Abstract
Naval aviation and materiel are constantly exposed to environments conducive to corrosion and subsequent maintenance/repair of corrosion products remains a huge budgetary concern for the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE). As such, ongoing research into the prediction and prevention of corrosion within the fleet is necessary. Environmental exposure sites provide the closest correlation between corrosion degradation and damage experienced in-service; unfortunately, this type of testing is time-consuming, not widely accessible, and provides cumulative data only. Consequently, an in-depth understanding of the naval operating environment is crucial both in the prediction and mitigation of corrosion damage. We present results of dynamic environmental monitoring on-board a naval ship, and its correlation to corrosion degradation. A device measuring solution resistance across a gold interdigitated electrode, surface temperature and relative humidity, dynamically monitors environmental parameters on board a naval ship over the period of 9 months. Rigorous statistical analysis is used to analyze solution resistance data and correlate those measurements to mass loss experienced by witness coupons exposed to the same environment. Data are then used to determine probabilities of wetness (and semi-wetness) as a function of absolute humidity; results are compared to those predicted by “ISO 9223:2012 Corrosion of metals and alloys - Corrosivity of atmospheres -Classification, determination and estimation”. Finally, corrosion action zones (CAZ) are constructed and compared to those measured during in-laboratory testing.
