Marine Electronics are Susceptible to More Than Salt Water

UK – WORLDWIDE – One of the unseen dangers which affects all modern types of marine craft, from racing yachts to the latest container ships, is the corrosion which is inherent given the nature of the maritime environment they are required to work in. For crew members life at sea, and indeed in dock, requires a high degree of maintenance duties battling the effects of the elements but in an ultra-modern vessel there are even more insidious threats to technologically advanced electronic and electrical systems.

According to UK based outfit Versaperm, the latest technology is endangered not by liquid water, or even fuel, sloshing about, it is the vapours that come off them that sneak into electronics that cause the damage, permeating through the materials that actually form the walls and seals of any enclosure. Once these outer barriers are penetrated the vapours condense, become trapped and cause failure, just as can be seen in something more mundane such as a faulty double glazed window unit.

Whilst EVOH or PVOH can form an excellent barrier against liquids, water vapour for example can pass through almost unchecked, and Versaperm says the use of its latest marine permeability measurement equipment can calculate exactly how quickly the vapour seeps in under a diverse range of conditions,and with different designs, seals and materials, thus allowing manufacturers establish the best materials and manufacturing techniques for any particular system.

Such technology can also be used as a quality control tool and will offer a simple and accurate way to measure vapour permeability not just for water vapour but also for hydrocarbon vapour and most other gases including hydrogen, oxygen, solvents and CO₂. Results are accurate in the parts per million range for most materials and enclosures and one can characterise several separate material samples, seals or enclosures at one time, sometimes in as little as 30 minutes.

This system of testing compares favourably with conventional gravimetric measurements which can take several days, weeks or months and is significantly less accurate, whilst Versaperm also offers a vapour permeability laboratory service for companies that only need to test samples on an irregular basis.