Research of Technologies Advancing Corrosion Prevention and Control | USAFA BAA 2015 CALL 0007

Opportunity Information: Apply for USAFA BAA 2015 CALL 0007

The Department of Defense, through the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) and its Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension (CAStLE), issued a call for unclassified research white papers and proposals focused on advancing corrosion prevention and control technologies. The opportunity supports science and technology research that addresses material degradation in structures, including corrosion, cracking, and other service-driven damage mechanisms that affect structural integrity. While CAStLE has a strong applied research orientation, the call emphasizes fundamental research that can mature into future capabilities rather than near-term fixes tied to a specific procurement program or hardware buy.

A central theme of the solicitation is the high operational and financial impact of corrosion across Department of Defense assets, coupled with the broader public benefit of improved corrosion control for civilian infrastructure and facilities. The intended outcomes are practical and mission-driven: reduce life-cycle costs, improve system availability, and increase safety by developing better methods to prevent, detect, predict, and manage corrosion and related degradation. CAStLE highlights its longstanding interest in the interaction between corrosion and cracking, recognizing that combined damage mechanisms can accelerate failure and complicate inspection, modeling, and sustainment decisions. The program is positioned to feed into broader structural integrity efforts, including support to the Air Force Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP).

The opportunity explicitly seeks new research starts. Proposals that mainly continue existing work previously funded under earlier grants or cooperative agreements are discouraged. Collaboration among institutions is strongly encouraged, reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of corrosion science, materials engineering, structural mechanics, sensing, data analytics, and maintenance planning. Submissions must be unclassified and should not include proprietary information; if proprietary content is included, the burden is on the offeror to clearly mark it in accordance with the referenced BAA instructions.

Research topics are organized into four Corrosion Investment Categories, each tied to a clear operational problem statement and a targeted research focus. The first area, Performance Prediction, addresses the difficulty of accurately forecasting corrosion behavior, which drives unplanned maintenance and schedule disruptions. This challenge is increasing as new materials and manufacturing approaches are adopted, such as non-chrome coating systems and additively manufactured components, which can behave differently in real environments. The goal in this category is to develop and validate predictive methods that improve confidence in corrosion performance forecasts for DoD systems, with approaches that also translate well to public-sector assets.

The second category, Real-Time Condition Assessment, targets gaps in sensing and diagnostic methods for evaluating corrosion-related health in a way that meaningfully supports modern maintenance concepts. The problem is not only detecting corrosion, but doing so with techniques and data products that can be integrated into condition-based maintenance and reliability-centered maintenance frameworks. The focus is on assessment methods that can inform maintenance and repair strategies for both systems and infrastructure, enabling earlier intervention, better prioritization, and reduced operational risk.

The third category, Advanced Materials and Processing, reflects the growing complexity of materials selection and substitution. Decision-makers must balance cost, availability, safety, and performance across widely varying and sometimes unexpected operational environments, while also complying with regulations that restrict hazardous materials and processes. Research in this area is intended to explore new materials and processing routes that maintain durability and corrosion resistance across diverse conditions while meeting environmental and health constraints, including the move away from legacy hazardous chemistries.

The fourth category, Product Support, connects corrosion directly to sustainment economics, noting that a large portion of DoD corrosion costs (cited at roughly $20B per year) manifests in product support activities. This includes maintenance practices, training, logistics and supply issues, and the transition of technologies and tools into operational use for inventory storage, handling, and repair. The focus is on reducing corrosion as a recurring driver of maintenance burden and reduced availability, with solutions that can also benefit industry as aging public infrastructure faces increasing degradation challenges.

From an administrative standpoint, the solicitation (USAFA BAA 2015 CALL 0007) allowed multiple award instruments, including cooperative agreements, grants, and procurement contracts, and was open to a broad range of applicants without restrictive eligibility categories. The opportunity listed an award ceiling of $2,000,000 and anticipated approximately four awards. White papers were due by February 19, 2019 at 4:30 PM Mountain Standard Time, and the program falls under CFDA 12.800 within the science and technology and other research and development activity area.

• The Department of Defense, Air Force Academy in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research of Technologies Advancing Corrosion Prevention and Control" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.800.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 15, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 19, 2019 White Papers are due 19 February by 1630 Mountain Standard Time.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for USAFA BAA 2015 CALL 0007

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