Corrosion Prevention & Control

Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen. The Department of Defense (DoD) defines Corrosion as “The deterioration of a material or its properties due to a reaction of that material with its chemical [and physical] environment.”

Key Documents and Sources for DoD Corrosion include:

Corrosion Prevention and Control: A Program Management Guide for Selecting Materials
DoD Directive 4141.18 “Maintenance of Military Materiel”: Establish policies and assign responsibilities for the performance of DoD materiel maintenance, including maintenance of weapon systems, hardware, equipment, software, or any combination thereof and for both organic and contract sources of repair.
DoD Corrosion Prevention and Mitigation Strategic Plan: The purpose is to articulate policies, strategies, objectives and plans that will ensure an effective, standardized, affordable DoD-wide approach to prevent, detect and treat corrosion and its effects on military equipment and infrastructure.
DoD Corrosion Office: The Office of Corrosion Policy and Oversight is responsible for addressing the needs and meeting the goals of the DoD’s Corrosion Prevention and Mitigation Program.
DoD Corrosion Office – Reference Library
MIL-HDBK-735 – Material Deterioration Prevention and Control Guide for Army Materiel Metals

Corrosion is a major issue facing the Department of Defense. The Government Accounting Office (GAO) estimates corrosion costs the DoD between $10B to $20B a year. In addition to the life-cycle cost implications, corrosion also reduces structural integrity, decreases Operational Availability (Ao), and if left untreated, potentially results in materiel and possible system failure.

Corrosion prevention requires early a proactive long-term life cycle view. According to OSD estimates, approximately 30% of current DoD corrosion costs could be avoided through investment in sustainment, design, and manufacture and other preventative measures such as paint and avoidance of dissimilar metals.

Corrosion controls and mitigation activities should be addressed early in an acquisition program. It should be included in product development, product improvements, modifications, design upgrades, as well as system monitoring, inspection, and maintenance practices.

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Updated: 6/12/2018

Production, Quality & Manufacturing

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