CoatingsPro Magazine

JUL 2016

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COATINGSPRO JULY 2016 13 U.S. Air Force Academy takes top honors with innovative corrosion inspection system prototype. N ACE Inter nationa l and the U. S. Depar tment of Defense Cor rosion Polic y and O versight Of f ice hosted the inaug ura l Universit y Student Desig n and Applied Solutions Competition, the f irst student competition focused on desig ning technolog y for cor rosion control. T he t wo -day event hosted eng ineer ing students f rom the United States A ir Force Academy (USA FA), the Universit y of A k ron, A lf red Universit y, Tex as A&M; Universit y, and the United States Mi litar y Academy at West Point. Each team brought unique technological solutions to the compe- tition. In the end, the top performing teams included: • 1st Place: United States Air Force Academy • 2nd Place: United States Military Academy at West Point • 3rd Place: Alfred University Te competition was created to give students an opportunity to apply knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world problems by replicating conditions encountered by corro- sion professionals. Teams showcased their technol- og ies in ora l presentations fol lowed by a practica l application of their dev ices. Desig ned to operate autono - mously, each team's dev ice nav igated a sma l l entrance of a 4 -foot by 6 -foot (1.2 m x 1.8 m) steel and a luminum str ucture. Once inside the str ucture, each dev ice had to detect the presence of cor rosion (w ithin one square inch, or 6.5 cm²) and repor t the data back to the team. Students' autonomous corro- sion detection systems were presented to judges Har vey Hack, past presi- dent of NACE International and senior advisor y engineer at Northrop Grumman; Ron Latanision, emeritus professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technolog y (MIT); and Christopher Scurlock, senior consultant at LMI and executive secretar y of the Technical Corrosion Collaboration. T he judges were impressed w ith the students' engineering skills, ingenuity, teamwork, and ability to solve a complex problem under pressure. Solutions included the USAFA's first place "Mother Ship" robotic manipulation of an inspector bot consisting of two robotic platforms, using high-quality video and camera feed, along w ith other subsystems to allow for the thorough location and documentation of corrosion damage. Other successful entries included a tethered robotic inspector and a quad-copter capable of f ly ing into a structure to conduct an inspection. "A fter seeing such innovative solutions in this first year of the competition, we are looking for ward to what the years ahead w ill hold," says Bob Chalker, CEO of NACE International. " T his competition has the potential to change the future of the corrosion industr y." For more information, contact: www.usdasc.com CP Daniel J. D unmire, dire c to r of th e U. S. D ep ar tm ent of D efen s e Co r rosio n Polic y an d Oversight Office, with the winning USAFA team at the first University Student Design and Applied Solutions Competition. Team members, lef t to right: Casey Keilbar th, Johannes Weinberg, Austin Ellwein, Jessica Horn Senior, Cecilia Tuma, and USAFA Team Advisor Sarah Galyon-Dorman. NACE News First University Corrosion Detection Competition

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