Method for Qualification of Coatings Applied to Wet Surfaces

Overview

Main Objective

The development of a test methodology which addresses the application of rehabilitation and repair coatings on wet surfaces is proposed. The method will encompass the extremes of wet surface coating application, namely a continuously wet and cold surface.

Public Abstract

The field application of a pipeline repair or rehabilitation coating usually cannot wait until ambient conditions become optimal. Wet surfaces are a particular problem. This situation can occur in obviously wet conditions such as rainy weather, but can also occur in less obvious situations in which the dew point in the air and the temperature of the steel are such that water condenses on the pipe. This situation is very common on pipelines which carry gas from underground storage caverns, for which the temperatures can be as low as 40-60F. The development of a protocol for determining the performance of surface tolerant coatings would open a new and necessary category of testing for pipeline coatings. While the same standard post-application coating performance tests could be evaluated, the application process itself would be controlled carefully. In this work, the test protocol is focused on the performance after application to a controlled wet surface.This objectives of this work are to (a) develop a test protocol to simulate the application of coatings to continuously wet surfaces in a controlled manner and evaluate their performance, (b) test several commercially available wet-surface tolerant coatings, and (c) perform field applications of 1-2 selected products to verify the accuracy of the test protocol and evaluation system.

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