Low-Cost EIS Corrosion Sensor for Ground Vehicles

Corrosion of Army ground vehicles is a significant problem in cost, reliability, readiness, and safety. In many cases, the design of the vehicle relies solely or extensively on the protectiveness of the paint system for corrosion protection. DACCO SCI and Advanced Fluidics propose to develop a low-cost corrosion sensor system (sensor + electronics) that can directly monitor the coating health at the motor-pool level. In particular, this sensor system will provide early warning that the coating performance is degrading in contrast to corrosivity sensors that merely measure the corrosivity of the environment. The sensor is based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), which has proven successful in the laboratory for predicting coating performance. The sensors allow EIS to be performed in the field as a health monitoring method. The electronics module will mount on the vehicle and will transmit its signal to a hand-held device and alert the motor-pool soldier of coating damage or deterioration so that preventative maintenance can be scheduled to forestall serious structural damage due to the corrosion. The result will be decreased maintenance and replacement costs with increased readiness and reliability.