Introduction Industrial and marine protective coatings can provide decades of corrosion protection, provided the correct coating system is selected for the prevailing service environment, and that the coating system remains attached to the substrate it was designed to protect. Industrial coatings used in the water, wastewater, oil and gas, and nuclear power industries may be […]
Coating adhesion tests are used to assess the strength of several different planes, including the adhesion to the substrate, the adhesion of the individual layers of the coating system to each other, and the inner strength or cohesive strength of each of the coating layers. Some of the most common methods used for assessing coating
Assessing Coating Adhesion Read More »
Epoxy coatings are some of the most widely used materials in industrial and marine environments. Epoxy materials typically have excellent adhesion, chemical resistance and water resistance, which make them first-rate candidate coatings/linings for these environments. Epoxies are formulated as two component materials, with one component housing an epoxy resin and the other component containing a
The Formation of Amine Exudate (Blushing) of Epoxy Coatings Read More »
Introduction Ironically, the demand for improved water quality has made the service environment of wastewater treatment facilities even more aggressive, requiring higher performance coatings for corrosion protection. Environmental regulations have restricted the heavy metal content and required pH control of water discharged to wastewater treatment facilities. Prior to the implementation of these regulations, the microbes
Performance Testing of Coating Systems for Wastewater Service Read More »
Coatings technology for lining of tanks, piping, and vessels has rapidly advanced in recent years. Extremely tightly-crosslinked coatings are relatively impermeable, and specialty resins and pigments are formulated into linings specifically to perform in extreme environments. Why, then, is it critical to further scrutinize these lining systems by subjecting them to conceivably unrealistic temperature gradients
One-sided Cell Exposure Testing: For What Purpose? Read More »
Abrasive blast cleaning is the process by which an abrasive media is propelled through hoses and a blast nozzle by means of compressed air. The abrasive exits the nozzle at a high rate of speed (velocities approaching 650 – 1,700 feet per second) and as it impacts the surface removes existing materials and imparts a roughness (surface profile). The abrasive used
Evaluating the Performance Characteristics of Abrasive Media Read More »
Installation of a coating to a cathodically-protected pipeline or structure without first testing its resistance to cathodic disbondment can result in catastrophic failure of the coating. However, there are over twenty international standard test methods to evaluate a coating’s inherent resistance to cathodic disbondment; each with its own set of parameters and materials, which can
High temperature-resistant coatings are used in a variety of industries and markets to prevent corrosion of steel subjected to extreme temperatures while in service. There are several testing protocols that are used to evaluate the performance of these coatings; however, performance comparisons are challenging since there is little uniformity or consistency of the test methods.
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.
Collect with Care: How to Effectively Gather Paint Samples for Off-Site Analysis Read More »
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,