SBIR-STTR Award

Possible corrosion inhibitors for controlling corrosion in aircraft carrier catapult water brakes will be identified. Laboratory testing and evaluation, under simulated catapult conditions, will determine the optimum corrosion inhibitor scheme. A preliminary conceptual plan for implementing corrosion inhibition in catapult water brakes onboard a carrier, including chemical dosing, condition monitoring, and necessary communication, will be developed

Benefit:
The program will develop an integrated inhibitor treatment system that can be implemented fleetwide to eliminate significant corrosion in catapult water brakes thereby improving safety, increasing reliability and reducing fleet maintenance. The integrated treatment system will make use of innovative, new technology including: (1) a

Keywords:
corrosion inhibitor, corrosion inhibitor, catapult water brakes, integrated inhibitor treatment system,

Phase I of the research program determined that a practical, cost-effective corrosion inhibitor treatment can be used to control corrosion in catapult water brakes. The optimum inhibitor treatment appears to be a combination of two non-proprietary, relatively inexpensive chemicals sodium nitrite and disodium 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole. At adequate concentrations, the nitrite-thiadiazole inhibitor treatment will virtually eliminate corrosion in the water brake system. A preliminary analysis suggests that the annual cost of treating four water brakes on a carrier with corrosion inhibitor should be less than $5,000. The exact inhibitor dosing protocol (concentrations of the respective chemicals, dosing frequency and methodology, etc.) required for an operational shipboard system needs to be determined in Phase II of the subject SBIR program. Phase II will develop a prototype inhibitor treatment system and establish the operational requirements for implementing corrosion inhibitor treatment of catapult water brakes on a fleetwide basis.

Benefit:
Completeion of the Phase II research will yield an effective corrosion inhibitor treatment for minimizing corrosion in aircraft carrier catapult water brakes. Development of an effective corrosion inhibitor will not only reduce corrosion-related maintenance and hardware rework/replacement but will increase fleet safety and operastional readiness with respect to aircraft carrier catapults.

Keywords:
catapult water brakes, water treatment, Corrosion Inhibitors, corrosion