to detect early stages of corrosion while reducing the potential for erroneous detection. With the proposed development of a highly-sensitive and accurate test method to quantitatively detect red plague corrosion within an insulated silver-plated copper wire, we will establish the foundation of a novel commercial test system.(Approved for Public Release 15-MDA-8482 (17 November 15))