Development of Nanocomposite Coatings

Special Issue in the Development of Nanocomposite Coatings in nanomaterials was setup with the aim to provide an opportunity to showcase the latest developments within the theme of this special issue. It therefore welcomed research articles and reviews papers, by invitation only, within the context of nanocom-posite coatings for possible publications. There are wide ranging major applications of nanocomposite coat-ings for example corrosion, tribology, machine elements, components, complex interacting systems, and flu-id flow especially within the context of cavitation. We have been witnessing increased application needs to address key global and industrial challenges including energy efficiency, reliability, sustainability and dura-bility of systems and machines. These components and systems are often deployed in harsh operating envi-ronments and conditions, for example, very high and subzero temperatures, extreme pressures, very high loading, exposure to corrosive environment, and starved lubrication. To solve these issues, novel and inno-vative approaches are needed. These solutions include optimisation of surfaces and interfaces through surface modifications and coatings. Development and applications of nanocoatings and nanocomposite coatings are relatively new and developments in this area are underway

An optimal condition based maintenance scheduling for metal structures based on a multidisciplinary research approach

Latest research findings show that the deterioration of metal coatings results due to complex combination of material and meteorological parameters. The classical maintenance scheduling do not consider complex interface of materials and meteorological parameters to determine optimal maintenance framework. The cost of recoating can be optimised through appropriate selection of coating specifications and maintenance strategy. This research provides a multidisciplinary algorithmic approach to determine cost-effective solutions for recoating. The specifications of red oxide primer coating and structural steel substrate system are considered for simulation analysis. The results show that the appropriate selection of 10% increase in coating thickness based on coating-substrate system specifications resulted in 20-25% reduction in annual patch failures which reduces 5-6 % cost of recoating. Furthermore, the proposed model also simulated to compare Patch recoating and Part recoating strategy and algorithm show that the Part recoating is cost-effective as compared to Patch recoating if number of annual patch failure is greater than ‘2’ and area of the part is ‘2x’times larger than the area of the patch. Contrary, the Patch recoating results in low cost if the part area is ‘10x’ times larger than patch area and number of annual patch failures are less than ‘7’

Condition monitoring and predictive modelling of coating delamination applied to remote stationary and mobile assets

The ambiguous nature of meteorological parameters in uncontrolled environmental conditions makes it difficult to determine the structural integrity of stationary and mobile assets. The weather conditions for large vehicles, at The Tank Museum at Bovington, UK, which are operating in controlled and uncontrolled environmental conditions are investigated through weather history and corrosion monitoring techniques applied to large military vehicles by using linear polarisation resistance method. Corrosion initiation and propagation was found on several occasions during the operation of large vehicles within uncontrolled environment due to critical level of metrological parameters including salinity, relative humidity and rainfall. Comprehensive solutions have been proposed to detect damage initiation at the earliest possible stage to prompt maintenance professionals to take necessary actions to avoid damage. Early detection techniques will help to prolong the service life of large vehicles or metal structures which are operating or installed remotely. The analysis of diffusion of salt particles into coating during summer and winter season is also presented by estimating the salt concentration by taking linear relationship between wind speed and salt deposition rate based on ISO classification of airborne salinity. The proposed solutions can be applied to valuable assets operating in coastal, non-coastal and near the sea regions to predict and estimate the damage. The research will directly impact the maintenance and reliability of the automotive, oil and gas pipelines, aerospace and defence applications through remote condition monitoring technique.</p