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Nedox® NH-2 Protects Space Suits From Corrosion In Microgravity Swimming Pool

Nedox® NH-2 Protects Space Suits From Corrosion In Microgravity Swimming Pool

Smart coating solutions®, like Nedox NH-2, can protect your metal parts from corrosion and chemical attack in all kinds of hostile environments—including the world’s largest swimming pool.

At NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), astronauts practice their future spacewalking missions for the International Space Station in a pool that measures 202 feet long, 101 feet wide and 40 feet deep, holding 6.2 million gallons of warm, chlorinated water.

To simulate microgravity, scientists adjust the weight of the spacesuits until they become naturally buoyant in the water. The problem was, however, that the suits’ metallic locking mechanisms were in constant contact with the chlorinated water, causing them to corrode. To overcome this challenge, engineers contacted General Magnaplate. The company applied Nedox NH-2 to the metal locks—successfully protecting them from the harmful effects of the water.

Technical Benefits.

When it comes to corrosion protection, Nedox NH-2 performs better than other common industry coatings, including nickel plating, electroless nickel plating, co-dep electroless nickel and polymer-impregnated electroless nickel. For that matter, engineered coatings like Nedox NH-2 create harder-than-steel, permanently dry lubricated metal surfaces that resist corrosion, friction, stick-slip and galling.

In addition to aerospace applications, Nedox NH-2 performs well in chemically corrosive environments, including wash-down and uranium-enrichment applications with UF6 exposure. Nedox is also highly resistant to salt environments. For example, a 0.001" coating shows little or no corrosion after 14 months of continuous exposure to atmosphere and saltwater.

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