One of the biggest problems that every aircraft owner faces is corrosion. Aircrafts just like all other types of vehicles are susceptible to corrosion. You may not see the effect of corrosion right away but it is always better to keep a check on the aircraft’s affected areas. If the corrosion is left untreated it will cause a lot of damage to your plane and cost you a lot of money.
Mechanics often apply paint on the affected parts of the aircraft to deal with corrosion. But applying paint is not a permanent solution, it just hides the effects of the corrosion for a few months. So you should take steps to protect your aircraft from rust and corrosion. Otherwise, the corrosion will eat up parts of your aircraft.
In this blog post, we will talk about the different types of corrosion and their effect on your aircraft.
Filiform Corrosion
This type of corrosion occurs on metallic surfaces that have a thin coat of organic film. Filiform corrosion is a distinctive type of corrosion that occurs under a thin layer of paint. It is usually seen on metal surfaces that are exposed to acidic environments and humidity.
Other surfaces like steel and aluminum can also be affected with filiform corrosion but among all these surfaces the damage done on aluminum surfaces is the most severe. If filiform corrosion is left untreated it can result in other types of corrosion such as intergranular corrosion and crevice corrosion.
Uniform Surface Corrosion
The most common type of corrosion is uniform surface corrosion also known as uniform attach corrosion and uniform etch corrosion. In this type of corrosion, you will see the roughening of metal on the affected parts accompanied with powdery deposits. Uniform surface corrosion is caused when the metal is exposed to oxygen in the air.
When the paint of an aircraft peels off the metal it is directly exposed to the oxygen in the air which then results in uniform etch corrosion. The paint of the aircraft usually peels off because of high levels of humidity, acid, and pollutants. Also if the pre-paint preparation is not up to mark it will also lead to uniform surface corrosion. Hence make sure that you get your paintwork done by professionals.
Intergranular Corrosion
Intergranular corrosion is the most difficult type of corrosion, as it is difficult to detect and leads to serious damage making the metal of your aircraft unusable. This type of corrosion usually attacks along the grain boundaries of an alloy and is usually caused due to the lack of uniformity of an alloy structure.
The lack of uniformity is caused mostly due to the changes in the cooling and heating process during the manufacturing of the material. If the alloys are not manufactured properly they will end up with intergranular corrosion, because these types of alloys will not have the strength to bear the harsh environment. Hence you should always hire professional manufacturers to manufacture your aircrafts parts.
Stress Corrosion
The highly stressed parts of your aircraft can become victims of stress corrosion. It usually occurs in parts like the engine's crankshaft and landing gear.
The stress can be internal or external. Internal stress is often caused by the manufacturing process of the material while the external stress is caused by the stress during welding, bloating, clamping and riveting. Stress corrosion can be reduced by stress relief heat treatments or by applying corrosion inhibitors or protective coating.
Pitting Corrosion
This type of corrosion is the worst type of corrosion. Pitting corrosion can occur in all types of metals but is most prevalent in metals that are formed with protective oxide films such as magnesium and aluminum alloys.
Pitting corrosion appears as grayish dust or white powdery deposits on the metal surface. When you remove these deposits from the metal surface you will see numerous tiny pits that will penetrate deep into the metal surface. Even though they seem like tiny drops, they severely damage the metal's surface.
About Acorn Welding
Acorn Welding is Canada's largest aircraft exhaust and engine mount repair company. We provide not only professional services for aircraft part welding but also offer high-quality aircraft parts. For more information, you can visit our website or contact us.
