Corrosion sensors
First Claim
1. Apparatus for detecting corrosion of a surface, comprisingat least one corrosion sensor comprising a thin flexible non-conducting substrate and an array of at least two thin flexible metallic electrodes carried on said substrate, wherein said electrodes co-extend closely adjacent one another so as to permit spontaneous generation of electrical signals by electrochemical action between said electrodes upon their corrosion, said at least one sensor being attachable to said surface so as to be exposed to the same corrosive conditions as said surface, andmeans for measuring, without the application of any electrical potential to said at least one corrosion sensor, corrosion-induced electrochemical activity between said electrodes to provide an output indicative of the corrosion.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A corrosion sensor (1), apparatus for detecting corrosion of a surface incorporating the sensor, a structural assembly (1,21) incorporating the sensor and method for detecting corrosion of a surface employing the sensor are provided. The sensor comprises a thin flexible non-conducting substrate (18) for attachment to a surface subject to corrosive influence and an array of at least two thin flexible metallic electrodes (2,3,4) carried on the substrate wherein the electrodes are disposed closely adjacent one another so as to permit the generation of electric current by electrochemical action therebetween upon corrosion of the electrodes.
The apparatus comprises one or more of the corrosion sensors (1) each being attachable to the surface so as to be exposed to the same corrosion conditions as the surface and means (6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16) for measuring corrosion-induced electrochemical activity between the electrodes to provide an output indicative of the corrosion and the method provides a method of use of the apparatus described.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. Apparatus for detecting corrosion of a surface, comprising
at least one corrosion sensor comprising a thin flexible non-conducting substrate and an array of at least two thin flexible metallic electrodes carried on said substrate, wherein said electrodes co-extend closely adjacent one another so as to permit spontaneous generation of electrical signals by electrochemical action between said electrodes upon their corrosion, said at least one sensor being attachable to said surface so as to be exposed to the same corrosive conditions as said surface, and means for measuring, without the application of any electrical potential to said at least one corrosion sensor, corrosion-induced electrochemical activity between said electrodes to provide an output indicative of the corrosion.
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7. A method of detecting corrosion of a surface, comprising the steps of
attaching to the surface a corrosion sensor comprising a thin, flexible, non-conducting substrate and an array of at least two thin, flexible, metallic electrodes carried on said substrate, wherein said electrodes co-extend closely adjacent one another so as to permit spontaneous generation of electrical signals by electrochemical action between said electrodes upon their corrosion, subjecting said sensor and surface to a corrosive influence, and measuring, without the application of any electrical potential to said corrosion sensor, corrosion-induced electrochemical activity between said electrodes.
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8. A method of detecting breakdown of a protective coating applied to a surface subject to corrosive influence, including the steps of
attaching to said surface at least one corrosion sensor comprising a thin, flexible, non-conducting substrate and an array of at least two thin, flexible, metallic electrodes carried on said substrate, wherein said electrodes co-extend closely adjacent one another so as to permit spontaneous generation of electrical signals by electrochemical action between said electrodes upon their corrosion, applying said protective coating to cover both said surface and said at least one corrosion sensor, and measuring, without the application of any electrical potential to said corrosion sensor electrodes, corrosion induced electrochemical activity between said electrodes.
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9. A method of detecting cracking in a surface of a structure by corrosion measurement, including the steps of
attaching to said surface in a position subject to both the possibility of cracking and to corrosive influence a corrosion sensor comprising a thin, flexible, non-conducting substrate and an array of at least two thin, flexible, metallic electrodes carried on said substrate, wherein said electrodes co-extend closely adjacent one another so as to permit spontaneous generation of electrical signals by electrochemical action between said electrodes upon their corrosion in such a manner that said cracking will break down the insulation of the non-conducting substrate and permit corrosion induced electrochemical activity to take place between said structure and at least one of said electrodes of said corrosion sensor, and measuring, without the application of any external electrical potential to said substrate of said corrosion sensor by measuring apparatus, corrosion induced electrochemical activity between said structure and at least one of said electrodes.
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10. A method of measuring mechanical strain of a structure by comparative corrosion measurement, including the steps of
attaching to a surface of said structure subject to both mechanical strain and corrosive influence a first corrosion sensor comprising a thin, flexible, non-conducting substrate and an array of at least two thin, flexible, metallic electrodes carried on said substrate, wherein said electrodes co-extend closely adjacent one another so as to permit spontaneous generation of electrical signals by electrochemical action between said electrodes upon their corrosion, whereby said first corrosion sensor will be subject to substantially the same mechanical strain and corrosive influence as said surface, positioning a second said corrosion sensor to be subject to substantially the same corrosive influence as said first corrosion sensor but not to be subject to said mechanical strain, measuring, without applying any external electrical potential to either of said corrosion sensors, corrosion induced electrochemical activity between said electrodes of each said corrosion sensor, and comparing the values measured to give an indication of mechanical strain of the structure.
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11. A structural assembly comprising
at least one panel member, and apparatus for detecting corrosion of a surface, including at least one corrosion sensor comprising a thin, flexible, non-conducting substrate for attachment to a surface subject to corrosive influence and an array of at least two thin, flexible, metallic electrodes carried on said substrate, wherein said electrodes co-extend closely adjacent one another so as to permit spontaneous generation of electrical signals by electrochemical action between said electrodes upon their corrosion, said at least one sensor being attachable to said surface so as to be exposed to the same corrosive conditions as said surface, and means for measuring, without the application of any electrical potential to said at least one corrosion sensor, corrosion-induced electrochemical activity between said electrodes to provide an output indicative of the corrosion, said at least one corrosion sensor being attached to said at least one panel member so as to be exposed simultaneously to a common corrosive influence.
Specification