EVALUATION OF DESALTING AND INHIBITING WASHES FOR CORROSION CONTROL OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT OPERATING IN MARINE ENVIRONMENTS

摘要

Several commercial products are marketed either as water additives to aid salt removal and provide a residual protective film or as a corrosion resistant barrier coating to retard the rate of metal deterioration in marine environments. Faced with the need to reduce high costs of corrosion related repairs and extend the lifetimes of ground vehicles operating in harsh marine environments, maintenance facilities at military bases are currently investigating the use of such products on new equipment or during routine maintenance cycles. In this study the relative effects of five water wash additives and two coatings on the corrosion rates of representative steel and aluminum specimens in seawater were evaluated. Results show significant differences in the corrosion behavior of steel and aluminum specimens. For three of the water additives the corrosion loss of steel was reduced by more than 50 percent, however, only one of these products showed beneficial effects for aluminum when used according to manufacturers directions. It is important to note that increased aluminum corrosion (pitting) was observed for each of the other additives tested. Significant corrosion inhibition of steel and aluminum was observed for one of the barrier coatings. These results provide a measure of guidance in the selection of corrosion maintenance protection for military vehicles containing steel and aluminum constructions.