13 - Repair of magnesium components by cold spray techniques

Abstract

The US Army and Navy have experienced significant corrosion problems with magnesium alloys that are used to fabricate aircraft components. The most severe of these are associated with large and expensive transmission and gearbox housings for rotorcraft, which have to be removed prematurely because of corrosion, adversely affecting fleet readiness and safety. Many of the parts cannot be reclaimed because there is not an existing technology that can restore them adequately for service. The replacement of these parts is very expensive, ranging in the millions of dollars every year. One common repair technique, used for some of those parts that can be salvaged, involves the use of aluminum shims, which are adhesively bonded over areas where the corrosion has been ground down and dimensional restoration is required.