Laboratory of Tropical Durability
Head of Department: Ph.D. Hoang Thanh Long
Introduction
The Department of Tropical Durability is a research unit of the Southern Branch of the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center and was established in 1989. The department has the functions of carrying out scientific research, applying and transferring technologies, providing scientific and technological services, and training human resources in the field of tropical materials science.
Main research directions
- Research and manufacturing protective materials: vapor corrosion inhibitors, protective paints, hydrophobic coatings, descalers, and coolants for military vehicles. Research is carried out to protect materials and technical equipment from corrosion, aging, and biological damage during operation and storage.
- Researching surface treatment: Creating new materials and offering technological solutions to preserve and restore surfaces for metallic and non-metallic pieces in weapons and technical equipment.
- Providing testing services and transferring technology: Performing accelerated tests, natural tests and tests of mechanical, physical, and chemical parameters of materials and technical equipment to Vietnamese or international standards.
Facilities and equipment
- For the purpose of carrying out scientific research and launching testing services, the Department is well-equipped with a system of laboratories in the Southern branch (Laboratories of chemistry, electrochemistry, mechatronics, metallographic analysis, accelerated tests, etc.) and in Can Gio Applied Research and Testing Station (a system of experimental sites and houses for natural sample testing, analysis of test results, etc.). The laboratories meet the standards of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 (certified with VILAS 1236) in the physico-mechanical and chemical fields.
- The department’s equipment consists of more than 200 units, including electrical measuring equipment AUTOLAB 302N, Atlas CCX3000 Corrosion Test Chamber, Zwick/Roell Z010 TH Proline Tensile and compressing durability measuring equipment, Leco Spectrum SS1000, sample grinding and polishing machine, Weisstechnik Clime-Event C/1000/40/3 Thermo-humidity Test Chamber, UV Atlas Fluorescent/UV Aging test chamber, spectrophotometer lambda 365 uv/vis, PerkinElmer Spectrum Two FT-IR Spectrometer, Nabertherm N40/11 furnace, forced air convection oven Nabertherm TR 240, multi-purpose weather station, etc.
Main results
Completed about 60 scientific and technological topics and tasks of all levels. More than 60 scientific articles have been published, including 20 international articles published in ISI, Scopus, and VAK journals; received 1 patent for an invention and 2 useful solutions.
Some outstanding results:
- Conducting numerous natural research and testing programs and accelerated tests to assess the durability and predict the service life of materials and technical equipment operating in the tropical climate of Vietnam; completing contracts for testing the mechanical and physico-chemical parameters of materials for domestic and foreign partners;
- Transferring technologies to some organizations: vacuum technology and the use of inert gases in the storage of technical equipment; cathodic protection technology for reinforced concrete structures of bridges and berths on the sea and islands; oil-contaminated wastewater treatment technology; technology of tropicalization for some types of technical equipment; technological process of preserving technical equipment with volatilization inhibitors; technological process of preserving optical instrument with anti-corrosion mold inhibitors.
- Contributing to the training of many engineers for universities such as University of Natural Sciences of Ho Chi Minh City, University of Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, etc.
Form of cooperation
Coordinating with units inside and outside VRTC to perform scientific and technological tasks, experimental services in the form of contracts, research cooperation, technology transfer, etc.
