Radio frequency identification (RFID) based corrosion monitoring sensors Part 2 – Application and testing of coating materials

Cost-effective radio frequency identification (RFID) transponders (tags) were investigated for wireless corrosion monitoring by applying a metal filled conductive composite coating onto the surface of the plastic tags. The coating acted as an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield by attenuating or completely blocking the radio frequency signals transmitted between the transceiver (reader) and the tag. When the coated RFID tag was exposed to a corrosive environment through accelerated corrosion tests or marine atmospheric tests, the degradation of the coating decreased the EMI shielding effectiveness and resulted in a strengthened communication between the reader and the tag. By establishing a correlation between the corrosion rate of the metal object to be monitored and the sensor responding performance, it was possible to monitor cumulative corrosion damage via wireless sensor reading.