Prediction of Corrosion Protection System Aging by Theory Based Data Mining

"This Phase II SBIR program addresses the need to extend the life of U.S. Air Force aircraft, well beyond their original design life, under increasingly strict budget conditions. Specifically, a Faradaic Prediction Tool will be developed, to predict theperformance of a corrosion protection system for aging aircraft components, and the onset and propagation of corrosion resulting from coating degradation. The Faradaic Prediction Tool will predict the coating performance over time at the next basedeployment, using a database including electrochemical and environmental severity data. The Faradaic Prediction Tool could also be used to downselect new coating formulations, for more rigorous testing. In the Phase II program, we will a) performlaboratory, field and accelerated weathering tests to simulate coating degradation and corrosion damage on aluminum panels, b) develop algorithms for predicting electrochemical impedance spectra for coatings, using data mining tools, c) developmethodologies for predicting fundamental electrochemical parameters, d) combine these approaches into a methodology for predicting coating failure and corrosion damage as a function of time, and e) verify the methodology with long term experimental data.In Phase III, we will package the Faradaic Prediction Tool into a user-friendly software program for commercialization."