2ararzore ‘Overview: Aerospace Anodize Finishas: Products Finishing Overview: Aerospace Anodize Finishes The following anodizing process overviews are provided as a means of introduction to aerospace anodizing Article Post: 11/30/2010 Related Topics: Anodizing Written by Gary Kriesch of the Walgren Co., Warren John Fullen of Boeing and Earl Turns of Bell Helicopter, with a major contribution from Julie Unangs of Boeing. Presented at the 19th Annual International Anodizing Conference & Exposition, October 5-7, 2010, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. For more information, please visit Anodizing.org The following anodizing process overviews are provided as a means of introduction to aerospace anodizing. These overviews are not meant to be used as a processing guide, The applicable proce: specifications provide the full complement of process requirements. These process specifications a typically formatted as follows: + Scope + References + Materials Control + Facilities Control * Definitions » Manufacturing Control » Maintenance Control * Quality Control * Test Methods * Qualification Phosphoric Acid Anodizing ‘A.common likely first step in a bond failure is hydration of the aluminum oxide layer. Phosphoric Ac Anodizing (PAA) was developed to improve bond reliability for “metal-bond” structure parts. The PA hitps:lwwn pfonine.comdarticlesioverview-seraspace-anodize-fnishes ane2ararzore ‘Overview: Aerospace Anodize Finishas: Products Finishing process was established in the mid 1970's as a reliable production process (Ref. 1), Furthermore, t hydration resistant oxides of PAA result in environmentally durable bonded part components. The prescribed surface preparation and anodize process provides a method for producing and controlling the unique oxide characteristics. Robust processing is evident via the relatively wide operating process ranges and the known long bath life of PAA. Chromic Acid Anodizing Chromic acid anodizing (CAA) is used for forming coatings on structural parts. CAA coatings have little or no effect on the fatigue strength of finished parts because they are very thin. CAA is often used where the possibilty of solution retention in holes, recesses and crevices exists. High chloride content causes pitting. Over time, with part processing, the chromic acid concentration is depleted | neutralization with dissolved aluminum. Therefore, free chromic acid and aluminum content must b monitored as the bath ages. Additionally, hexavalent chromium content (free chromic acid) decreas as the bath ages, while trivalent chromium and aluminum content increase. If sulfate concentration, the electrolyte, is too high, the resulting coating can become more transparent. AAA coating has an appearance that varies from opaque iridescent to dark gray depending on th type of alloy. Since CAA coatings are very thin, there is not any substantial abrasion resistance. Thi coating has substantial corrosion resistance and is also an excellent base for paint. Solution entrapped in faying surfaces does not promote corrosion. Increasing the temperature increases the electrolyte conductivity resulting in a substantial increase coating weight over a given time period. However, even though the coating weight is higher, there i: more porosity and decreased corrosion resistance. Chromium is reduced from hexavalent to trivalent chromium by contact with any organic. Because « this, there will always be some trivalent chromium (Cr) in the anodizing bath. If there is too much Cr*8, the anodic coating will darken and may even pit. If the area of the cathode is excessive, in comparison to the anode (5% of anodic area), reduction will also be favored cr’ a Crs Also, low cathodic current density favors reduction. The cathode can be shielded to mitigate the amount of reduction occurring. lon exchange is employed as a maintenance process that can be used to remove both excess trivalent chromium and aluminum. Boric - Sulfuric Acid Anodizing Like CAA, Boric - Sulfuric acid anodizing (BSAA) is used to form coatings on structural parts and BSAA coatings also have little or no effect on the fatigue strength of finished parts because they ari very thin, It is well known that CAA produces a chromium mist that is hazardous to health if inhaled BSAA is an alternative that eliminates this concern and the need for mist control. In 1990, the Boeir Company developed BSAA as a direct replacement for CAA due to pressing environmental and hitps:lwwn pfonine.comdarticlesioverview-seraspace-anodize-fnishes ane2ararzore Overview: Aerospace Andie Finishes : Products Finishing safety concerns. The resulting patent (US 4,894,127) has equivalent or better fatigue life on aircraft structures. Another patent (US 6,149,795), that followed in 2000, exhibits that and that the addition an organic acid can mitigate bio-contamination Sulfuric Acid Anodizing Conventional sulfuric acid anodic coatings are thick enough that they reduce the fatigue characteristics of an aluminum alloy, so they are not used on structural parts. Although the majority of the anodic coating is composed of aluminum oxide (AlOs), there is about 10-15% of SO3 incorporated into the coating. Consequently, there is a potential for corrosion when there is solution entrapment in part faying surfaces, On most aluminum alloys, the sulfuric acid anodic coating is colorless and transparent. Alloys containing high manganese and silicon levels tend to give grayish or brownish colored coatings. Th transparency of the coating decreases with increasing coating thickness. ‘Small changes in operating conditions can be detrimental to the coating, especially electrolyte temperature, Lower temperatures and dilute solutions favor harder coatings. Higher temperatures and more concentrated solutions favor dissolution and may produce coatings with a soft, powdery, spongy surface. The surface layers will be less resistant to abrasion and may rub off easily. High chloride levels in the electrolyte will cause pitting during anodizing. High aluminum content me cause aluminum sulfate to precipitate out onto the cooling coils, heat exchangers, and piping. This condition may then interfere with agitation and temperature control If grease or oil is in the SAA bath it mostly will exist on the fluid surface and will be transferred onto the coating surface and cause staining. If grease or oil is present on the parts prior to anodizing, a coating may not even be able to form Thin Film Sulfuric Acid Anodizing Thin Film Sulfuric Acid Anodizing (TFSAA) meets or exceeds the requirement of MIL-A8625F, Type IIB. Comparatively, SAA (per MIL-A-8625, Type Il) is a thick porous coating and is easy to dye colo but has relatively poor corrosion resistance and an adverse effect on latent metal flexural fatigue. TFSAA is an improvement over conventional SAA in terms of corrosion resistance and as a base fc paint adhesion. These anodize properties enhancements were achieved by reducing the concentration of the sulfuric and thereby lowering the electrical conductivity. This in-turn reduced th generated heat to an ambient level and also decreased the rate of the oxide growth at the anode resulting in a finer grain and also a thin film of aluminum oxide on aluminum parts. General Processing Overview (More exact details are in the OEM specifications hitps:lwwn pfonine.comdarticlesioverview-seraspace-anodize-fnishes ang