Intelligent Coatings for Self-Healing and Corrosion Control

There is a huge cost associated with the maintenance of metal components for military and commercial applications. The total defense estimated corrosion costs are $20 billion of the total annual U.S. cost of $276 billion. The Army alone spends 20% of its $10 billion corrosion-related costs on scraping and repainting steel structures. Luna is addressing this need to enhance the service life of steel structures, vehicles, and armored personnel carriers by developing an intelligent coating that will respond to a damage event to the coating and release (1) film-formers to heal the wound, (2) corrosion inhibitors to provide additional corrosion prevention to the site, and (3) visible indicators to mark the coating damage zone to alert maintenance personnel. The technology developed on this program will decrease life cycle costs, reduce maintenance, and increase the readiness of the U.S. military by limiting equipment down-time.