Advanced protective coatings for aeronautical applications

This chapter deals with the issue of corrosion protection in aerospace structures. The types and factors which influence corrosion are reviewed, as are the protective coatings currently in use and those which have shown potential for future applications. The final sections focus particularly on functional nanocoatings for sensing corrosion, nanostructured coatings which self-heal when either corrosion begins or the corrosivity of the environment becomes critical, and other coating properties important for reducing maintenance costs.