EA007147B1 - Semiconductive corrosion and fouling control apparatus, system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus, system, method and computer program product directed to controlling corrosion of a conductive structure in contact with a corrosive environment and coated with a semiconductive coating, where the corrosion is controlled by a controllable filter (898) and a corresponding electronic control unit (899) configured to process at least one stored or measured parameter.

Description

The present invention relates to a device, system and method for controlling a system for preventing corrosion and pollution based on semiconductor materials.

Description of the current level of technology

The annual damage to the US economy as a result of metal corrosion is approximately $ 300 billion according to a report published in 1995 by Ba11e 11e and the special steel industry of North America entitled Economic Impact of Metal Corrosion in the United States, the content of which is fully incorporated into the text this description. The report estimates that about one-third of corrosion damage ($ 100 billion) can be avoided by increasing the use of corrosion-resistant materials and applying optimal corrosion management techniques from design to operation. The estimates given are based on a partial update by researchers of Weyell Corporation of the results of a study conducted by this corporation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology and published under the title Economic Effects of Metal Corrosion in the United States, the content of which is fully incorporated into this description. In the original document published in 1978, it was estimated that in 1975 metal corrosion damage amounted to $ 82 billion (4.9% of gross national product), a loss of about 33 billion of which could have been avoided. the result of the timely application of optimal corrosion management techniques.

As for aircraft, corrosion and the amount of damage associated with it, as well as the degree of its impact on safety, are of paramount importance to global manufacturers of aircraft, aviation companies and passengers. In North America alone, corrosion damage in the aviation industry exceeds $ 13 billion a year. The impact on state aviation is just as significant, for example, the United States Air Force spends more than $ 800 million annually to combat aircraft corrosion and repair work. Corrosion, rather than engineered life, is a major factor in landing (prohibiting to fly into the air) and decommissioning of aircraft. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (EAA, Ebeta1 Λναΐίοη Abtschtsch1yup) considers the prevention of damage to the structure of aircraft, a primary task in improving the safety of aircraft and passengers. Corrosion of aircraft has caused a significant number of incidents, accidents and aircraft accidents. Leaving aside the tragedy of the loss of human life, the Federal Aviation Administration calculated that the monetary damage from the death of one passenger is $ 2.7 million. Being undetected and / or unrepaired, corrosion violates the structural integrity of the aircraft, increasing repair costs (operating costs) and the risk of reducing passenger safety.

As for ships, the corrosion of the inner and outer skin and pollution (biological fouling) of the surface of the outer skin are the main factors affecting the cost of operating the ship and the life of the ship. Fuel costs range from 35 to 50% of total operating costs. Corrosion, fouling and the associated surface roughness of the outer skin and near-surface friction increase these costs by an additional 50%, which is caused by the increased power required to achieve and maintain the vessel’s cruising speed. Damage caused by corrosion to the surfaces of the inner lining, its cumulative effect on structural integrity and the cost of eliminating it, and not the age of the vessel, are the main factors in deciding to deduct the vessel, and they can significantly reduce the life of the ship.

As for the water towers, in the United States there are between 150,000 and 200,000 of these towers, which are in municipal ownership. The average water tower has an internal and external surface area of 23,000 square feet and stores 310000 gallons of water. Such towers are particularly susceptible to corrosion due to excessive condensation that occurs when storing cold water. To maintain the structural strength of water towers, municipalities carry out routine maintenance of tanks approximately every 6 years in coastal areas and every 79 years in areas located within the country, with the average cost per water tower exceeding $ 100,000.

As for bridges, the National Registry of Bridges lists 575,413 road bridges in the United States, with 199277 of them listed as having structural defects or worn as of 1992. In the Basic Directions adopted by the US Congress in 1991

- 1,007,147 increase in the efficiency of land transport (1p1ttobahn 8shTase TtapkroyaEop EGPs1epsu Ac !. abbreviated 18TEL) $ 16.1 billion for the period of 6 years was allocated to the Program for the replacement and reconstruction of road bridges. The 1998 Law on Transport Development in the 21st Century (EC Ttapkroyayop |.!. Sh1u Ac from £ 2r ¹ Senin abbreviated TEL-21) provides for the continuation of this program. allocating $ 20.3 billion for the next 6 years for the reconstruction and replacement of bridges. According to estimates of the Federal Highway Administration and the Council for the Study of Transport Problems. annually sheeting is applied on 100 million square feet of bridge surfaces. The amount of annually painted surface area was limited due to cost and time. required for the removal and disposal of lead based paints. As a result, many states have put off bridge maintenance work. and approximately 1,500 steel bridges are painted annually. Subject to that. that the life of modern coatings is only 10-12 years. The accumulated volume of work on the replacement of coatings on bridges continues to increase.

As for the road transport. then the effects of corrosion. affecting the safety of vehicles. are a major problem for automakers. as well as consumers of their products. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. in the period from 1975 to 2001. in the United States, 2,500,000 vehicles were officially withdrawn due to corrosion-related security problems. In 1998 alone, Eogb Mo Company recalled more than 2,000,000 vehicles from Sotrapu due to the amount of safety problems caused by corrosion. exceeding approximately 200 million US dollars.

Over the past few centuries, many ways to control corrosion have been developed. special attention was paid to the methods of extending the service life of metal structures in corrosive environments. These methods in typical cases include the use of protective coatings. which apply. mainly. to increase the corrosion resistance of ferrous metals. such as steel. and some non-ferrous metals. such as aluminum. and eliminate the need to use more expensive alloys. Therefore, such methods not only improve performance. but also reduce costs. However, such protective coatings typically have some disadvantages. including poor application on non-metallic structures. subject to corrosion or pollution.

Protective coatings are divided into two main categories. The most voluminous of these categories is local coverage. such as paint. which work as a physical barrier. obstructive to the environment. The second category includes consumable cover. such as zinc or cadmium. the purpose of which is their preferred corrosion to protect against corrosion of the base metal.

Cathodic protection and coatings are engineering and technological methods. the main purpose of which is to reduce and prevent corrosion. These methods are different from each other: cathodic protection prevents corrosion due to the induction of electric current from external sources to counteract the usual electrochemical reactions. occurring during corrosion. while coatings create a barrier. preventing the flow of current or electrons arising from corrosion between naturally occurring anodes and cathodes or inside galvanic pairs. Each of these methods gives limited results. To date, the use of coatings is the most common method of general corrosion prevention (see US Pat. No. 3,562,124 (Leop et al.) And US Pat. No. 4,219,358 (Nowaky et al.)). Along with that. Cathodic protection has been used up to now to protect hundreds of thousands of miles of pipelines and acres of steel surfaces. which are exposed to corrosive conditions when placed in the ground or immersed in water.

Cathodic protection is used to reduce corrosion of a metal surface by supplying sufficient cathode current to it. to reduce the rate of anodic dissolution to a negligible level (for example, see US Patent No. 3,574,801 (Rougo); US Patent No. 3,864,234 (Aaccop); US Patent No. 4,381,981 (Mauek); US Patent No. 4,836,768 (Ashop and others); U.S. Patent No. 4,863,578 (Abyet); and U.S. Patent No. 4,957,612 (81e \\ ^g ar1, etc.)). Cathodic protection works by eliminating potential differences between local anodic and cathodic surfaces by applying a current. sufficient to polarize the cathodes to the potential of the anodes. In other words. the effect of the application of cathode currents is to reduce the area. continuing to work as an anode. rather than reducing the corrosion rate of such remaining anodes. Full protection is achieved when all anodes are eliminated. From the point of view of electrochemistry. this indicates. that a sufficient number of electrons entered the metal to be protected. as a result, any tendency of the metal to ionize or go into solution was neutralized.

In recent studies on corrosion found. that electrochemical corrosion processes are associated with the occurrence of random fluctuations of the electrical properties of electrochemical systems. such as cell current and electrode potential. These random fluctuations are known in the art as noise. About 20 years ago, scientists discovered. that all conductive materials begin to corrode immediately after their manufacture due to the occurrence of electrochemical

- 2 007147 activity due to impurities contained in them. It was later discovered that this activity can be monitored using electronic devices that detect the resulting electrical current, and this activity is now commonly referred to as corrosive noise. In essence, the greater the magnitude of this current, the more noisy the material is and the higher its corrosion rate. For example, steel is noisier than bronze and corrodes at a higher rate. Researchers began to apply noise analysis techniques to study the corrosion processes occurring in electrochemical systems.

In US patent No. 5352342, issued to Riff (ΗίΓΓο). and US Patent No. 5,009,757, also issued to Riff (Ktye), the contents of which by this reference are included in the text of this description, describes a silicate coating based on zinc / zinc oxide, which is used in the corrosion prevention system together with electronic devices. It was found that the zinc / zinc oxide particles in such a coating have semiconducting properties and, first of all, ensure the creation of a p-η junction at the Ζη-ΖηΟ interface. It was described that when a reverse bias voltage is applied, this p-η transition behaves like a diode and prevents electrons from moving across the above-mentioned boundary. This obstacle limits the movement of electrons from the sites of oxidation of Ζη to the places of oxygen reduction on the surface of ΖηΟ. In fact, there is an increased resistance between the anode and the cathode of local corrosion cells, and corrosion is reduced.

On average, the transition based on Ζη-ΖηΟ will be affected by the reverse bias voltage due to the potentials associated with the oxidation of Ζη on the surface of Ζη and the reduction of O ₂ on the surface of ΖηΟ. However, this results in significant stochastic (random) voltage fluctuations. These voltage fluctuations cause episodic forward displacement of the mentioned transition. With a direct displacement, the flow of electrons through the transition increases and an acceleration or flash of oxidation of Ζη and of O2 reduction occurs. In fact, there is a short circuit between the anode and the cathode in the local corrosion cells, and the corrosion increases.

The aforementioned patents by Riff describe the incorporation of a capacitor with a fixed capacitance into an electrochemical circuit of a corrosion prevention system. However, as noted by the authors of the present invention, these patents do not consider the desirability of controlling the level of a container and offer no way of determining how to dynamically change the capacity value to effectively prevent corrosion in any particular design, or the optimal way to determine the required value capacity.

As for pollution control (biological fouling), the condition of marine objects deteriorates due to sea ducks, zebra mussels, etc., which, after their attachment to the surface, must be removed mechanically. It is desirable to use cheap, non-mechanical and environmentally friendly ways to remove / prevent the occurrence of pollution in the marine environment. This has led to the development of research into pollution-preventing toxicity. As a result of toxicological studies, it has been established that the poison should be determined operatively, while the toxicity of a compound is often determined in terms of its quantity or concentration, which result in either death or disease. Therefore, the concentration should be taken into account when assessing the relative toxicity of an element or compound. It is known that many metals are toxic. At the same time, the metal, which is considered toxic, is at the same time vital. Copper falls into this category and is a well-known anti-pollution agent. However, without copper, as we know, life cannot exist. Copper is an essential part of certain enzymes that play a critical role in growth, reproduction and metabolism. Unfortunately, at least for those who would like to use copper as a means of pollution, low concentrations, measured in several parts per million, are toxic, especially for aquatic organisms whose bodies are completely immersed in the liquid medium containing it. Tin is not a vital metal in biology, but organic tin compounds are particularly good pollution control agents. Unfortunately, the levels of these organotin compounds, ranging from a few parts per billion, are toxic to non-target biological species. In addition, organotin compounds accumulate in fatty tissues and multiply by the food chain, which leads to an increase in the adverse effects on animals that are on top of this chain, for example, humans.

Zinc is a vital metal in biology, but, unlike copper, is not included in the category of heavy metals. The levels of toxicity in zinc are significantly higher than in copper, and therefore zinc is used in many environmentally acceptable products and materials. Scientists from Duke University (Eix Tschuegawa) have found that the anti-fouling properties of the coatings described in Riff US Pat. No. 5,353,242 and Riff US Pat. No. 5,009,757 issued by Riff are due to the toxicity of the zinc coating. At the same time, these scientists determined that the levels of zinc excretion were so low that they could not create toxicity in the marine environment. They also noted that zinc does not apply to metals that accumulate in the food chain. Therefore, zinc ions can be used as a toxic agent to combat fouling in a marine environment (toxic anti-fouling agent).

- 3 007147

One of the drawbacks of the existing corrosion prevention methods, such as the Riff methods mentioned above, is the relative lack of flexibility in the choice of color for silicate-based coatings offered there, with gray being the only available color. Although this color is acceptable in most marine and structural applications, there is a need for corrosion preventive coatings that are non-consumable and that can be offered in a range of colors for use as paint substitutes, especially in the automotive industry and in transport. These and other shortcomings are largely overcome when using semiconductor coatings and the corresponding systems proposed in US Patents Nos. 6325915 and 6402933 issued by Dowling (Eoschtd), as well as in US patent application serial No. 09/887024, filed June 25, 2001 which this mention is fully included in the text of this description. The semiconductor coating and system proposed in these patents and the Dowling application can be used with a variety of conductive substrates to provide a number of interesting properties. Since the semiconductor is always a less noble material than the substrate on which it is applied, the coating stabilizes the potential of the protected material. Electrons resulting from electrochemical activity are transferred from the protected substrate to the coating semiconductor, or, more simply, corrosive noise moves from the protected material to the coating.

FIG. Figure 1 shows the electrochemical noise present in the untreated metal 101, with random fluctuations of voltage measured and displayed as a signal 102 (shown as a sawtooth signal, although the actual signal will contain components with a larger bandwidth and will be stochastic in nature).

FIG. 2 shows the effect of deposition of a semiconductor protective coating on the metal surface in order to prevent corrosion and contamination, and the coating 210 contains a less noble material than the metal 201 that it protects. Since the coating 210 is less noble than the metal 201, it assumes the electrochemical noise 211 that would be present in the metal, and not in this coating, and this leads to the appearance of a flat signal in the metal 202. Anti-corrosion properties of the coating provide individual particles 250 of semiconductor material inside the coating.

FIG. Figure 3 shows the semiconductor / metal layer structure. When doped with zinc, the anti-corrosion properties of the semiconductor material in relation to steel (iron alloys) appear as a result of the potential created by the oxidation of Ζη and the reduction of oxygen, which is called the corrosion potential. In this case, this system behaves like a usual consumable anode material, in which the oxidation of iron is suppressed due to the potential resulting from the oxidation of Ζη. In this case, the oxidation of Ζη in the semiconductor material is significantly reduced or passivated while reducing the corrosion potential, which significantly increases the service life of the coating. Passivation is the result of a combination of the varistor-like behavior of the /η / Ζη border and the ability of the corresponding filter to maintain a potential difference at this boundary, with the result that this boundary has high electrical resistance. The semiconductor material particle 250 consists of two regions: a p-type region 320 and an η-type region 310 with a junction 330 that behaves like a varistor, with a flow of 302 electrons between these two regions. When zinc is used, the zinc particles are coated with a layer of zinc oxide, with the individual oxide coated particles surrounded by a conductive binder. The boundary between p-type and η-type semiconductors in a semiconductor coating works as a varistor (counter-connected diodes), which controls the flow of electrons between these semiconductors. The application of an appropriate current to the semiconductor coating connected to the protected substrate stabilizes the potential at this boundary. This slows down the rate of movement of electrons from the p-type semiconductor into the η-type semiconductor, reducing the corrosion rate by 10 ³ times, which leads to an extension of the service life of the semiconductor coating, which may exceed the estimated service life of the processed object.

Varistors (variable resistors) have electrical characteristics with a high degree of nonlinearity and are functionally equivalent to counter-enabled diodes. In a limited area of voltage, the area of shutdown, they only allow leakage current to flow. When the voltage exceeds the on voltage, for example, during a transient process, the conductivity of the varistor increases significantly. Varistors are usually based on ΖηΟ. FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between current and voltage for a varistor, and this graph shows a voltage axis 1101, a current axis 1102, and a current curve 1103 over the entire range of bias voltages. -I _s range from 1110 to 1107 V _s is a voltage region 1104 in which the varistor behaves as a switch. The point on the above curve, labeled 1 _ъ 1105, is the point on the curve that corresponds to the leakage current, that is, the smallest amount of current that flows through the varistor, even when a bias voltage is applied to the varistor, that it behaves like an open switch . The point designated as U _p 1106 represents the point on the curve that indicates the on voltage, in other words, the highest positive voltage value corresponding to the 1104 off region

- 4 007147 of the varistor. The point labeled Y _v 1107 indicates the breakdown voltage of the varistor when exceeding the bias voltage V _v causes varistor functioning as a host circuit. The point, labeled -1 _ъ 1108, is the point on this curve that indicates the negative leakage current. The point, designated as -U _p 1109, is the point on this curve, which indicates a negative turn-on voltage, in other words, the largest value of the negative voltage in the range that represents the area 1104 off the varistor. The point designated as - _U 1110 indicates a negative breakdown voltage.

The above patents and the Dowling application are directed, at least, to the creation of systems and devices for corrosion control, containing semiconductor coatings and a corrosion noise control system, which includes a filter. In the case of a Dowling application filed, the corrosive noise control system includes an adjustable (tunable) filter that can be configured based on feedback signals corresponding to the corrosive noise present in the coating.

The performance of the corrosive noise reduction system in accordance with the patents and the Dowling application varies depending on the internal filter of this system, which in its simplest form is essentially a capacitor. The patents and the Dowling application furthermore describe the combined use of a semiconductor coating with various passive and active filters. In these patents and the Dowling application, the semiconductor coating works to a certain extent as a resistor connected in parallel with the internal filter of the system. General fundamentals of filtering, such as methods for creating a high or low pass filter, can be found in Sedra and Smith (8 & 8) Microelectronic Circuits (Microsoft), fourth edition, published by θχίοτά Isheguyu Rtekk, 1997, which is fully mentioned included in the text of this description.

FIG. 5 is a graph of corrosion potential versus time for various filters. Along the horizontal axis 401, time is plotted in days, and the vertical axis 402 indicates the potential relative to the semiconductor element (8CE, 10x1xmcflc). measured in millivolts. During the experiment, during which optimal filtration characteristics were determined for various corrosive environments, measurements were taken for seven systems at three points in time. For these three measurements, the measured potential was recorded for each of the seven filter configurations, which are indicated in the legend with different symbols. The graph shows the results for each of the seven filters at the measuring points indicated by numbers from 410 to 430.

Electrochemical corrosion can be schematically considered using an equivalent circuit. In a typical case, the semiconductor material is doped with zinc. Thus, the simple equivalent circuit shown in FIG. 6, refers to the case of oxidation Ζη. The anodic reaction proceeds by Ζη, and the cathodic reaction proceeds by ΖηΟ. Note that the boundary Ζη / Ζη гра in this circuit is a varistor. If the potential difference created by the redox pair Ζη / Ο ₂ stably keeps in the shutdown area, the oxidation η is suppressed (or passivated) by the high resistance of the mentioned boundary. However, over the past 10 years, it has been shown that there are self-generating fluctuations of the electrochemical potential, electrochemical noise associated with corrosion. As a result, even though the potential Ζη / Ο ₂ will be in the shutdown region, there is the likelihood of fluctuations that shift the potential difference to a high conductivity region and make it possible for electrons to move and, therefore, oxidation Ζη.

The authors of the present invention realized that this is one of the ways to achieve the passivation of Ζη to remove or filter electrochemical noise. The removal of this electrochemical noise occurs with a filter, which in its simplest form is a capacitor. The filtration effect maintains the potential at the Ζη / ΖηΟ boundary in the shutdown region, and therefore the oxidation of Ζη decreases, and the service life of the coating increases. It is necessary to take into account that the low-pass filter can be supplemented with bandpass (or narrow-band notch) filters for selectively damping frequencies in other bands depending on the material being protected.

FIG. 6 shows a circuit equivalent circuit diagram for a system according to the patents and the Dowling application. In this drawing, the behavior of this system is summarized as a representative electrical circuit based on the electrochemical nature of metal corrosion processes. More specifically, corrosion can be modeled as a source of voltage fluctuations, and the internal resistance of the metal can be taken into account in this circuit, the anti-corrosion coating can be modeled as a varistor, and the noise filter can be modeled as a capacitor. Placing these simulated elements in a schematic diagram can help provide a clearer picture of the noise and filter elements found in the Dowling system, using electrical circuit analysis.

In this representative circuit there is a resistance 801 of the solution, which is the internal resistance of the system, connected in series with the galvanic electrode circuit.

- 5 007147 tentsialom 802 at the anode, which corresponds to the process of ionization of zinc, and the electroplating electrode potential of 803 at the cathode, which corresponds to the chemical process of water formation. In this circuit, two noise sources 804 are also present and connected in series, one of which is placed between the galvanic electrode potential 802 of the anode and the faraday impedance 805 of the anode, and the other is placed between the galvanic electrode potential 803 at the cathode and the farade impedance 806 of the cathode, and between the mentioned faraday impedance the anode and cathode are connected in series with a varistor 807 with zinc oxide and a noise filter 808. The varistor and noise filter work to reduce the occurrence of voltage fluctuations, which can orozhdat corrosion. Noise filter 808 can be active, passive or combined, and, depending on the choice of the node in this circuit, which will have a total potential of 810, filter 808 can dampen high frequencies in this circuit due to corrosive noise.

The substrate on which the semiconductor layer is placed may be conductive or non-conductive. Conductive substrates can be metallic or non-metallic. Non-conductive substrates can be any material that behaves as an insulator, such as a silicon wafer or other non-metallic substrate. The production technology of such non-conductive or conductive substrates in the field of semiconductor crystal fabrication is well known to those skilled in the art.

The corrosion noise reduction system according to the patents and the Dowling application provides a means of preventing corrosion in a corrosion-prone conductive structure by depositing a semiconductor coating on this conductive structure and connecting the resulting coated structure with a passive or active electronic filter to minimize corrosion noise in this coating . The electronic filter has such a filtering characteristic that it dampens the high-frequency part of the corrosive noise spectrum. This is achieved by connecting a filter with a frequency response of the impedance (impedance), which corresponds to a low-pass filter (possibly supplemented with narrow-band notch filters), with the material to be protected. In addition, depending on the material and application, it may be possible to selectively quench frequencies in other ranges to reduce the effects of corrosion and / or pollution. The filter can be passive or active. In any case, it suppresses high-frequency voltage fluctuations. At the same time, the transitions present in the semiconductor coating support the reverse bias voltage. As a result, the time-averaged electron flux from the anode to the cathode regions of the semiconductor coating decreases, and the coating is, in fact, passivated.

If a filter is connected to the circuit equivalent to the corrosion process, the noise signal can be dispersed, as shown in FIG. 7, where the surface of the metal 501 is coated with a protective coating 510 connected to the filter 508, with the result that the metal is characterized by a significantly weakened electrostatic noise 502. The filter 508 operates either as a separate low-pass filter or, possibly, in combination with filters whose impedance corresponds to a bandpass and / or a narrow-band notch filter to reduce high-frequency corrosive noise 522. In fact, the filter dissipates energy associated with high frequencies in the electrochemical noise signal. Quenching of the high-frequency components of the electrochemical noise spectrum will significantly reduce corrosion by suppressing the fluctuation of the voltage across the varistor beyond the switching voltage (ν _η ).

Summary of Invention

Accordingly, one of the purposes of the present invention is to identify and eliminate the above and other disadvantages of commonly used pollution control systems.

Another objective of the present invention is to propose a system for reducing corrosive noise with an electronic control unit (ECU) controlled by a filter (possibly including a non-tunable passive filter) and a semiconductor coating on the substrate to create a low resistance path to ground for high-frequency corrosive noise.

The next objective of the present invention is to propose a system and method for optimizing a compromise ratio between extending the service life and the expenditure of a protective coating for a given structure in order to achieve a balance of anti-corrosion and anti-fouling properties of a corrosion noise reduction system used on this structure.

These and other objectives are achieved by the invented system and method, which are described in this application. The authors of the present invention have found that a corrosion noise reduction system containing a semiconductor coating on a substrate can work optimally using an electronic control unit (ECU) and a controlled filter to control the filter operation and voltage fluctuations in the conductive structure on which the semiconductor coating is placed. These advantages are achieved by using a method of tracking (monitoring) the noise generated by the above-mentioned coating and filter control, which, although not necessarily a limitation, may use tunable filter elements and / or non-translatable filter elements based on a set of predefined and / or measured parameters in

- 6 007147 response to the corrosive noise generated in the coating, thereby controlling the rate at which components are used to protect against corrosion and / or pollution (biological fouling). This set of predetermined and / or measured parameters includes at least one of the following parameters: temperature, salinity / water purity, humidity, age, short-term operating cycle, long-term operating cycle, current vessel speed, historical speed of the vessel, current geographical location , prehistory of geographical positions, age of the coating, deterioration (wear) of the coating, thickness of the coating, covered area (area) of the surface and shape of the covered area.

The present invention is directed to the prevention of corrosion in aircraft structures / aircraft; automotive structures / vehicles; bridges; ships / constructions; pipelines; railway wagons / constructions; steel structures; and storage tanks, although it may also be used in other facilities. The present invention is also directed to the prevention of biological fouling in the marine environment of seagoing vessels; marine structures; offshore platforms; power plants; and other objects.

As determined by the authors of the present invention, a controlled filter and a controller can be used in a corrosion noise reduction system, while the controller dynamically adjusts (adjusts) the filter characteristics of the corrosion noise reduction system taking into account various parameters to achieve a balance between the anticorrosion and anti-fouling characteristics of the system. A non-limiting list of examples of these parameters includes one or more of the following parameters: temperature, salinity / water purity, humidity, age, short-term duty cycle, long-term duty cycle, current vessel speed, vessel history, current geographical position, history of geographical positions, coating age, coating thickness, deterioration (wear) of the coating, the coated surface area and the shape of the coated area. Due to the discovery of the fact that it is possible to establish the mentioned balance between anti-corrosion and anti-fouling characteristics of the system, the authors of the present invention have identified and described here systems, devices, algorithms, methods and computer software products designed to control filter functions associated with anti-corrosion / anti-fouling semiconductor coating and corrosion noise reduction system.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The present invention and its many inherent advantages can be more fully and more easily appreciated while achieving their better understanding as a result of studying the detailed description below, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:

in fig. 1 shows corrosive noise in an unprotected metal;

in fig. 2 shows corrosive noise in a protected metal and a semiconductor coating; in fig. 3 shows the current flowing between the metal and the semiconductor protective coating; FIG. 4 is a graph showing the interaction between a metal and a semiconductor protective coating similar to that of a varistor;

FIG. 5 is a graph of corrosive noise versus time for various filters;

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a corrosion noise reduction system without an electronic control unit (ECU);

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a corrosion noise reduction system including a metal, a semiconductor sheeting and a filter, and noise characteristics in its components;

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of an ECU containing a controlled corrosion noise filter and an ECU control circuit;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an ECU containing a controlled corrosive noise filter and an ECU control circuit;

FIG. 10a and 10b are the curves of the amplitude-frequency and phase-frequency characteristics, respectively, for a corrosive noise filter in accordance with one of the embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 11a and 11b are the curves of the amplitude-frequency and phase-frequency characteristics, respectively, for a narrow-band notch filter of corrosive noise, corresponding to one of the embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a method for reducing corrosive noise using an ECU;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a corrosion noise reduction system including a metal, a semiconductor sheeting, a filter and an ECU, and noise characteristics in its components;

FIG. 14 is a graph comparing the rate of excretion of zinc (µg / cm ² ) for a system for reducing corrosive noise with and without an ECU;

- 7 007147 of FIG. 15 is a graph comparing the zinc release rate (%) for a corrosion noise reduction system with and without an ECU; and FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a computer system used in the present invention.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments

The present invention proposes a corrosion noise reduction system comprising an electronic control unit (ECU), a controlled filter and a semiconductor coating on the substrate.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram corresponding to one of the embodiments of the present invention, where for elements similar to those shown in FIG. 6, their previous reference numbers are retained. As shown in this drawing, the ECU 897 contains a controlled filter 898 and an ECU control circuit 899. The ECU 897 may optionally be connected to one or more local sensors 882, and / or may be connected to antenna 881 and / or contain this antenna 881 (for example, for use in wireless communication), or connected to another wireless communication support device, for example with optical transceivers. The ECU may also access (have access to) data stored in a local data archive (not shown) or in a remote archive accessible through the use of an antenna 881, another wireless communication device, or even a wired connection, such as a network. The control circuit 899 ECU is configured to change the filtering characteristics of the controlled filter 898 so that the frequency-dependent impedance of this controlled filter varies depending on the mode of operation of said control circuit 899 ECU. It should also be borne in mind that the present invention is not limited to this particular configuration, as will be understood by those skilled in the field of control systems.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram corresponding to one of the embodiments of the present invention, which includes an ECU 897 comprising a controlled filter 898 and a control circuit 899 ECU. Although a filter consisting of a single capacitor is shown, other circuit elements may also be used to implement various filters (for example, having impedances corresponding to narrowband notch filters) that complement the frequency response of the low-pass filter impedance. Schematically, a combination of a controlled filter 898 and an ECU control circuit 899 is represented as a single system 897 connected to other elements of a corrosion prevention system by a conductive link 809. A controlled filter 898 can contain any configuration of various filters (for example, filters whose impedance corresponds to a low-pass filter, narrowband notch filter, bandpass filter, etc.), made with the possibility of damping the planned (target) high-frequency signals corresponding to corrosive noise. Managed filter 898 can optionally be disconnected from this system using an electronically controlled switch 905, which can be controlled by ECU control circuit 899 or other means, such as a manual toggle switch, a switchboard or other device with which you can automatically or manually enter and / or remove components from the electrical circuit. Managed filter 898 can be controlled by ECU control circuit 899 via control lines 925, which open or close switches 923 and 924, connecting many additional filters 920 and 921 (this set may optionally contain a bank of switchable filters, which together can provide various corrosive noise filtering characteristics) . In addition, a feature of the present invention is that the ECU control circuit 899 electronically adjusts / adjusts the filtering characteristics of the controlled filter 898 by means of adjustable circuit elements, which can optionally be voltage-controlled resistors (varistors) or switchable variable capacitances. The electronic control unit 897 may be connected to a wireless transceiver 881 for receiving and / or transmitting one or more control signals from / to an ECU remote control device (possibly via a wireless electromagnetic and / or optical channel). The ECU control circuit 899 may be connected to one or more local sensors 882, each of which is configured to track one or more parameters used by the ECU control circuit 899, such as salinity, temperature, location, or some other parameter. Information received from the wireless transceiver 881 and / or local sensors 882 can be used by an ECU control circuit 899 to tune the controlled filter 898 or completely disconnect it. Additionally, an ECU control circuit 899 may be connected (via an interface) to a local and / or remote database 912 for processing information received from a wireless transceiver 881 and / or local sensors 882.

The effectiveness of a semiconductor coating can be optimized by using filters with special amplitude-frequency characteristics chosen depending on the requirements of a particular application, as well as by using adaptive active filters that monitor the electrochemical noise in the protected object and adjust its characteristic accordingly in response. Special filters are configured and operate in such a way as to eliminate corrosive noise, which leads to the provision of

- 8 007147 in water treatment of low-frequency voltage with a smaller amplitude. One or more filters are configured and attached to the coating in one or more locations of the protected structure to provide a low resistance path to ground for high frequency corrosion currents generated in and on the semiconductor coating. High frequency is a term used to describe the non-constant (variable) components of corrosive noise. In practice, for typical designs, the high-frequency component of corrosive noise is within tens of hertz and above. The high frequency, which is meant here, may, for example, also include a transitional band between direct current (OC) and 10 Hz and, therefore, contains frequencies in the range of 1-10 Hz. Thus, the cut-off (or 3 dB points) of the filtering characteristics for the controlled filters used in the present invention is typically at a level of 1 to 10 Hz, although not necessarily limited to these values. Depending on the nature of the corrosive noise, the filtering characteristics can be adapted to suppress even lower frequencies, such as 1/4 or 1/2 Hz and above, or even in one or more specific frequency bands (which can be rejected using one or more which have impedances corresponding to a notch filter).

FIG. 10a and 10b are the curves of the amplitude-frequency and phase-frequency characteristics of the impedance of an exemplary low-frequency corrosion noise filter, respectively, corresponding to one of the embodiments of the present invention. On these Bode curves, a 3 dB point is at about 10 Hz. Alternatively, depending on the material to be protected, filters may be used that have frequency characteristics of the impedance with low frequency transmission with 3 dB points at 5, 15, 25, 100 Hz or other values, provided that they remove a substantial part of the non-current components from the protected structure energy spectrum, as a result of which the voltage fluctuations outside the off-voltage range are significantly reduced. One or more such filters having frequency characteristics of impedances with low frequency transmission can be included in the electrical circuit of the protected structure in one or more places to remove unwanted corrosive noise energy while reducing or preventing the occurrence of any currents generated by the corrosive noise of this protected designs. One or more of these low pass filters may be controlled by an electronic control unit with respect to their frequency filtering characteristics and / or physical connection. Alternatively, higher order filters can be used to change the decay rate of the frequency response curve, resulting in further quenching of high frequency energy at frequencies closer to the 3 dB point. This electronic filter provides a path to grounding for an electrochemical noise signal that causes electron loss and, therefore, corrosion. To effectively reduce corrosion effects, it is necessary to provide lower impedances at lower frequencies (i.e., increasing the size of the capacitor if the filter in the system is a pure capacitor).

FIG. 11a and 11b are curves of the amplitude-frequency and phase-frequency characteristics of a corrosive noise filter, respectively, having a frequency response of an impedance with low frequency transmission, complemented by narrow-band notch filters, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a plurality (or only one) of dips in the filter impedance can be used in conjunction with the low frequency transmission shown in FIG. 10a and 10b to eliminate one or more spectral components of corrosive noise. One or more such filters may be electrically connected to the protected structure at one or more locations to remove energy peaks of corrosive noise while reducing or preventing the occurrence of any currents generated by corrosive noise in the protected structure. One or more of these narrowband notch filters can be controlled by an electronic control unit with respect to their frequency response and / or physical connection. Alternatively, higher order filters may be used.

The control of one or more low pass filters and / or narrow-band notch filters and a higher order filter performed by the electronic control unit may be based on one or more measurements of corrosive noise provided by one or more corrosive noise sensors monitoring the condition of the protected structure.

For all combinations of filters and filter connections, the semiconductor coating efficiency can be further optimized for the life of the protected object by adjusting the computer to adjust its filtering functions in response to a number of measured and / or predetermined parameters, which include one or more of the following parameters: measured corrosion noise, temperature, salinity, humidity, age of the coating, covered surface area, coating thickness, coating wear, the shape of the coated area, located vessel / covered object (for example, the North Sea compared to the South China Sea), movement or stationary state of the vessel, work history (for example, the ratio of the time spent in a stationary state to the time of movement).

- 9 007147

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an exemplary method, not limiting the present invention and used in one of the variants of its implementation. The method presented by this block circuit can be used in a control unit to control the operation of the filter in order to achieve an optimal balance between anti-corrosion and anti-fouling effects. When executing this method, the system proceeds from performing the initial step 1201 to performing step 1202 of the control where information can be input from various monitoring devices and sensors, including information on salinity, system position, system history or other factors. The system then compares the control values and, at step 1203, decides which of the two pre-determined working configurations the filter should take — steps 1204 and 1205, respectively. When this operation is completed, the system returns to step 1202 of the control, and the execution of the method is repeated. In this embodiment, two filter configurations are shown. In other embodiments, a selection of three or more configurations may occur.

Aspects of the present invention relating to the measurement and use of control parameters are used to fine-tune system performance for specific applications. Based on the control parameters, the necessary filter properties in the system can be defined and improved to sustainably prevent corrosion on the entire surface of the structure, even in the case of very large structures such as aircraft carriers or bridges with large spans. In the present invention, voltage fluctuations between the coated surface and the reference electrode with high impedance and low noise are monitored for the peak of a voltage exceeding a predetermined threshold, its occurrence a predetermined number of times in a certain time interval (for example, 3 tens per second) and / or detection of the environment generating high noise level. This method of determining the threshold value is one of the ways to measure the standard deviation of noise, which, in turn, is a measure of noise power. Alternatively, the fast Fourier transform (from English BBT, Pa§1 Roshtet TgapGogt) or other signal processing techniques can be used to measure the noise power as a function of frequency. The frequency content (spectral composition) of the noise signal and its power content can be measured using measuring devices such as a spectrum analyzer, or by digitizing the signal and implementing various signal processing techniques using a processor embedded in the computer in real time. In addition, for manual or automatic control of filter characteristics and / or filter duty cycle (on / off periods), other parameters can be used (individually or in combination). They include, but are not limited to, previously specified parameters: measured corrosive noise, temperature, salinity, humidity, age of the coating, covered surface area, coating thickness, coating wear, the shape of the covered area, the location of the vessel / covered object (for example, Northern sea compared with the South China Sea), the movement or stationary state of the vessel, the background of work (for example, the ratio of the time spent in a stationary state to the time of movement).

In another embodiment, the ECU is connected to the Global Satellite Positioning Subsystem (ORB) via an industry standard bus or a proprietary bus, such as an UME bus (Vega Moiie Eigore, modular interface system on Euroconstructives), or through a wireless communication device. When tracking the geographic location of the system, the ECU adjusts the effective values of the characteristics of the corrosive noise filter in accordance with predetermined criteria, taking into account what is known about the corrosive effects of salinity, temperature and other factors related to the geographical location of the system.

FIG. 13 shows the result of applying one of the embodiments of the present invention, and in this drawing, for elements similar to those shown in FIG. 1, their reference numbers are stored. The ECU 599 is connected to and controls a filter 508. The ECU 599 may be connected to an antenna 581 (or other electromagnetic radiation receiver, such as infrared or optical) and / or one or more local sensors 582 for receiving data affecting the control of this ECU 599 filter 508. In this embodiment of the present invention The computer controls the filter 508 in such a way that the filter has a discontinuous frequency response 577 of the impedance, which allows low frequencies to pass (the alternation between an open and a closed circuit, resulting in a low pass filter into the circuit and disconnects from it), to extinguish high-frequency corrosive noise in an intermittent (periodic) mode (with a controlled shutdown frequency or duty cycle). When the filter absorbs the high-frequency component of corrosive noise, the high-frequency content of the electrochemical noise spectrum 550 over the entire coating and the material to be protected is greatly reduced; therefore, the noise signal is effectively filtered, resulting in a slowly varying voltage (i.e., non-sawtooth). When the filter does not eliminate corrosive noise, the noise characteristic 550 in the coating is noisy (sawtooth), indicating that the zinc in the semiconductor layer is released into the environment. In this situation, the ECU 599 controls the coating in the anti-fouling mode. In other embodiments, the ECU 599 may control the filter 508 such that

- 10 007147 filter 508 has a filtering characteristic at which the amplitude and / or frequency are reduced for a predetermined range of corrosive noise frequencies, and / or the filter 508 is connected periodically. The reason why the filter is operated in a pulsed mode is to achieve a balance between spending Ζη to combat fouling and maintaining Ζη to combat corrosion. The rate of consumption can be controlled by setting the pulse on / off cycles in a range from spending very close to 0% (filter on) to constant spending (ie, 100%). For example, in pulsed operation with 50% on / off for a certain period of time, the filter will operate for 50% of the duration of this period, although not always with equal time intervals (i.e., not always with 50% work cycle). In addition, impulse operation can occur with a periodic or aperiodic control signal.

FIG. 14 is a graph comparing the zinc release rate measured over time for a system for reducing corrosive noise with and without an ECU. In this graph, illustrating the zinc release rates for the two systems, elapsed time in days is plotted on the horizontal axis 601, and the zinc release rate in micrograms of zinc per cm ^{2 is} plotted on the vertical axis 602. In a system where ECU is not used, the results are indicated by squares 620. In another system, the zinc release rate was reduced by using the ECU, and the results are indicated by circles 610. Measurements were taken during a time period of approximately 300 days. A comparison of these two dependencies shows that a system without an ECU tends to produce more zinc over a given period of time than a system with an ECU, and therefore has a shorter semiconductor coating life.

FIG. 15 is a reordering of the results shown in FIG. 14, with the horizontal axis 701 representing time in days, and the vertical axis 702 representing the release of zinc as a percentage of the total amount of released zinc. In this graph, the results for the system with the ECU indicated by circles 710 correspond to the results 610, and the results indicated by the squares 720 correspond to the results 620 shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 shows a computer that can be used as a control computer 899 for an ECU in one of the embodiments of the present invention. This computer contains a processor 1003, main memory 1004, ROM 1005, system bus 1002 and is connected to various devices 1010-1012 that provide an interface to the user, such as a monitor and keyboard. A computer is connected to sensors 882, such as mineralization and pressure sensors, geographical position sensors, etc., to track physical conditions and other variables associated with optimizing the performance of anti-corrosion and anti-fouling agents according to the present invention.

Below is a more detailed description of the control computer 899 ECU. The control computer 899 ECU contains a bus 1002 or another communication device for exchanging information (possibly wirelessly) and a processor 1003 connected to the bus 1002 for processing this information. In addition, an ECU control computer 899 contains a main memory 1004, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device (eg, dynamic RAM (ΌΒΆΜ), static RAM (8VAM), and synchronous dynamic RAM (8ΌΒΆΜ)) connected to bus 1002 and designed to store information and commands to be executed by the processor 1003. In addition, the main memory 1004 can be used to store temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of commands percent The spring 1003. The computer control computer 899 also contains a read-only memory (ROM) 1005 or other static memory (for example, a programmable ROM (RAM), a programmable ROM (ΕΡΒΌΜ) and an electrically erasable programmable ROM (ΕΕΡΚΌΜ) connected to the bus 1002 and designed to store static information and commands for the processor 1003.

The ECU control computer 899 also includes a disk controller 1006 coupled to bus 1002 and designed to control one or more storage devices for storing information and commands such as a hard magnetic disk 1007 and removable media drive 1008 (for example, a floppy disk drive, drive for SE-VOM drives (ROM on CDs), drive for rewritable CDs (Ό.Ό-Β \ ν). drive with automatic CD changer, tape drive and removable magneto-optical drive). Storage devices can be added to this computer system 950 using an appropriate device interface (for example, a small computing system interface (8C81), an interface for connecting disk drives (ΙΌΕ), an improved interface for connecting disk drives (Ε-ΙΌΕ), a direct access interface to memory ΌΜΆ or υΌΜΆ).

The control computer 899 ECU may also contain special-purpose logic devices (for example, problem-oriented integrated circuits (А81С)) or configurable logic devices (for example, simple programmable logic devices (8ΡΕΌ),

- 11 007147 complex programmable logic devices (SRBO) and logical chips with operational programming (EPR).

The control computer 899 ECU may also contain a video controller 1009 connected to the bus 1002 and designed to control the monitor 1010, such as a monitor with a cathode ray tube (CRT), in order to display information to the computer user. The computer system contains input devices such as a keyboard 1011 and a pointing device 1012, providing interaction with a computer user and providing information to the processor 1003. For example, the pointing device 1012 may be a mouse, trackball or manipulator to send instructions and selected commands to the processor 1003 and to control the movement of the cursor on the monitor screen 1010. In addition, the data stored in the control computer 899 ECU and / or created by this computer can be print as a printer.

The control computer 899 ECU performs part or all of the processing steps of the invention as a result of the processor 1003 performing one or more sequences consisting of one or more instructions contained in memory, such as main memory 1004. Such instructions can be read into main memory 1004 from another machine-readable a medium such as a hard disk 1007 or removable media that is inserted in the drive 1008. One or more processors in a multiprocessor configuration may also be used to execute the sequences of instructions contained in the main memory 1004. In alternative implementations, instead of the commands contained in the software, or in combination with them, hard-wired circuits can be used. Thus, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to any particular combination of hardware and software.

As stated above, the ECU control computer 899 contains at least one machine-readable medium or memory for storing instructions programmed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and for storing data structures, tables, records, or other data described herein. Examples of computer-readable media are compact discs, hard drives, floppy disks, magnetic tape, magneto-optical disks, programmable ROM (erasable programmable ROM (ΕΡΚΟΜ), electrically erasable programmable ROM (ΕΕΡΚΌΜ), flash memory (E1a8Y), dynamic RAM ( ΌΚΑΜ), static RAM (8ΚΑΜ), synchronous dynamic RAM (8ΌΚΑΜ)) or any other magnetic media, compact discs (for example, SE-ΚΟΜ) or any other optical media, punched cards, paper tape or other physical media containing edelennom order arranged holes, a carrier electromagnetic wave (described below), or any other medium which can be read by a computer.

In the case of storage on any computer-readable storage medium or on any combination thereof, the present invention contains software designed to control a control computer 899 ECU, to actuate devices or devices that implement the invention in practice, and to enable interaction of the control computer 899 ECU with a human user (for example, personnel printing information). Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems, development tools, and application software. Said computer-readable storage medium further comprises a computer program product according to the present invention, designed to perform all or part (if the processing is distributed) processing carried out in the practice of the present invention.

The computer code sets according to the present invention may be any interpretable or executable code, including scripts, interpreted programs, dynamic link libraries (OB), classes of an aua language, and compiled executable programs. In addition, parts of the information processing according to the present invention can be distributed to improve performance and reliability and / or reduce costs.

The term machine-readable storage medium as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing commands to the processor 1003 for execution. Computer-readable media can be of various types, including non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media, but not limited to those listed. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical disks, magnetic disks, and magneto-optical disks, such as a hard disk 1007 or removable media that is installed in a drive 1008. Volatile media include dynamic memory, such as main memory 1004. Transmitting media include coaxial cables, copper wires, and fiber optics, including wires that form a bus 1002. Transmitting media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as which are generated when transmitting data using a radio or infrared signal.

Transmission of one or more sequences containing one or more instructions to processor 1003 may involve machine-readable media of various types for execution. For example, the command

- 12 007147 dyes can first be transferred to a magnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load the commands used to put all or part of the present invention into practice remotely into dynamic memory and send these commands over a telephone line using a modem. A modem near the control computer 899 ECU can receive this data via a telephone line and use an IR transmitter to convert the data into an infrared signal. The IR receiver connected to bus 1002 can receive data carried by the infrared signal and place this data on bus 1002. Bus 1002 transmits data to main memory 1004, from which processor 1003 extracts and executes commands. Commands received by main memory 1004 may optionally be stored in memory 1007 or 1008, either before or after being executed by processor 1003.

The control computer 899 ECU also contains a communication interface 1013 connected to bus 1002. A communication interface 1013 provides a connection with bidirectional data transfer to a network line 1014 that is connected, for example, to a local area network (LAN) 1015 or another communication network 1016, such as The Internet. For example, communication interface 1013 may be a network interface card designed to provide communication with any packet-switched LAN. As another example, the communication interface 1013 may be a card for an asymmetric digital subscriber line (LIB), a card for a digital integrated services network ("8"), or a modem to provide a data connection with the appropriate type of communication line. Wireless lines may also be used. In any of these embodiments, the communication interface 1013 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams, which are various types of information.

The network line 1014 typically provides data transmission over one or more networks to other data processing devices. For example, network line 1014 may provide a connection to another computer through a local area network 1015 (eg, a LAN) or by using the equipment used by a service provider that provides communication services in a network 1016 communication. The local network 1015 and communication network 1016 use, for example, electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals carrying digital data streams, and an appropriate physical layer (for example, a category 5 cable of unshielded twisted pair, coaxial cable, optical fiber, etc.). Signals transmitted over various networks and signals transmitted over a network line 1014 and through a communication interface 1013 that carry digital data to and from the control computer 899 ECU can be implemented as source signals or signals based on a carrier wave. The source signals contain digital data in the form of unmodulated electrical pulses, which describe a stream of bits of digital data, and the term bits should be interpreted broadly as denoting a particular character, where each character contains at least one or more information bits. Digital data can also be used to modulate a carrier wave, for example, as in the case of amplitude modulated signals, phase and / or frequency shift keying, which propagate through a conductive medium or are transmitted in the form of electromagnetic waves through a propagation medium. Thus, digital data can be sent as modulated source data via a wired communication channel and / or sent in a predetermined frequency band that differs from the original one when the carrier wave is modulated. The control computer 899 ECU can transmit and receive data, including the program code, over the network (s) 1015 and 1016, the network line 1014 and via the communication interface 1013. In addition, the network line 1014 can provide a connection through the local network 1015 with the mobile device 881, such as a personal digital assistant or handheld personal computer (ΡΌΆ or PDA), laptop or cell phone.

The semiconductor coating of the present invention can be used in a variety of end-use applications. Chief among these end options is the prevention of corrosion of conductive structures. The proposed system for preventing corrosion of conductive substrates contains:

(a) a semiconductor coating in electrical contact with at least a portion of the surface of the conductive structure; and (b) a corrosive noise filtering tool that contains an electron sink, such as a battery or other power source, along with a filter (or filter bank), such as a capacitor connected to a covered conductive substrate.

The proposed system also includes a method for preventing corrosion, comprising:

1) cleaning the outer surface of the conductive structure;

2) deposition on the outer surface of the semiconductor coating according to the present invention; and

3) using an electronic filter to minimize corrosive noise in the system.

One of the key points of the anti-corrosion method and system according to the present invention is to measure the corrosive noise generated by the system as a whole (including the substrate,

- 13 007147 coating and filter elements, but not limited to those listed), and minimizing this noise through the use of an electronic filter.

Referring again to FIG. 6, the effect of ECU on the semiconductor coating, as well as the overall performance, was measured during the 249-day test period (FIG. 6). In this trial, the zinc release rate decreased with time in both states as the coating ages. However, the use of an ECU has provided a significantly higher decrease in the rates of zinc release, the degree of which depends on the duty cycle used to set up or alternately turn on the filter in the electrical circuit and disconnect from it. It should be understood that the duty cycle designed to control the level of zinc release (and therefore toxicity) depends on a number of parameters (such as measured corrosive noise, temperature, salinity, humidity, ship speed, etc.) depending on the conditions the environment. The present invention proposes a means of controlling these speeds using an ECU and corresponding control algorithms. Zinc release rates were reduced by a factor of 250, or down to a level of 0.001 µg / cm ² per day, which is significantly lower than the maximum allowable rate of 15 µg / cm ² per day set by the US Navy (Department of Naval Research, 8. McCap). These experiments showed that the service life of the semiconductor coating in terms of loss of zinc (the amount of Ζη per cm ² divided by the dissolution rate) can be significantly extended when using an ECU. Capacity tracking results, as shown in FIG. 6 demonstrate that the test panels without an ECU have a significantly lower potential of approximately 150 to 250 mV, depending on the ECU parameters used. Despite the fact that the oxidation rate of zinc has an exponential dependence on the magnitude of the potential, the potential of zinc oxide will increase, and the potential of zinc will decrease with increasing electrical resistance at the boundary of zinc with zinc oxide. The exponential dependence is indicated by the Tafel constant, which for zinc is approximately 30 mV. This Tafel constant and the magnitude of the measured voltage differences suggest that the relative change in passivation due to the presence of an ECU ranges from 150 to 4000 times. Generally speaking, both the dissolution rate of zinc and the potential data correspond to the theory of operation of a semiconductor coating - the use of an ECU leads to a decrease in the oxidation rate of zinc and significantly prolongs the service life of the semiconductor coating. These benefits can be further enhanced by using measured and / or predetermined parameters in the present invention, which include at least one of the following parameters: temperature, salinity / water purity, humidity, age, short-term duty cycle, long-term duty cycle, the current speed of the vessel, the history of vessel speeds, the current geographical position, the historical background of geographical positions, the age of the coating, the thickness of the coating, the covered surface area and the shape of the covered region asti.

The present invention can be adapted to prevent corrosion of conductive materials and prevent marine biological fouling in the following cases (not limited to the above): civil and military aviation; oil storage tanks; infrastructure, including roads and bridges, as well as projects of the Navy, Coast Guard and Engineers; chemical industry; pulp and paper industry; power plants; railway bridges and wagons; fabricated steel buildings such as agricultural silos and warehouses; water towers; sea vessels; offshore platforms and other offshore structures. Coverage and ECUs can also be adapted for use in devices and / or vehicles associated with nuclear power plants, deep space flights, volcano research and monitoring, and deep-sea research in toxic seismic environments.

As for ships, the present invention can be exploited to significantly reduce deterioration (wear) of plating, which is very expensive to repair, and the present invention is a cost-effective, durable and environmentally friendly alternative to existing pollution and corrosion control systems. . Semiconductor coating can be applied to new vessels during their construction and to existing vessels during their scheduled maintenance at the docks, which, in the case of traditional coatings, has to be held every 2.5 years. Using ECUs, owners of vessels that have been coated with semiconductor coatings can benefit from reduced fuel and maintenance costs, longer life for the vessel's plating and improved overall ship use as a result of increased average speeds in its application and reduced annual maintenance time in the dock.

With regard to water tanks and water towers, the ECU-controlled system for reducing corrosive noise according to the present invention has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, EP1, Pörösiop Adepsu) for use in potable water tanks. It is expected that with proper application and with the use of an ECU, the service life of the coating will be extended to the estimated durability of the reservoir. As a result of this durability, water tank owners will not be forced to spend money on re-coating, which is assumed when using protective coatings.

- 14 007147

Obviously, in the light of the principles outlined above, various modifications and changes are possible in the present invention. Therefore, it is necessary to understand that, within the scope of the appended claims, in practice, the present invention may be implemented in a manner other than specifically described herein.

Claims (50)

CLAIM 1. A system for controlling corrosion of a conductive structure in contact with a corrosive environment, comprising a coating containing semiconductor particles and located on said conductive structure; a filter connected to said coating and having a controlled filtration characteristic; and an electronic control device connected to said filter, having a connection with at least one of a local sensor, a database and a remote control device and configured to control said controlled filtering characteristic in accordance with at least one of a locally measured parameter, a stored parameter and remotely received signal. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said controlled filtering characteristic is an impedance corresponding to a low pass filter or notch filter. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein said filter comprises at least one of an active filter; tunable passive filter and non-tunable passive filter. 4. The system of claim 3, wherein said filter is a plurality of passive filters, and wherein said controlled filtering characteristic is controlled by switching from one of said plurality of passive filters to another of said plurality of passive filters. 5. The system according to claim 3, in which said filter is a single tunable passive filter. 6. The system of claim 1, wherein said locally measured parameter comprises at least one of a corrosion noise parameter; mineralization parameter; temperature parameter; geographical location parameter; time parameter; solution purity parameter; speed parameter; depth parameter and pressure parameter. 7. The system of claim 1, wherein said stored parameter comprises at least one of the coating date of said object; parameter of the position of the object; parameter history of the working cycles of the semiconductor coating; parameter of the position of the object; the shape parameter of the covered area and the speed history parameter of the object. 8. The system of claim 1, wherein said conductive structure comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of ferrous metals and conductive non-ferrous metals. 9. The system of claim 8, in which said metal is steel. 10. The system of claim 8, in which said metal is aluminum. 11. The system of claim 1, wherein said conductive structure is selected from the group consisting of ships, offshore structures, oil drilling rigs, power plants and underwater structures. 12. The system of claim 1, wherein said semiconductor coating comprises a conductive organic polymer and one or more metals, metal alloys, and non-metallic semiconductor materials. 13. The system of claim 12, wherein said conductive organic polymer is a component selected from the group consisting of polyacetylenes, polyphenylenes, polyfuranes, polythiophenes, polypyrroles, polyarylenevinylenees, polyanilines, and their doped compositions. - 15 007147 14. The system of claim 12, wherein said one or more metals or metal alloys contains a metal selected from the group consisting of Ζη, Τι, A1, Ca, Ce, MD, Ba, C§, the corresponding metal oxides and their alloys . 15. The system of claim 12, wherein said one or more metals or metal alloys comprises a mixture of one or more metals selected from the group consisting of Ζη, Τι, A1, Ca, Ce, Md, Ba, and C§, and one or more metal oxides derived from them. 16. The system of claim 12, wherein said one or more metals or metal alloys is a zinc / zinc combination. 17. The system of claim 11, wherein said semiconductor coating further comprises one or more dyes or pigments. 18. An electronic control device configured to control a corrosion noise reduction system including a controllable filter and a semiconductor coating applied to a conductive structure, this device comprising a first terminal configured to connect with said corrosion noise reduction system; a second terminal configured to connect with at least one of a local sensor, a database and a remote control device and a control mechanism configured to control said controlled filter with a control signal sent via said first terminal according to at least one of the locally measured parameter, the stored parameter and the remotely received signal. 19. The device according to claim 18, wherein said controllable filter has a controllable filtering characteristic, which is an impedance corresponding to a low-pass filter or a notch filter. 20. The device according to claim 19, wherein said controlled filter is a plurality of passive filters with impedances that are different from each other, and wherein said controlled filtering characteristic is controlled by switching from one of said plurality of passive filters to another of said plurality of passive filters. 21. The device according to claim 19, in which the said controlled filter is a single tunable passive filter. 22. The device according to claim 19, in which the said locally measured parameter contains at least one of the parameter of corrosive noise; mineralization parameter; temperature parameter; geographical location parameter; time parameter; solution purity parameter; speed parameter; depth parameter and pressure parameter. 23. The device according to claim 19, wherein said stored parameter comprises at least one of the coating date of said object; parameter of the position of the object; parameter history of the working cycles of the semiconductor coating; parameter of the position of the object; the shape parameter of the covered area and the speed history parameter of the object. 24. The device according to claim 19, in which said conductive structure comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of ferrous metals and conductive non-ferrous metals. 25. The device according to paragraph 24, in which the said metal is steel. 26. The device according to paragraph 24, in which the aforementioned metal is aluminum. 27. The device according to claim 19, in which the said conductive structure is selected from the group consisting of ships, offshore structures, oil drilling rigs, power plants and underwater structures. 28. The device according to claim 19, in which the said semiconductor coating contains a conductive organic polymer and one or more metals, metal alloys and non-metallic semiconductor materials. 29. The device according to p. 28, wherein said conductive organic polymer is a component selected from the group consisting of polyacetylenes, polyphenylenes, polyfurans, polythiophenes, polypyrroles, polyarylenevinylenes, polyanilines and their doped compositions. - 16 007147 30. The device according to clause 29, in which the aforementioned one or more metals or metal alloys contains a metal selected from the group consisting of Τη, Τι, A1, Ca, Ce, Md, Ba, Sk, the corresponding metal oxides and their alloys. 31. The device according to p. 28, wherein said one or more metals or metal alloys contains a mixture of one or more metals selected from the group consisting of Ζη, Τι, A1, Ca, Ce, MD, Ba, and Sk, and one or more metal oxides derived from them. 32. The device according to p, in which the aforementioned one or more metals or metal alloys is a combination of zinc / zinc oxide. 33. The device according to p, in which the aforementioned semiconductor coating with an organic polymer further comprises one or more dyes or pigments. 34. A method of preventing corrosion of a conductive structure in contact with a corrosive environment, which consists in connecting an electronic control unit with a controlled filter, which is connected to a semiconductor coating located on said conductive structure; filtering corrosive noise in said semiconductor coating using said controlled filter; track at least one parameter associated with the corrosion of said semiconductor coating; and adjust the filtering characteristic of said controlled filter in accordance with said at least one parameter. 35. The method of claim 34, wherein said filtering characteristic is an impedance corresponding to a low pass filter or notch filter. 36. The method of claim 34, wherein said controlled filter is a plurality of passive filters that differ from each other by at least said filtering characteristic, and wherein said filtering characteristic is controlled by switching from one of said multiple passive filters to another of the above many passive filters. 37. The method according to clause 34, in which the aforementioned controlled filter is the only tunable passive filter. 38. The method according to clause 34, in which the mentioned at least one parameter contains a parameter of corrosive noise; mineralization parameter; temperature parameter; geographical location parameter; time setting; solution purity parameter; speed parameter; depth setting; pressure parameter; the date of coating the said object; parameter of the object's position history; the history parameter of the duty cycles of the semiconductor coating; parameter of the object's position history; the shape parameter of the covered area and the speed history parameter of the object. 39. The method of claim 34, wherein said conductive structure comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of ferrous metals and conductive non-ferrous metals. 40. The method of clause 39, wherein said metal is steel. 41. The method according to claim 39, wherein said metal is aluminum. 42. The method according to clause 34, in which the aforementioned conductive structure is selected from the group consisting of ships, offshore structures, oil drilling rigs, power plants and underwater structures. 43. The method according to clause 34, in which the aforementioned semiconductor coating with an organic polymer contains a conductive organic polymer and one or more metals, metal alloys and non-metallic semiconductor materials. 44. The method according to claim 43, wherein said conductive organic polymer is a component selected from the group consisting of polyacetylenes, polyphenylenes, polyfurans, polythiophenes, polypyrroles, polyarylenevinylenes, polyanilines and their doped compositions. 45. The method of claim 43, wherein said one or more metals or metal alloys comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of Ζη, Τι, A1, Ca, Ce, Md, Ba, Ck, the corresponding metal oxides and their alloys. - 17 007147 46. The method of claim 43, wherein said one or more metals or metal alloys comprises a mixture of one or more metals selected from the group consisting of Ζη, Τΐ, A1, Oa, Ce, Mg, Ba, and Sb, and one or more metal oxides derived from them. 47. The method of claim 43, wherein said one or more metals or metal alloys is a zinc / zinc combination. 48. The method according to and 43, in which the said semiconductor coating with an organic polymer further comprises one or more dyes or pigments. 49. A corrosion prevention system for a conductive structure in contact with a corrosive environment and coated with a semiconductor coating, comprising means for filtering corrosive noise in said semiconductor coating; control means for at least one parameter associated with the corrosion of said semiconductor coating; and setting means of said electronic filter in accordance with said at least one parameter. 50. The system according to and 49, in which the said control device includes a computer software product.