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Protective Coatings: Performance Evaluation and LifePrediction
 
Dr. Jianhai Qiu
 
School of Materials Engineering
 
Nanyang Technological University
 
Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639797
 
ABSTRACT
 
Methods used to evaluate the performance of protective coatings and their capability to predictthe service life in real environments are discussed in the context of the degradation process of acoating system. The accelerated tests based on existing standards (ASTM) are compared withsome non-standardized methods such electrochemical impedance and electrochemical noisemethods. Fairly good qualitative correlation of accelerated test results with serviceperformance has been reported. It is noted that these "accelerated" tests may not really yieldresults in an "accelerated" way as most methods require several thousands of hours of exposure and the they are often destructive in nature. On the other hand, electrochemicalimpedance and and electrochemical noise methods are non-destructive and non-accelerating innature yet they can produce quantitative or semi-quantitative results within a few days or evenhours. When real-life exposure tests are used in conjunction with the non-destructiveelectrochemical impedance/noise methods, realistic models for life prediction of protectivecoatings may be developed.
 
Introduction
 
Protective coatings is probably the most widely used method for combating corrosion. Steelstructures exposed to atmospheres, buried in the soil or immersed in the sea water are commonlyprotected with coatings either alone or in combination with cathodic protection. This broad term -"protective coatings" encompasses metallic coatings, inorganic coatings and organic coatings asshown in Table 1.Table 1 Types of Protective Coatings Type of Coatings Examples Metalliccoatings hot-dip galvanizing, electroplating, electroless plating, anodizing, thermal sprayingor metallizing, cladding, diffusion coating Inorganiccoatings porcelain coating, glass-lining 
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No matter how complicated the design and formulation of a coating system may seem to be, itsprotective properties all boil down to two basic functions:Physical Barrier Function - to separate the metal from coming into contact with a corrosiveenvironment Chemical Barrier Function - to control the micro-environment at the metal/coating interface Any factors that may influence how the above two functions work will have an influence on theprotective property of a coating system (for better or for worse). Some of these factors are coatingselection, surface preparation, application condition, inspection and routine maintenance. When acoating system failed prematurely, the coating's supplier, the contractor and the facility owner oftendo not agree with each other over the causes of the coatings failure and who should pay for cost of rectifying the problem. Sometimes lawsuits do arise from dispute of this nature. It was reported thata coating system expected to last for 25 years failed only after 12 months in service [1]! While it ispossible to compare the relative salt spray resistance of different coating systems, there is nostraightforward answer to the simple question of how long the coating will last. It is hoped that thispaper will bring the coatings designers/specifiers, suppliers, contractors and facility owners a stepcloser in the understanding of the pros and cons associated with various methods of coatingsevaluation and life prediction.
The Degradation Process of A Coating System
A brief discussion on the degradation process of a coating system is helpful in understanding thenature of various methods for evaluation and life prediction. The durability of a coating system isultimately determined by its capability to resist the ingress of moisture/water, oxygen and otherionic species such sodium and chloride (Fig.1). In addition to this barrier function, metal coatingssuch zinc or aluminum on steel substrate (galvanized or aluminized steel) can provide sacrificialcathodic protection to the steel substrate. Anodic coating material such as zinc and aluminumapplied on cathodic steel substrate represents a "safe" coating system in that at coating breaks,corrosion of the steel substrate would not be accelerated. In contrast, cathodic coating material suchnickel and chromium platings applied on anodic steel substrate ensues the risk of accelerated attack on the steel substrate at coating breaks. There is a general consensus that the service life of zinccoatings is directly proportional to the coating thickness/zinc mass. However, no such generalizationcan be extended to polymer paints. The service life of a polymeric coating system can be roughlysaid to be proportional to the diffusion time (for example, the time it takes for a critical amount of moisture, sodium ion or chloride ion to reach the Steel/Coating interface). Once the reactants reachthe Steel/Coating interface, corrosion of steel substrate can take place readily. Accumulation of voluminous corrosion product (rust) causes paint film to blister and this in turn accelerated theingress of moisture/water and other species into the steel/coating interface. Performance evaluationmethods can be based on the detection of the early changes in the dielectric property of a dryOrganiccoatings paints, vanishes, lacquers and numerous other polymeric materials that readily formdurable dry films 
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polymer paint film before any visible signs of staining or rusting occurs (stages 1 and 2 in Fig.1).The desirable attributes for the method of coating evaluation and life prediction is listed in Table 2.Fig. 1 Ingress of reactants into the steel/coating interfaceTable 2. Desirable Attributes for Methods of Coating Evaluation and Life Prediction 
Accelerated Tests for Performance Evaluation
ASTM B117 Standard Practice for Operating Salt Spray (Fog) Apparatus
 The first and most widely used accelerated test is the conventional salt spray (Fog) test whichcarries the standard designations of ASTM B117, BS3900-Part12 and ISO 7253. Salt spray was firstused in 1914 for corrosion testing and was standardized by ASTM as test method B117 in 1939.There have been many revisions with the latest designation being B117-97. As aqualifying/acceptance test, it does provide RELATIVE corrosion resistance information forcoated/plated metals exposed to constant static condition of 5% NaCl at 35
o
C. There have beenmany cases where the coated steel lasted thousands of hours in the salt spray tests but failedprematurely in outdoor service (Fig.2) [8]. There are also cases where a coating system performedwell in outdoor exposure but failed quickly in the salt spray cabinet. It has long been recognizedthat the coating's resistance to the salt spray environment can not be directly translated into theresistance to other environmental conditions. In fact, it states very clearly in the ASTM standardB117-97 that
"prediction of performance in natural environments has
 seldom
been correlated withsalt spray results when used as stand alone data"
. The natural environment is a dynamic and ever-changing one. The cyclic wetting and drying when the rain comes and goes, the temperaturevariation from day to night and the UV radiation from sunlight are all missing links in correlatingResponsive (rapid measurements from a few hours to a few days) Quantitative (quantitative parameter to describe the possiblecorrosion state of a coating system under real life exposure) Non-destructive (evaluation of real life structures in the field). Predictive (correlation with real life exposure performance) 
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EllenDeS

There where several sites that I viewed on Metal Corrosion Testing and Metallurgical Failure Analysis. This site http://www.msitesting.com/, is very comprehensive, looks like they are professionals in Metallurgical Failure Analysis and Corrosion testing, http://www.msitesting.com/corrosion-t...

reply02 / 23 / 2010
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