A Comparison of Four Atmospheric Corrosivity Modeling Results for Aircraft

Abstract

Aluminum alloys are important materials in modern aircraft. Aircraft failures due to corrosion are fatal and costly. Thus, information about the atmospheric corrosion of aluminum is helpful for aviation safety. This study employed four corrosion models and 12 environmental variables to improve knowledge of aluminum atmospheric corrosivity: PACER LIME, ICP, ISO CORRAG, and a modified model of CORRAG. This study applied each model on 47 aircraft operating bases in Korea and compared the results. In the results, The risk of corrosion was different for each model. The cause was the difference in environmental variables according to the model. Especially, the effect of ozone, which has recently been increasing, was shown in the results of PACER LIME. These findings suggest that caution is needed when assessing atmospheric corrosion risk as a single model. Furthermore, it means that the application and integration of various models are needed to improve atmospheric corrosion risk assessment.