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Publication
The role of anodising in the performance of corrosion protection systems for aerospace applications
Book - Dissertation
Chromates have been used for decades in the aerospace industry due to their
outstanding corrosion protection performance. Chromates are however known
carcinogenic agents and therefore, their use has been restricted and will be completely
banned in the near future in the scope of the REACh regulation. In the early 2000s,
tartaric sulfuric acid anodising (TSA) was introduced in the frame of the chromic acid
anodising (CAA) replacement. Hexavalent chromium however, was not only present in
the anodising electrolyte as it can also be found as a corrosion inhibitor in corrosion
protection primers and paints.
While a lot of research has been conducted on the primer formulation to replace
hexavalent chromium, the focus of this work is on the further development of the
current tartaric sulfuric acid anodising process to optimize it for the application of
Cr(VI)-free basic primers, thereby generating a comprehensive mechanistic knowledge
of the system anodic oxide – basic primer.
To achieve this objective, it is proposed to study the relation between the anodic layer
morphology, chemistry, anodising process and pre-treatment with primer adhesion,
pH-stability of the oxide and overall long-term corrosion performance.
This PhD thesis has been carried out in collaboration with Airbus.
outstanding corrosion protection performance. Chromates are however known
carcinogenic agents and therefore, their use has been restricted and will be completely
banned in the near future in the scope of the REACh regulation. In the early 2000s,
tartaric sulfuric acid anodising (TSA) was introduced in the frame of the chromic acid
anodising (CAA) replacement. Hexavalent chromium however, was not only present in
the anodising electrolyte as it can also be found as a corrosion inhibitor in corrosion
protection primers and paints.
While a lot of research has been conducted on the primer formulation to replace
hexavalent chromium, the focus of this work is on the further development of the
current tartaric sulfuric acid anodising process to optimize it for the application of
Cr(VI)-free basic primers, thereby generating a comprehensive mechanistic knowledge
of the system anodic oxide – basic primer.
To achieve this objective, it is proposed to study the relation between the anodic layer
morphology, chemistry, anodising process and pre-treatment with primer adhesion,
pH-stability of the oxide and overall long-term corrosion performance.
This PhD thesis has been carried out in collaboration with Airbus.
Number of pages: 218
Publication year:2022