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Click here to search FindAPhD.com for PhD studentship opportunitiesEngSci-nCATs-101: Robust testing - improved testing methodologies for evaluating the performance of paint systems and materials
Dr Julian Wharton
Applications accepted all year round
Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Military aircraft see an extremely wide variety of operating environments varying from desert to Antarctic conditions. This variability in operational scenarios accelerates degradation of their protective coatings (thin films/paints) and can severely decrease the operating life and availability of aircraft.
Current testing methodologies for appraising the performance of coating systems relies upon the use of standard tests which are often far removed from the environments that will be experienced in operational conditions. Although coatings pass these standard tests they can prematurely fail in-service, leading to corrosion and wear of components and their subsequent failure. This has been observed, e.g., on chromate-free systems, where performance under accelerated test conditions such as salt spray have shown equivalent resistance to corrosion as that exhibited by the well-proven chromate systems. When deployed the performance of these non-chromated systems has proved disappointing when compared to chromate-containing paints. This is because the environment often encountered by the coatings bears little resemblance to the original screening technique used to select the preferred options.
This three-year project will look at understanding the degradation processes responsible for premature coating failure. It will aim to model the coating system and will be calibrated by a suite of instrumented tests that are designed to replicate service conditions. A particular aim will be to define methodologies capable of more accurately determining the performance of non-chromated paint systems, although test development should also be applicable to any coating.
Overall, the study should identify and develop improved testing regimes to enable more informed decisions on coating and material selection for military applications. A strong element should include the development of a model capable of reliably predicting corrosion performance under paint films.
The project will be directed by Dstl and have regular involvement with Naval Air Squadron 1710 based at Portsmouth Dockyard.
If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact: Dr Julian Wharton, National Centre for Advanced Tribology at Southampton (nCATS) research group, Email: [Email Address Removed], Tel: +44 (0) 2380 59 802890.
Current testing methodologies for appraising the performance of coating systems relies upon the use of standard tests which are often far removed from the environments that will be experienced in operational conditions. Although coatings pass these standard tests they can prematurely fail in-service, leading to corrosion and wear of components and their subsequent failure. This has been observed, e.g., on chromate-free systems, where performance under accelerated test conditions such as salt spray have shown equivalent resistance to corrosion as that exhibited by the well-proven chromate systems. When deployed the performance of these non-chromated systems has proved disappointing when compared to chromate-containing paints. This is because the environment often encountered by the coatings bears little resemblance to the original screening technique used to select the preferred options.
This three-year project will look at understanding the degradation processes responsible for premature coating failure. It will aim to model the coating system and will be calibrated by a suite of instrumented tests that are designed to replicate service conditions. A particular aim will be to define methodologies capable of more accurately determining the performance of non-chromated paint systems, although test development should also be applicable to any coating.
Overall, the study should identify and develop improved testing regimes to enable more informed decisions on coating and material selection for military applications. A strong element should include the development of a model capable of reliably predicting corrosion performance under paint films.
The project will be directed by Dstl and have regular involvement with Naval Air Squadron 1710 based at Portsmouth Dockyard.
If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact: Dr Julian Wharton, National Centre for Advanced Tribology at Southampton (nCATS) research group, Email: [Email Address Removed], Tel: +44 (0) 2380 59 802890.
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