Research Summaries

Back Assessing the use of Plasma Discharges to Remove Coatings as a Strategy to Develop an Improved Ability to Maintain and Repair Naval Structures

Fiscal Year 2020
Division Research & Sponsored Programs
Department NPS Naval Research Program
Investigator(s) Luhrs, Claudia C.
Sponsor NPS Naval Research Program (Navy)
Summary There is a growing need for environmentally safe and cost-effective solutions capable of removing coatings from alloys and other structures of naval relevance in order to increase the fleet's capabilities to maintain and repair those structures. Plasma technologies seem to be a very promising alternative to strip coatings when compared to mechanical profiling routes currently in use, however, the full extent of the effects of the plasma treatments in the surface properties and fatigue life of the base metals are still to be determined.
The study proposed is a collaborative effort with Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) and has the goal to provide a better understanding of the effects that using plasmas to remove coatings have in the properties of the metallic substrates treated and its repercussions in the cycle life of the materials. The work proposed will anticipate the technological surprise of using plasma systems and supports the transition to more effective tools that will accelerate repair operations.
The study proposed will answer questions such as: What are the effects of plasma discharges in the topography of metallic substrates? Are the plasma treatments expected to cause variations in the chemical composition of the surface layers? Which are the post-treatment contact angles and surface energies? Will the coatings applied to plasma treated surfaces wet the substrate and adhere in the same manner than the coatings applied after mechanical profiling? Will the cycle life of the base materials change as result of using plasmas to remove coatings?
Deliverables include technical reports to sponsor and thesis of students involved in the effort.
Keywords Coatings Materials Engineering Plasma treatments Structure repair
Publications Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal