Session: RIP: Predictive Modeling and Characterization of Corrosion Processes in Complex Environments (In Honor of Professor Digby Macdonald) (Part IV of IV)
ACES Chamber Protocol Development and the Corrosion of Silver, Steel and Aluminum Alloys. (RIP2026-00032)
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
2:20 PM - 2:45 PM Central
Location: 370 AB
Earn .5 PDH
Douglas Hansen, Matthew J. Rothgeb, Drew M. Sanders
University of Dayton Research Institute, Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc.
An Accelerated Combined-Effect Simulation (ACES) system is a laboratory apparatus designed to simulate various environmental conditions. The ACES chamber allows users to replicate service environments and subject materials to simultaneous environmental variables, including electrolyte types (simulated ocean, 5% NaCl, etc.), temperatures (-55°C to 120°C), humidity (30-100% RH), background gases (NOx, SO2, CO, O3, etc.) UV/solar radiation (up to 2x full sun intensity), and dynamic mechanical loading (10lbs to <2000lbs tension. Recently, simulations of an outdoor environment (Key West, FL) for a 90-day exposure and an “accelerated” version of the environment were performed utilizing the ACES chamber system. The resulting corrosion behavior of 99.999% silver coupons in the chamber exhibited statistically similar values in terms of silver chloride film thickness to that determined from identical coupons exposed in the field at the Key West site, but not to the coupons exposed at either the KSC or Battelle-Daytona exposure sites during the same period. Comparison of the corrosion behavior of the steel and aluminum alloys from the various ACES protocols with other exposure sites will be discussed as well. The long-term goal of this effort is to develop a better method to categorize the environmental severity of the exposure sites in terms of corrosion attack, which will aid in the design of accelerated laboratory testing and lifetime prediction for bare metal substrates in coastal environments.
