An Alternative Corrosion-Resistant Coating to be Applied to Aluminum and Magnesium

The purpose of this SBIR project is to develop and demonstrate a chromate-free surface treatment to protect magnesium and aluminum/magnesium alloys. Aluminum and magnesium alloys are very attractive to the military and aerospace industry because of their high strength to weight ratios. The Air Force uses die-cast magnesium and aluminum alloys in their secondary power systems on many platforms. However, corrosion of these high value components is a significant and costly issue. The Air Force needs a better way to mitigate this corrosion. In this successful Phase I project TDA prepared a corrosion inhibiting surface coating.  This coating was demonstrated in corrosion studies and physical property testing. In the Phase II program we will optimize the formulation and extensively test it to validate its performance. The surface treatment coating will be evaluated by itself and also as a system.