NRL Center for Corrosion Science and Engineering Awarded Prize for Affordability

A five-member team of researchers from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Center for Corrosion Science and Engineering received the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Prize for Affordability, Aug. 26, at an award ceremony held at ONR in Alexandria, Va.

150826-N-PO203-101 ARLINGTON, Virginia (August 26, 2015) Rear Adm. Mat Winter, chief of naval research, presents the Office of Naval Research (ONR) 2014 Prize for Affordability to Naval Research Laboratory employees, from left, John Wegand, Paul Slebodnick, James Martin, and Dr. Erick Iezzi, during an awards ceremony held at ONR in Arlington, Va.
(U.S. Navy photo by John F. Williams/Released)

The award honors materials research engineers James Martin, head of the Marine Coatings Science Section, Jimmy Tagert, and John Wegand; research chemist, Dr. Erick Iezzi; and physical scientist technician, Paul Slebodnick for significant contributions to an overall reduction in the total ownership costs associated with corrosion control of Navy ships and submarines and achievements in the development and transition of nonskid and topside coatings to the fleet.

The team formulated, synthesized, and commercialized topside and nonskid coatings having longer life, high durability, improved weathering resistance and color stability, to replace both legacy nonskid decking and topside coatings. The Navy installs nearly 3.7 million square feet of non-skid coatings per year that typically cost over $56 million annually.

Conventional epoxy based nonskids have a 12 to 36 month lifecycle, while topside coatings have a 24 to 36 month life. The new NRL-developed polysiloxane system doubles or triples the life expectancy of this system. For topside coatings, not only are lifetimes increased, but also installation costs are reduced by up to 28 percent through the reduced number of coats over conventional systems. As a result, polysiloxane coatings systems have been qualified and approved for use by Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and have been mandated for all topside depot level maintenance availabilities. The NRL polysiloxane nonskid decking system is planned for qualification in 2015.

At present, the nonskid coatings system has exceeded the one-year flight deck requirement on-board the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), has outperformed all previous nonskids on-board the USS Michigan (SSGN 727), and is still performing well on-board the USS Bulkeley (DDG 84). On Navy submarines, this system is the only system ever to pass the submarine nonskid requirements.

The Center for Corrosion Science and Engineering (CCSE) conducts broad scientific and engineering programs to understand and reduce the effects of the marine environment on naval systems. Within the CCSE, the Marine Coatings Science Section conducts basic and applied research to synthesize and produce advanced, multi-functional marine coatings technology for all naval environments including immersion, alternate immersion and atmospheric exposures typical of Navy and Marine Corps platforms.

About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory provides the advanced scientific capabilities required to bolster our country's position of global naval leadership. The Laboratory, with a total complement of approximately 2,500 personnel, is located in southwest Washington, D.C., with other major sites at the Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Monterey, Calif. NRL has served the Navy and the nation for over 90 years and continues to advance research further than you can imagine. For more information, visit the NRL website or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Comment policy: We hope to receive submissions from all viewpoints, but we ask that all participants agree to the Department of Defense Social Media User Agreement. All comments are reviewed before being posted.