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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/K50404X/1
Title: REACH Compliant Hexavalent Chrome Replacement for Corrosion Protection
Principal Investigator: Polcar, Professor T
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Faculty of Engineering & the Environment
Organisation: University of Southampton
Scheme: Technology Programme
Starts: 01 April 2013 Ends: 31 March 2015 Value (£): 57,867
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Electrochemical Science & Eng. Eng. Dynamics & Tribology
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Aerospace, Defence and Marine
Related Grants:
EP/K504051/1 EP/K504063/1
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
Metal corrosion and wear currently costs industry $1.5-2 trillion globally per annum. The basis of many systems to mitigate

these problems utilise compounds containing hexavalent chromium (Cr6+) as used in: chromic acid anodising (CAA);

chemical conversion coatings; primers; paint, and hard chrome plating (EHC). Corrosion and wear are of particular

importance to the aerospace industry where protection requirements are extremely severe. European REACH legislation is

expected to ban the use of Cr6+ containing materials by 2016 due to its carcinogenic properties. This is a critical issue for

the aerospace industry and has been highlighted as a priority in the 2011 National Aerospace Technology Strategy. A

number of attempts have been made to introduce Cr6+ free materials and processes. The solutions have been found not to

be as robust as expected, due in part, to the lack of validated, accelerated testing methods, resulting in unexpected

failures. Individual aerospace companies are developing their own, proprietary solutions. This has caused problems in the

supply chain, which it is finding difficult to support. This bid addresses this situation by bringing together an integrated

aerospace based team from SMEs to academia to identify innovative solutions and develop robust accelerated testing

methods that accurately reproduce severe environmental applications. This will enable the sector to adopt a common
Key Findings
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Project URL:  
Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.soton.ac.uk