Photo of an Airman washing the under-belly of an A-10 Thunderbolt at the corrosion control wash rack at Moody Air Force Base, Ga.

Corrosion Services

Supporting corrosion control efforts across equipment lifecycles

Corrosion destroys equipment, decreasing readiness and reliability while causing safety hazards and increasing maintenance and other ownership costs. The Department of Defense (DoD) estimates corrosion costs the department over $23 billion annually. In addition, the U.S. Army attributes more than 50 aircraft accidents and 12 fatalities to corrosion since 1985.* Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) is working to support corrosion control efforts across the equipment lifecycle–from design and materials selection through operation and maintenance.

Since 2000, CTC has been performing a wide variety of corrosion services for government and commercial clients.

*Government Accountability Office, GAO-11-318SP, March 2011, page 186.

Why Work with CTC?
Whether you need to estimate component service life, compare materials performance, or determine the condition of your materials, CTC can find the solution that’s right for you.

We can collect and analyze data, equipment, materials, and environments to characterize and understand corrosion problems. We can then test, evaluate, demonstrate, and validate the most appropriate and cost-effective prevention and control solutions–saving you time and money.

CTC offers deep experience and capabilities:

Extensive experience with laboratory development and fabrication of NDI corrosion reference standards for DoD engineering applications
Capability to design, fabricate, and install custom test equipment and nonstandard test and analysis protocols per client specifications.

CTC uses the following equipment:

Auto Technology 40 cu.ft. cyclic corrosion chamber, capable of more than 50 different pre-programmed corrosion tests, including those specified in ASTM B117, SAE J2334 and GM9540P
Q-Fog cyclic corrosion chamber
Atlas Weatherometer
Q-Panel Q-Sun accelerated weathering xenon arc weatherometers that simulate the entire spectrum of sunlight with capabilities of varying the irradiance, temperature, humidity, water spray, and exposure duration.
Q-Panel QUV apparatus that simulates the ultraviolet (UV) portion of the sunlight spectrum, in which the most damaging effects of sunlight to coatings exposed outdoors occurs
Gamry PCI4/300 potentiostat/galvanostat/zero resistance ammeter capable of DC corrosion and AC electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) testing for modeling corrosion behavior, and measuring corrosion rates, pitting potentials, polarization resistance, and corrosion potential.
Portable nondestructive inspection (NDI) systems for assessment and evaluation of hidden corrosion under paint, as well as damage/defects within composite structures

Aluminum Sensitization
CTC has been engaged in evaluating and addressing aluminum sensitization issues, including subsequent stress corrosion cracking, on Navy ships since 2010. CTC has focused on the design, development, demonstration, and transition of repair strategies and technologies that reduce costs and improve readiness. Our solutions involve:

Mitigation for un-cracked sensitized aluminum
Mitigation for cracked sensitized aluminum
Prevention using coatings
Prevention using new materials

Our technologies optimize demonstrated solutions, including friction stir welding, coatings, and reverse sensitization units, which Navy stakeholders have identified as potential solutions.

CALL OR EMAIL:

Rob Mason
Principal Material Scientist

814-269-2662
corrosion@ctc.com

Reverse Sensitization Unit

CTC has conducted corrosion testing that has added value for many clients, including:

Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Office of Corrosion Policy and Oversight
U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armament Command (TACOM)
U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM)
U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center
U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC)
U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Lockheed Martin
Honeywell Engines, Services & Systems
Honeywell Turbo Technologies
Trane Residential Systems

Capabilities

Material investigations

Collect and analyze data to characterize corrosion problems
Determine the current material’s condition
Identify alternative materials and determine expected performance
Estimate component service life in given environment using alternative materials

Technology evaluations and demonstrations

Conduct laboratory corrosion testing on materials, coatings, etc. using state-of-the-art equipment
Conduct outdoor exposure testing
Monitor corrosion and degradation of assets using advanced sensor systems
Draft guidelines and Joint Test Protocols (JTPs) for corrosion evaluations
Employ Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) techniques and technologies to monitor corrosion and degradation

Outreach and awareness

Disseminate demonstration findings
Identify need areas for corrosion prevention
Train personnel to implement corrosion mitigation strategies

Representative Projects

Optimized Corrosion Detection

Demonstrated the ability of 4 NDT technologies to detect, at varying degrees, corrosion found on aircraft airframes. We also fabricated and applied Corrosion Under Paint (CUP) Test Standards, utilizing a patented process, to facilitate NDT. These standards could be applied to any military asset that suffers from corrosion and is or could be inspected using NDT techniques. With NDT, costly, unneeded repairs and repainting can be avoided, without compromising safety.

Improved Infrastructure Component Performance

Evaluated corrosion on several key mechanical infrastructure components at Fort Bragg, NC, and implemented mitigation using advanced materials and coatings. This experience was then leveraged for the use of advanced structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies applied to these components, to monitor their degradation and replace the components before they fail and disrupt operations.

Enhanced Ground Vehicle Performance

Executed a number of efforts to mitigate corrosion on Army ground vehicles. Among these were:

Designed and installed portable, modular closed loop facility at Ft. Hood, TX, which automatically washes and applies corrosion inhibitor to equipment, reducing manual labor by ~55% and increasing number of vehicles treated per day by ~ 200%
Identification, testing, and application of advanced coatings and technologies for vehicle hydraulic systems
Identification, testing, and application of zinc-rich coatings for vehicle body panels.

Mitigated Aluminum Sensitization

Designed and developed a reverse sensitization unit (RSU) to mitigate uncracked, sensitized aluminum on a specific Navy ship class. The resulting device was demonstrated on an active-duty ship and derived $136K cost avoidance in 1.5 days of effort. The Navy determined that, even if the RSU is only used for 30% of sensitized ship structure, cost avoidance of as much as $2.4M per ship could be realized.

Improved Aircraft Corrosion Inspection Practice

Developed an enhanced tool kit to maintain H-60 aircraft. With the kit, maintenance specialists can remove forward bridge tie rods and eccentric bushings, which are particularly susceptible to maintenance-induced damage during corrosion inspection. Such damage in critical areas require aircraft to be removed from service for more maintenance, which decreases aircraft availability, generates waste in the form of scrapped parts, and increases ownership costs.

Inhibiting Saltwater Corrosion in Helicopters

Developed a gasket kit that provides corrosion prevention to nose bay avionics while allowing electrical conductivity. This kit significantly inhibits saltwater corrosion while reducing ownership costs of the H-60, maritime multi-mission helicopters. To put savings into perspective, addressing nose bay corrosion damage requires approximately 350-400 labor hours and 9-10 weeks of down time per MH-60R helicopter for a cost of $1.8 million annually.

Non-Toxic Coatings for Electrical Connectors

Evaluated three alternative coatings for electrical connectors in ground systems such as Stryker vehicles. We developed and applied a test protocol to conduct laboratory and outdoor exposure testing addressing Army needs—beyond military specification. Our real-world assessment showed how electrical connectors with these coatings will perform on fielded Army assets, particularly when mated to connectors with a legacy system of cadmium/hexavalent chromium.