Corrosion testing and expertise for the aerospace industry

Are you facing corrosion or material durability challenges in the aerospace sector? The French Corrosion Institute supports industry with testing, expertise, and characterization services to qualify materials, secure performance, and meet regulatory requirements. Our teams work alongside R&D, quality, and materials departments throughout the entire lifecycle of equipment.

Corrosion-related challenges in Aerospace industry

In the aerospace sector, corrosion plays a critical role by accelerating fatigue damage under cyclic loading in aggressive environments, with direct consequences for the safety and lifespan of structures. A major challenge lies in understanding, predicting, and controlling corrosion and corrosion-fatigue mechanisms in coated light alloys and within complex assemblies. Particular attention is given to the durability of coatings and substrates, especially in the presence of galvanic coupling between high-strength aluminum alloys, stainless steels, titanium alloys, and composite materials. The French Corrosion Institute leverages state-of-the-art experimental facilities and long-established expertise in aerospace materials to deliver tailor-made testing programs, in-depth failure analyses, and scientific support for design validation and long-term structural integrity.

Our missions for the aerospace industry

The French Corrosion Institute addresses the most demanding challenges of the aerospace sector, where corrosion threatens the structural integrity and airworthiness of aircraft. Our missions cover the entire spectrum, from understanding degradation mechanisms to qualifying protection systems compliant with REACH requirements and applicable aerospace standards. Working alongside R&D, quality, and materials teams, we develop tailored testing protocols and contribute to managing corrosion risks throughout the entire lifecycle of structures and equipment.

Develop accelerated tests specifically designed for the aerospace sector and representative of service conditions.
Gain a better understanding of corrosion mechanisms affecting materials and assemblies used in aerospace.
Assess the performance of environmentally friendly protection systems (e.g. REACH-compliant coatings).
Study the combined effects of corrosion and fatigue on aerospace structures and assemblies (riveting, bonding, bolting, etc.).
Provide real-time corrosion monitoring solutions (sensors) and environmental parameter tracking for in-service structures and components.

corrosion initiation investigation aluminum alloys

Our testing and expertise services for the aerospace industry

From laboratory testing to natural exposure at marine test stations, our services cover the entire aerospace corrosion assessment chain. We provide state-of-the-art equipment—cyclic test chambers, corrosion-fatigue rigs, real-time sensors—along with multidisciplinary expertise in electrochemistry, materials mechanics, and advanced characterization. Each service is tailored to your regulatory requirements (ASTM, VDA, OEM standards) and can be delivered as part of a collaborative program or a one-off expert assessment.

Consulting and technical expertise: material selection, failure analysis
Laboratory corrosion testing in accordance with aerospace standards, including those developed by the French Corrosion Institute
Salt spray testing, accelerated aging, corrosion fatigue
Field testing under real conditions: global marine atmospheric exposure stations
Provision of real-time corrosion (Al-Cu and 6xxx, 7xxx aluminum alloys) and environmental monitoring solutions (corrosion potential, humidity, temperature, galvanic coupling currents, etc.) on site
Advanced characterization: filiform scanner, electrochemistry, SKP, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, hydrogen analysis

Activities of the MRC “Corrosion in aerospace industry”

Within the ARCOR association, the French Corrosion Institute conducts collaborative projects with major stakeholders in the aerospace industry: Airbus Operations, Airbus Helicopters, Airbus Defense and Space, Boeing, AkzoNobel, Socomore, SAAB, Henkel, Safran Tech, PPG Aerospace, Liebherr Aerospace, DGA, and Constellium.

The main objective of the committee is to develop a robust and reliable accelerated corrosion test adapted to the service conditions of the aerospace sector. In this study, the results of various accelerated corrosion tests (ASTM B117, VDA 233-102, Volvo STD 423-0014) are compared with those obtained under newly developed testing conditions. Several accelerated corrosion tests were designed by varying parameters of the Volvo STD 423-0014 test, such as salt concentration, wetting time, and relative humidity. The results obtained on eight aluminum alloys (2xxx and 7xxx series alloys, as well as Al-Li alloys) were then compared with exposures at marine test stations.

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