Aircrafts have to function under harsh conditions. They undergo many changes over time, and thus, the material on the aircraft degrades over time. One such common issue which occurs with an aircraft is corrosion and rust.
The rust can eat up the aircrafts parts, making them useless and unable to function properly. The result is that the parts have to be replaced after some time which can be quite costly for aircraft owners.
Aviation welding plays an important role in repairing aircraft parts and making them suitable for flights. Numerous aviation welding platforms provide efficient welding processes to make an aircraft ready for flight again. It is an inexpensive way to get your aircrafts parts back to work.
Rust and corrosion are common issues in aircrafts. Many factors are responsible for causing rust on the aviation parts. Therefore, one must know the factors to avoid corrosion at all costs.
This blog post mentions the top factors that might affect the rust and corrosion on an aircrafts parts.
The Type Of Metal
The type of metal used can also cause corrosion in an aircraft's parts. Pure metals are often discouraged from being used in an aircraft as they might cause more corrosion.
Most of them are used in combination with other metals to form alloys. Active metals such as magnesium and aluminum corrode easily. So, such metals might be combined with others to reduce rust and corrosion issues.
Climatic Conditions
Climatic conditions also impact the corrosion level on an aircrafts parts. The environment in which an aircraft operates greatly affects the corrosion characteristics of an aircraft. For example, exposure to a predominately marine environment such as seawater or salt air is considered more detrimental to an aircraft's health than a dry climate.
The presence of moisture content in the atmosphere affects the aircrafts parts and leads to corrosion. Moreover, other temperature considerations are also important as the speed of electrochemical attacks increases in a hot and moist climate.
Any Foreign Material
Apart from climatic conditions and metal type, some foreign materials also play an important role in corroding an aircraft. Foreign materials can adhere to the metal's surface and thus cause rust. Some of these foreign materials are as follows:
- Grease oil and exhaust residue
- Soil and atmospheric dust
- Spilled battery acids
- Welding residues
- Brazing flux residues
- Saltwater and salt moisture condensation
Faulty Manufacturing Processes
Aircraft undergoes many manufacturing processes such as forming, machining, welding, and heat treatment. Such processes can lead to stresses in the aircraft parts, which can cause cracking when the threshold for stress corrosion is exceeded. For this, it is important to keep the aircraft and its parts clean.
Geographical Location
The geographical location also plays an important role when it comes to the corrosion of an aircrafts parts. Some of the flight routes and bases of operation cause more damage to airplanes. There may be many factors that affect the severity of corrosion in any particular area, such as airborne industrial pollutants, taxiways to prevent ice formation, humidity, chemicals used on runways, and winds. The maps are used to identify the severity of an area and categorize it as mild, moderate, or severe with respect to the corrosion severity.
Final Words
Aviation welding plays an important role in repairing corroded parts of an aircraft.
Different types of welding processes are used to repair different types of rust on different parts.
Apart from the factors mentioned above, micro-organisms can also affect the parts. Slime, fungi, molds, and other microorganisms can play an active role in damaging the upper layer of the metals and thus leading them to corrosion. Moreover, such areas tend to remain damp, which leads to rust and corrosion.
About Acorn Welding
Acorn Welding offers a one-stop solution for your aircraft and its welding issues. If you are having any problem with your aircrafts parts, we are here to repair them with our professional aviation welding services.
Our expertise also includes helicopters, vintage aircraft, warbirds, light sport aircraft, engine mounts, homebuilt aircraft, tubular structures and components, heaters, ducts, bleed air ducts, carb air boxes, carb heat boxes, seat structures, fuel tanks, oil tanks, consulting services, reverse engineering services, design & drafting services, NDT services, Laser/WaterJet cutting, CNC punching, machining and more. Contact us for further information.
