The objective of this Topic Area is to demonstrate and validate low tech corrosion mitigation solutions that are not used or underutilized for remote and contested logistics locations to prevent premature degradation of installation, platform, and equipment capabilities.
Corrosion occurs on all infrastructure, platforms, and equipment, including structural components and functional components, including landing gear, underbody, radar, and optics. Proposals should identify one or more typical corrosion problems in remote or contested logistics applications on specific components and propose solutions to demonstrate and validate reduced corrosion rates while working to maintain all other requirements. The project must also demonstrate that the technology will result in reduced cost to maintain the military asset while also having reasonable initial acquisition costs.
The low-tech solutions can include containers, shelters, tapes, sealants, corrosion inhibiting compounds, and replacement materials or simple parts. The materials and processes to be demonstrated/validated should already be developed to a minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 4, and the proposed project should bring them to TRL 7 or higher. Ideally, the technologies are commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) or at least highly mature and have not been used or have been underutilized for military corrosion protection. Field testing in military relevant environments on general military weapons systems and platforms components, parts, sub-systems, or sections should be included in the proposed project. Alternative solutions should be production-level materials rather than laboratory-scale samples. For non-COTS solutions, projects must demonstrate producibility, defined as the ability to be produced in the near term to meet the current weapons systems and platforms requirements.
The technologies must not interfere with military specification requirements, such as the paints used on weapons platforms and ground support equipment, but instead should be used in concert with military specifications and existing materials to provide more robust corrosion control.
Proposed solutions that use non-COTS chemicals and materials should include an assessment of the human health and environmental impacts of proposed ingredients, formulations, and byproducts if such testing has not already been completed. Any completed testing on human health and environmental impacts of the corrosion inhibiting formulations components and formulations should be summarized in the proposal. Proposals should also include a plan to conduct an appropriately-scaled Life Cycle Analysis1 to inform financial decisions regarding incumbent and alternatives to aid in technology transition.
The project team must include DoW personnel or DoW contractors that have experience with the corrosion prone asset(s). Proposals should indicate the involvement of other DoD stakeholders at the consultant level and higher.
The benefits of this work are expected to be corrosion mitigating solutions for DoW assets with improved corrosion mitigation performance, reduced degradation rates of capabilities, reduced toxicity, and reduced life cycle costs.
The DoW has maintenance intervals that address corrosion issues with most of its assets. However, maintenance at remote and contested logistics environments is ad hoc, and it is generally required that the assets last longer. As a result of reduced maintenance, operational capabilities can be significantly degraded. Hexavalent chromium, cadmium, and other toxic heavy metals work well as corrosion mitigating solutions but have harmful health and environmental effects, and their use is highly regulated. Current alternative corrosion mitigation solutions work well for a period of time, but require additional maintenance and their application is less forgiving to inexperienced maintainers, resulting in sub-optimal corrosion protection.
