Expanding Access to Critical Resources for Surface Engineering

Increased environmental and occupational, safety, and health regulations in the United States and Europe are impacting the use of chromates, cadmium, and other chemicals in aerospace and defense surface treatments. As a result, the need for environmentally benign alternatives that meet or exceed the performance requirements of currently used materials is becoming increasingly acute.

ASETSDefense provides defense organizations with information and assistance to improve weapons system performance and life-cycle cost while reducing or eliminating environmental safety and occupational health (ESOH) impacts from coatings and treatment processes that utilize hexavalent chromium (hex chrome, Cr6+, Cr(VI), chromate, chromic acid); coatings that contain cadmium; and coatings that contain volatile organic compounds (VOC). 


 

ASETSDefense 2024 Workshop: Shaping the Future of Surface Engineering for the DoD

SERDP and ESTCP host ASETSDefense workshops that address all aspects of alternative coatings and surface treatments, with emphasis on performance, service data, approvals and implementation of clean coatings. agencies, communities, and academia to advance climate adaptation. ASETSDefense workshops gather DoD repair facilities, weapons system manufacturers, research organizations, and chemical and coating formulators to exchange information concerning options, performance, and implementation of all types of alternatives.

The 2024 workshop will take place in San Diego, California from August 13-15. Registration and a call for abstracts will be announced soon.  


 

The ASETSDefense Database

SERDP and ESTCP are updating a database to provide access to information needed to make informed decisions on the use of alternatives to materials and technologies for surface engineering that pose environmental or health hazards. This information includes detailed engineering data, background documents, and information on processes and products that have been validated, authorized, or implemented.

The ASETS Defense database contains reports and datasets from SERDP-funded projects related to surface engineering. SERDP and ESTCP began gathering database requirements at the DoD Corrosion Conference in August 2023.


 

About Sustainable Corrosion Mitigation and Repair Technologies​

The DoD’s annual cost of corrosion is over $20 billion. Protecting defense assets from deterioration by corrosion and wear is critical to maintaining readiness and safety. DoD is investing in alternatives to current technologies (including hard chrome, chromate conversion, and cadmium coatings) due to their environmental and health hazards as well as regulatory restrictions. 

The DoD protects weapons systems from environmental degradation using various types of surface engineering technologies. Structural materials on weapons systems also generally possess unique properties in order to function in demanding operational environments. Providing protection from environmental degradation or manufacturing and maintaining structural materials with unique properties has often required the use of toxic or hazardous chemical substances.

SERDP and ESTCP are developing and demonstrating the science, tools, and techniques needed to meet critical defense performance criteria while also reducing the impact on the environment and protecting the health of DoD workers and military personnel.

Access to additional resources, including information on clean alternatives, the surface engineering database, and briefings/reports from past ASETSDefense workshops, will be available soon. The latest briefings from the 2020 ASETSDefense workshop are available here.