Let’s Talk About the Role of a Coating Inspector During a Failure Investigation
Inspectors hope to never have to participate in a failure investigation or dispute resolution. But if you do, it’s important to be prepared.
Coating Failure
Analysis of Coating Blister Failures and Associated Coating and Substrate Risks
Blistering is a common coating failure, and for many years, the causes and mechanisms of blistering have been studied to characterize and determine the effects on coating performance and underlying substrates. These studies have led to a better, but still incomplete, understanding of blistering and its effects on a substrate, such as corrosion. Several different …
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Delamination of a Coating from a Ship’s Hull
Unlike many industrial structures, ships often contain a variety of multi-layer coating systems on a single vessel, and even on the exterior hull itself, often including a complex sequence of anticorrosive layers followed by antifouling layers. This article focuses on the recoating of a ship’s exterior hull that resulted in catastrophic failure before the ship …
Investigating Failure: Considerations for Reconstruction of a Bridge Exhibiting Staining
When a large-scale bridge is in need of significant reconstruction, many factors should be considered prior to initiation of the project. Part of this particular reconstruction involved repainting of the structural steel on a 40-foot-wide lift bridge that had a total length (including approaches) of 2,877 feet, with a main span of 418 feet. The …
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Airport Jet Fuel Piping Lining Issues
An international airport was in the midst of an expansion project. As part of the project, 24-inch-diameter jet fuel piping was being installed by a subcontractor hired by the general contractor that was directly hired by the owner to manage the project. The piping manufacturer installed both the interior and exterior linings. According to the …
Collect with Care: How to Effectively Gather Paint Samples for Off-Site Analysis
When paint is blistering and peeling, laboratory analysis is often required to determine the cause. But what types of samples are needed, and how should the samples be collected? These are important questions, as the greatest sources of error faced by laboratories when analyzing coating failures occur before the box of samples is even opened. …
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Application of Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) in the Analysis of Coating Failures
For clear, magnified images and quick, targeted analyses of elemental composition, SEM-EDS is the method of choice. Introduction. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) can be used to examine samples at very high magnifications – up to 1 million times! The analysis of coating failures with an SEM typically only uses magnifications up to 10,000X, however, …
The Missing Piece: Collaborations Between Field Investigators and Laboratory Chemists
Chances are, you have seen at least one procedural cop drama over the years. These shows all tend to follow a fairly standard formula: the crime occurs, the investigator is called in, the investigator gathers clues and interviews suspects, evidence is sent to a laboratory to confirm or refute theories, and by the end of …
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The Sky is Falling! Or is it Paint Chips? Failure of a Dry-Fall Coating Applied to the Interior of Previously Painted Metal Decking
This Month’s Case Was Selected From Several Investigations Related To Failures That Occur When Applying Coating To The Underside Of Metal Deck Panels (Fig. 1). This Case Focuses On An Adhesion Failure Of Coatings Applied To Previously Painted Deck Panels. A paint contracting company was hired to apply an epoxy ester dry-fall coating to portions …
A Logical Approach to Coating Failure Investigations
No one wants a coating to fail prematurely; not the general contractor, the painting contractor, the owner, or the specification writer. Coating failures lead to costs that are unaccounted for, project delays, equipment having to be out of service, liquidated damages, and oftentimes litigation. Like automobile accidents, coating failures occur even though everyone is trying …
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