Catapult Water Brake Corrosion Inhibition System

Phase I of the research program determined that a practical, cost-effective corrosion inhibitor treatment can be used to control corrosion in catapult water brakes. The optimum inhibitor treatment appears to be a combination of two non-proprietary, relatively inexpensive chemicals – sodium nitrite and disodium 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole. At adequate concentrations, the nitrite-thiadiazole inhibitor treatment will virtually eliminate corrosion in the water brake system. A preliminary analysis suggests that the annual cost of treating four water brakes on a carrier with corrosion inhibitor should be less than $5,000. The exact inhibitor dosing protocol (concentrations of the respective chemicals, dosing frequency and methodology, etc.) required for an operational shipboard system needs to be determined in Phase II of the subject SBIR program. Phase II will develop a prototype inhibitor treatment system and establish the operational requirements for implementing corrosion inhibitor treatment of catapult water brakes on a fleetwide basis.