Lab Testing

Slip Testing

Understanding Slip Coefficient and Tension Creep Testing of Coatings Used in Slip-Critical Bolted Connections

2 Comments / Bridges, Coating Standards, Coatings, Lab Testing / By

Bridges, buildings, and other structures commonly include designed bolted connections of steel beams, girders, and other structural members using connection/splice plates of various sizes and configurations. High-strength bolts are used to secure the connections. The holes in the steel members and the connection/splice plates are larger (typically 1/16–1/8 of an inch larger) than the bolt […]

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Coating Failure

Clues to a Coating Failure

7 Comments / Buildings, Coating Assessment, Coating Failure, Coatings, Commercial, Inspection, Lab Testing, Roofs / By

A consultant follows the facts to discover why perfectly good, recently applied paint fell from a new steel ceiling and to find the source of the coating failure. It wasn’t like the sky was falling, but when large pieces of paint dropped from the roof deck onto machinery being installed in a newly built manufacturing

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Paint Consulting

The Case of Bubbles, and Pinholes, and Blisters, Oh My! -Coating Condition Assessment

Coating Assessment, Coating Failure, Coatings, Lab Testing / By

This month’s Case from the F-Files describes the problem of bubbles, pinholes, and blisters in a polyurethane finish coat applied to new structural steel members at a coal-fired power generation plant. Many of the pinholes and bubbles were so small that they were difficult to detect with the unaided eye. Many of the largest blisters

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When A Good Idea Goes Bad

Buildings, Coating Assessment, Coating Failure, Coatings, Commercial, Lab Testing / By

An American tobacco company owned a number of large buildings, essentially steel-framed warehouses covered with corrugated galvanized steel panels, at one of its facilities. The company used the warehouse buildings for the fumigation of the tobacco, during which the entire interior of the building is filled with a gaseous insecticide that kills tobacco-damaging insects. Unfortunately,

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Coating System Concerns for Single-Wythe Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) Construction

Buildings, Coating Failure, Coating Standards, Coatings, Commercial, Inspection, Lab Testing / By

Within a 20-mile radius of your home, you have seen one or more big box stores, strip malls, or other buildings with peeling paint on the exterior and/or interior surfaces. Failing paint and streaks of efflorescence are so common on buildings that it is hardly noticed until large sheets hang from the walls. While moisture

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The case of…failure in a filter house

Coating Assessment, Coating Failure, Coatings, Lab Testing / By

How long does it take for a premature coating failure to occur? The likelihood of failure is high shortly after application: from days to perhaps a year. In this month’s Case from the F-Files, a coating delaminated shortly after installation of the coated assemblies. Repairs were made, and the units went into service. Can failure

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Case Study: Roof Coatings Flunk Out

Buildings, Coating Assessment, Coating Failure, Coatings, Commercial, Lab Testing, Roofs / By

Premature coating problems on the standing seam roofs of two school buildings were an eyesore for the community and an issue for the school board that was trying to improve the school’s image. This article describes the site investigation, the forensic laboratory analysis, and what ultimately caused the coating to detach.Embarrassed that the four-year-old roof

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The Case of Surprise Blistering and Rusting on a New Tank Lining System

Coating Assessment, Coating Failure, Coatings, FBE, Lab Testing / By

From JPCL, July 2012 In this month’s F-Files, blisters formed in a lining system installed on the interior of a raw water storage tank that was constructed at a new power plant. Because careful quality control and quality assurance inspection measures were taken from the time blast cleaning began through complete curing of the lining system, it

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The Case of October Showers Bring November Rust Spots

Buildings, Coating Assessment, Coating Failure, Coatings, Commercial, Lab Testing / By

In this month’s Cases from the F-Files, rust spots became evident on the interior roof deck of a newly constructed, unoccupied warehouse. Were the rust spots a result of what was going on inside or outside of the warehouse? Background of the Project As a large warehouse building in the north-east U.S. that was being constructed

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