Deposition of Amorphous Aluminum Alloys as a Replacement for Aluminum Cladding

This Small Business Technology Transfer Program is aimed at the development of an innovative method and procedure for depositing corrosion-resistant material to aircraft components as an alternative to aluminum cladding approaches. We plan to use environmentally compliant amorphous metal coatings from the Al-Co-Ce and similar alloy families that have recently been developed at the University of Virginia. It is the intent of this research project to demonstrate the practicality of the proposed concept as a performance-enhancing alternative with many desirable process advantages over existing approaches. The proposed Phase II program will carry out process optimization through both numerical simulations and an extensive experimental regime, as well as introduce more application-relevant diagnostics in order to fully evaluate the system's commercial potential. By the end of the Phase II, the technology is expected to be in an excellent position for transitioning to a viable commercial device.