What do we do?
Helping clients choose the correct materials to minimize galvanic corrosion is at the heart of what we do.
We leverage Corrosion Djinn, lab characterization, testing and our expert knowledge, to choose candidates for final testing and implementation while at the same time maneuvering through the maze of rapidly reducing choices due to the impact of domestic and foreign materials restrictions legislation, such as REACH and RoHS.
Our work is not restricted to just new product design. We also have a significant involvement in sustainment and repair. Consequently, we are continuously searching for new materials and capabilities that will help our clients. One example is the Dalistick system, a unique, non-drip brush plating/anodizing technology which Corrdesa further developed for use in harsh, US Navy operational environments.
Our approach
Corrdesa’s approach is to bring galvanic corrosion protection engineering into the 21st century. The use of the galvanic table is outdated, amongst other reasons, it is not very helpful when dealing with new materials, such as composites. It does not help when you are forced to abandon chromated zinc, cadmium, chromate conversion, chromated primers and all the other traditional coatings used for corrosion protection. We treat each product as a system of interconnected materials, coatings, and treatments that together provide the corrosion, wear, and engineering strength that the product requires.
MIL-STD-889C (along with others) states that the galvanic potential difference is not really a true indicator of corrosion rate, since the potential difference does not depend on the kinetics.
Previous work
NAVAIR is the US Naval aviation organization that runs the Fleet Readiness Centers (FRCs), whose job is to keep Navy aircraft in good repair. Corrdesa has been working with NAVAIR to further develop and qualify non-drip selective plating and anodizing equipment and processes for repairing coatings on Naval aircraft. Please see the full NAVAIR case study here.
Regulation compliance
Complying with European REACH and US environmental regulations (EPA and OSHA) has become a massive, complex, and high-risk problem for manufacturers across the world. Aerospace and Defense are particularly hard hit because of their traditional use of cadmium, hexavalent chromium, beryllium, etc., but every manufacturer who uses aluminum alloys, galvanized components, or even common chromated zinc bolts is also faced with finding replacement passivates. This problem will only get worse as regulations on essential manufacturing chemicals such as nickel salts and phthalates (used in polymers, paints, adhesives and seals) become increasingly stringent. Is it possible to substitute materials and still maintain performance? Yes, but it means understanding what the regulations really are, what modern alternatives are available, how they perform in the real world. And it takes a combination of modeling and testing to qualify them for your specific application.