MILITARY & AEROSPACE CASE HISTORIES

U.S.A.F. Aerospace Ground Support & Equipment Preservation (Case History 361)

The Air Force is continuously looking for improved processes and procedures to save military funds, resources, and manpower. Corrosion is a mechanism that continues to reduce aircraft and aircraft support equipment (AGE) life cycle. This project, directed by the Air Force Corrosion Prevention Control Office, was designed to investigate the benefits of a corrosion inhibiting shrink wrap film as a solution. Two air conditioner units were supplied by the Air National Guard unit at Travis Field in Savannah, GA. Travis Field has limited covered storage and was interested in the potential of the film wrapping material. Both units were in excellent condition, and showed no visible evidence of corrosion at the beginning of the project. Each air conditioning unit was wrapped with MilCorr® VpCI® Shrink Film and taken out of maintenance service. Air vents were installed on opposite sides of the air conditioner units, which allowed the wrapped units to breath and release moisture. This prevented water from collecting inside or condensing on the equipment. The duration of this project was one year. Upon opening the sealed units there was no evidence of any standing water or other environmental elements inside the package. The two pieces remained in the same condition as when the project began the year earlier. Neither unit had visual evidence of corrosion or corrosion related issues. In addition, Travis Field personnel expressed their interest in using the Cortec® VpCI® materials to preserve additional units.

Barcelona Airport Control Tower (Case History 372)

A new control tower platform at the Barcelona Airport was being built and protection of the corrugated reinforcing steel was needed. The platform is the base to the 44.55 meter (48.72 yd) tall control tower facilities and service. Cortec® Corporation’s MCI® Coating for Rebar NT was the selected corrosion protection product, which was applied directly to the corrugated steel. The product was chosen for its ease of use in areas with limited access. In order to completely protect the platform slab, which measures 518.4 cubic meters (678.08 yd3), 152 liters (40.15 gal) of MCI® Coating for Rebar NT was needed. The recommended dry film thickness for this case was 25 microns (1 mil.) The product cures as a non-sticky, soft film that eventually hardens. MCI® Coating for Rebar NT has been tested for effect on adhesion of concrete with reinforcement in accordance with standard ASTM A944-99. The results of this test were exceptionally good, confirming this product does not interfere with the bond strength of corrugated steel reinforced concrete. The concrete for the tower was poured during the days following the application of MCI® Coating for Rebar NT.

Preservation of Naval Aircraft Engine (Case History 233)

Using the following materials, the Indian Navy previously had a very cumbersome, time consuming, labor intensive and expensive method of preserving their aircraft engines for a period of two years:

• Moisture Barrier Bag - 1 no.

• Paraffin Paper - 30 meters

• Silica Gel - 10 kgs.

• Rust Preventive Oil - 15 litres

• Gasoline - 4 litres

• Poly Sheet - 20 meters

Except for the Moisture Barrier Bag, these products were replaced every three months and the Silica Gel regenerated by heating. These products are toxic and cause lead poisoning. Additionally, it took one and a half days each quarter to renew this protection system. In spite of all this, the engines were still corroding during storage, and the customer decided to try Cortec’s solution.

APPLICATION 1. Cleaned all accessible surfaces of the engine with VpCI®-416 (1:6 solution). 2. Wiped these surfaces with Cortec® VpCI®-377 (1:9 solution). 3. Inserted VpCI®-132 Foam Pads (7 per engine), cutting to suitable size and placing them into various cavities, voids, intake and outlet chambers, and also on external surfaces of the engine. 4. Wrapped the entire engine with VpCI®-146 Paper and sealed. 5. Wrapped the equipment further with VpCI®-126 Film and sealed once again. Cortec® was selected because our protection system is clean and convenient to use. Products only need to be applied once every two years. It takes just two hours to apply and 15 minutes to dismantle and remove. This is saving the customer valuable time, and by switching to Cortec’s method, the customer saved 60-70% on current costs. Considering the fact that the Aviation Wing of the Navy, as well as the Indian Air Force itself, has a large number of engines to preserve, this was a huge savings for the Indian Defense Organization. Most of the Cortec® products are commercially equivalent to MIL Specs and offer far superior, reliable, and efficient inhibiting action, which has been proven worldwide. (Note: VpCI®-126 at 150 micron also has Rolls Royce approval for military aircraft spares.)

U.S. Air Force – Lockheed Martin (Case History 120)

Lockheed Martin’s backup generator for emergency flight operations was rusting severely. Stored in an extremely salty environment at the edge of the ocean, the generator needed protection from the elements. The solution had to prevent any further rust damage to this important piece of equipment. Cortec® VpCI®- 374 primer was applied on all rusted areas of the generator and Cortec® VpCI®-132 Foam was inserted into the generator cabinet. The entire generator was covered with a CorShield® custom cover. This large protective cover with velcro closures could be removed quickly in case of emergency. Lockheed chose Cortec® products because of the superior corrosion protection they provide even in a highly corrosive environment. The UV protection provided by the CorShield® cover was also a huge benefit.

Cleaning Coast Guard Aircraft (Case History 170)

The US Coast Guard had been using Simple Green Cleaners to clean all of their aircrafts. They were experiencing corrosion problems on some of these craft and were looking for a cleaner that could provide added corrosion protection. In addition, they were also interested in a more environmentally safe cleaner. After one year of testing Cortec® VpCI®-415, the US Coast Guard is now using VpCI®-415 on all of their aircraft. Depending on the aircraft being cleaned and the amount of dirt and chlorides that are being removed, the working concentration is anywhere from 10%-100% VpCI®-415. In all instances, the cleaner is applied with a pressure spray wand and left on the surface for 3-5 minutes. The surface is then lightly agitated with a brush, and finally rinsed clean with water. Before VpCI®-415 could be used at any of the Coast Guard locations, it needed to go through extensive testing to ensure that it had no adverse effects on the aircraft, met their cleaning requirements, and provided the desired protection. VpCI®-415 met these requirements and provided the Coast Guard with superior results.

Airbus Parts Protection

Airbus China, a division of the multinational Airbus Group SE that manufactures civil aircraft, was looking for a more cost effective, less time consuming method of corrosion prevention for parts and components shipped to Europe. Cortec® products were used to solve their corrosion prevention problem. VpCI®-132 Pads were placed on the aircraft parts and componets to provide extra corrosion protection, and then the parts were wrapped in VpCI®-125 Antistatic Film. Cortec® VpCI®-125 Antistatic Film and VpCI®-132 Pads solved Airbus’ corrosion prevention problems. Airbus experienced substantial cost savings in their process by using two innovative Cortec® products.