Sensing of corrosion on aluminum surfaces by use of metallic optical fiber.

We present a new method for monitoring aluminum corrosion by determining the kind of light output that is as corrosion occurs. We prepared some metallized multimode optical fibers by physical vacuum deposition of aluminum to monitor metal corrosion. The sensing area was 1-2 cm in length and had an uncladded part. We used scanning-electron microscopy (SEM) to observe the microappearance of the aluminum before and after corrosion by sodium hydroxide or hydrochloric acid. The film's thickness was also measured by SEM. The factors that affect the rate of corrosion were also investigated.

Intensity-based optical fiber sensor for monitoring corrosion of aluminum alloys.

A new method, based on the shift of light power transmitted through fiber, to measure corrosion of aluminum is presented. A multimode fiber was metallized by use of physical vacuum to deposit aluminum onto an unclad part of a fiber of 1 to 2 cm length. Scanning-electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction were used to show, the formation and corrosion of the metallized film. The light signal driven by metal corrosion was affected by the film's thickness and the concentration of the corrosive solution of sodium hydroxide.