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Army Steps Up Plans to Fight Corrosion

Mar 24, 2010

By Kris Osborn

The U.S. Army is using dehumidification systems, special covers, composite materials and galvanizing techniques among other things as part of stepped-up effort to mitigate the damaging effects of corrosion of its equipment and infrastructure, a phenomenon estimated by the Virginia-based Logistics and Maintenance Institute (LMI) to cost the service up to $5.5 billion per year, service officials said.

"We have spent a lot of time identifying strengths and weaknesses and putting together plans to attack deficiencies in corrosion prevention and control (CPC). We have a renewed emphasis," said Dr. Roger Hamerlinck, Senior Acquisition Policy Specialist. "We have new technologies that are being identified all the time that give better corrosion resistance." The LMI also found that corrosion accounts for eight percent of weapons' "down-time" or instances wherein they do not function properly.

While substantial anti-corrosion efforts have been underway throughout the Department of Defense and Army for many years, it was the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act which required the services to identify a corrosion executive; the Army's corrosion executive -- Wimpy Pybus, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition Policy and Logistics --- emphasizes the Army 's corrosion prevention and control efforts require an Army and Government-wide approach.

"The responsibility for CPC is a shared one. Every service member, Federal civilian, and Government contractor share in the design, support, operation and maintenance of our equipment and infrastructure. Together we enable victory," Pybus states in the Fiscal Year 2009 Army Annual Report of Corrosion Prevention and Control (CPC).

Acquisition managers are required to prepare corrosion prevention and control plans intended to influence the acquisition process and impact design selections. For instance, acquisition personnel are tasked with selecting materials that will be more corrosion resistant. In addition, corrosion considerations are being woven into the requirements process to best facilitate a long-term prevention approach, Army officials said.

Over the long term, the Army corrosion prevention and control strategic plan is intended to influence every aspect of equipment and infrastructure lifecycle; this begins with the defining of the requirements for corrosion prevention and control, Hamerlinck said.

"Designs should use the latest CPC technologies and the operation and sustainment system must ensure that the inherent design characteristics are maintained. If the asset is not maintained as designed, it may not matter how well the design considered CPC," Hamerlinck said.

Techniques

Galvanizing techniques which apply Zinc to traditional steel are increasingly being chosen as methods of improving corrosion resistance in certain equipment, Army officials said. Two-sided galvanizing, involving both the interior and exterior of a vehicle, is also proving worthwhile.

Dehumidification systems are also being used to reduce damaging moisture inside vehicles, Hamerlinck said.

"There is a certain amount of moist air inside a vehicle that can't go anywhere. That environment gets into the electronics. If we don't draw that moisture out of there those things can cause a lot of damage. We're finding them really useful on aviation platforms," said Hamerlinck. "The dehumidification systems may cost 13,000 dollars, but in some cases you are protecting a $38 million dollar piece of equipment."

The Army is also having success using special, corrosion-reducing covers placed over certain pieces of equipment, such as aircraft and missile systems.

For example, canister covers for Patriot Missile batteries have dramatically increased the longevity of desiccant materials placed inside the systems to keep moisture out, Hamerlinck said.

"With covers they [the missiles] are going nine months and counting without replacing the desiccant. There is a cost savings here and fewer times that we have to open the container," he said Hamerlinck.

Other notable efforts include the construction of an all-composite bridge built over the last year at Fort Bragg, N.C., Hamerlinck said.

"It is built from 100-percent recycled industrial grade plastics. It is rated to be able to hold an M1 tank and that technology has proven out. We are in the process of observing its performance over the next three years so we can determine the return on the investment," he said.

Other challenges being addressed by the Army include examining how packing, storing and transporting equipment impacts corrosion, Hamerlinck said.

Metrics

The Department of Defense Corrosion Prevention and Control Integrated Product Team has currently identified three metrics by which they will determine success or failure in addressing corrosion: cost, readiness/availability, and safety.

The Services have identified a scale for determining the extent of corrosion to a particular piece of equipment measured in five distinct stages:

Stage 0 shows no visible corrosion.

Stage 1 is simple discoloration and staining. Stage 2 is loose rust or pitting of the surface along with minor etching. Stage 3 is rust, minor etching, pitting, more extensive surface damage.

Stage 4 is rust, etching, and pitting that has progressed to the point where the life of the item has been affected.

The stages identify the severity of the corrosive effect and they provide an indicator of the need for a specific level of maintenance, Hamerlinck said.

"Once an indication of corrosion is present, it is important to take appropriate corrective action because at that point it will take less time and expense to remedy the situation," he said. "One of our greatest challenges today is in training our military and civilian workforce to recognize the many forms of corrosion. There are as many as 16 different forms of corrosion, depending upon which book you read, such as pitting or cracking."

With this in mind, operators and maintainers of equipment need to be able to recognize and properly categorize corrosion in all its forms in order to take appropriate corrective or preventive actions, Hamerlinck said.