This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address in-situ forming of environmentally protective coatings over engineering material surfaces subject to degradation. Most failures of large scale engineering systems result from the progressive environmental degradation of metallic components over time. Due to operational and cost constraints, timely repair or restoration is not feasible, and premature failures of these systems result in loss of productivity and wasted materials. Phase I will develop a low cost thermal process for engineering materials to combat corrosion-related problems. Material designs and processing criteria will be examined in dry and wet conditions in order to evaluate resultant coatings for high-temperature oxidative and hydrogen environment applications. Phase I will demonstrate basic concepts for material compatibility and key process parameters that could lead to desired coating quality and resistance to oxidation and corrosion. Phase II would proceed to process and material optimization. If successful, this process will provide a significant cost reduction for restoration or modification of engineering material surfaces leading to an extension of the usefulness or life of manufactured systems. The process is specifically adaptable to on-site surfaces that are inaccessible to conventional surface treatments, such as plating, laser cladding, or plasma spraying. It would also be commercially useful in forming durable surface layers since a genuine alloying of the electrode material to substrate occurs.
