Monitoring Coating System Changes Using Equivalent Circuit Fit Parameters

Abstract

Organic coating systems are used to manage the corrosion of metal surfaces subjected to atmospheric degradation. These coating systems are frequently complex and multilayered and capable of providing several functions, including: substrate adhesion, corrosion inhibition and electrolytic barriers. In addition, the service environment can be equally complex with exposure to UV radiation, wet/dry cycling, and application of thermal and physical stresses on the substrate and coating system alike.Refining our ability to predict service life and explain how these coatings evolve over the course of their lifetimes provides an opportunity to decrease maintenance costs and aid in future coating development. These objectives can be achieved by the development of predictive models that incorporate the fundamental effects of relevant service environment parameters. This would provide reliable damage predictions based upon the measured environmental data thereby decreasing our dependence on proxy corrosion sensors.To that end, the first phase of this project has focused on testing and monitoring an aircraft coating system that is comprised of a surface pretreatment, an epoxy primer with inhibitors, and a polyurethane topcoat exposed to a variety of degradation conditions that simulate the extreme ranges of environmental stresses expected to be seen in-service. Coating condition was monitored using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and characterized with equivalent-circuit models so that changes to the coating system properties could be quantified and tracked over time.Regression models for the changes in the coating system properties are being developed and will be validated by follow-on outdoor exposure testing in the next phase of the program. Acknowledgments The Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) sponsored this work under program WP19-1017. The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the Office of Naval Research, the U.S. Navy, or the U.S. government.