Corrosion Resistant Non-Toxic Coatings for High-Strength Arresting Gear Tailhook Components

The principal aim of this program is to develop non-toxic corrosion resistant coatings to replace cadmium for tailhook applications on the Joint Strike Fighter. These coatings need to be dense, effective at preventing corrosion of the substrate alloy, and applicable onto non line-of-sight component regions. Cadmium replacement coating compositions explored in this work are aluminum based alloys deposited using an advanced physical vapor deposition technique which allows the generation of aluminum alloy coatings with uniform composition, high coating density and a relatively low modulus to promote coating adhesion. The deposition techniques employed also enable coating deposition onto non-line-of-sight areas of complex components. Corrosion testing and electrochemical screening was used in Phase I to identify and demonstrate coatings with promising corrosion resistance. During the proposed Phase II effort, work will be performed to further develop and optimize novel coating compositions for tailhook substrate alloys and characterize coating performance through qualification testing. Process optimization for the coating of tailhook components utilizing DVTI"s production scale coating facility is also envisioned. A significant outcome of this study is the establishment of non-toxic corrosion resistant coatings and coating processes that provide the required corrosion resistance while reducing the usage and exposure to toxic materials.