Multi-Parameter Environmental Chamber with Smart Sensing Technology for Development of Next Generation Accelerated Corrosion Tests

ABSTRACT: Improved performance and environmental compliance continues to drive coating development. The acceptance of emerging coatings for aircraft structures is accomplished through extensive property testing that includes accelerated corrosion and service environment exposure testing. Current accelerated corrosion test methods using standard environmental chambers do not accurately simulate damage modes that are relevant to field failures and structural integrity and do not generate data that can be used to understand material interactions, corrosion processes, and relative performance of coatings and inhibitors to control different corrosion damage mechanisms. To address this critical need an environmental test chamber that more accurately replicates field conditions, by allowing for control of temperature, relative humidity, irradiation, gas and salt concentrations, and cyclic mechanical loading will be assembled. Recently developed measurement systems capable of continuous multimodal sensing of environmental parameters, corrosion, and coating performance will be utilized in the chamber to generate sufficient data to establish significant interactions between applied environmental conditions. Critical conditions determined will be used to develop an improved accelerated corrosion test protocol for the Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) community to utilize for coating evaluations as part of comprehensive corrosion protection and control plans. BENEFIT: A successful product development effort will result in a multi-parameter environmental test chamber with sensing capabilities to quantify corrosion damage and an improved accelerated corrosion test protocol. This system will more accurately predict corrosion performance of material systems in service environments. Although the test chamber will be specifically tailored for use by Air Force personnel for testing material systems for aircraft structures, similar test chambers would be applicable for use in other Military material test laboratories. The environmental test chamber would be valuable to numerous industries that develop corrosion resistant materials, qualify products based on corrosion performance, or manage structures based on estimates of corrosion damage.