Corrosion and corrosion protection in ma

Corrosion and corrosion protection in
marine environment

Anders Rosborg Black
Specialist, FROSI O Level I I I I nspector
FORCE Technology, Denmark

Outline

• I ntroduction to atmospheric corrosion in marine
environment
• Paint and protective coating systems
• Why pre-treat?
• Repair and maintenance
• I nspection

Corrosion – a major cost
Estimated costs: 3-4 % of GDP

1/ 3 can be prevented by use of
existing knowledge

1/ 3 can be prevented by
research/ development
1/ 3 is too expensive to prevent

Atmospheric corrosion of steel
What affects the atmospheric corrosion rate of steel?:



Moisture (time of wetness)



Oxygen, temperature



Air pollution, industrial atmosphere
(SO2, NOx, sooth)




Chlorides, marine atmosphere



Dirt, hygroscopic salts



Galvanic impact

Atmospheric corrosion of steel

I mpact from water and moisture may occur due to:


Rainfall, snow




Condensation due to changes in temperature



I mpact from wet materials (wet wood, cardboard etc.)



Absorption of water:
a) Moisture retaining and corrosive salts on the steel surface
b) Pollution (gaseous) in the air



Design (crevices, debris traps etc)

Corrosion, moisture retention

Korrosionshastighed

Corrosion rate

The significance of pollution/ salts on the steel surface

CaCl2

NaCl

Clean steel
Ren
surface
ståloverflade

0%

Relative
Relativ
humidity
luftfugtighed
25%


50%

75%

100%

DS/ EN I SO 12944-2 corrosivity categories

Corrosivity
categori

Examples of typical environments in a
temperate climate (informative only)

Mass loss per unit surface/ thickness loss
( after first year of exposure)
Low -carbon steel

Exterior


C1
very low
C2
low
C3
medium
C4
high
C5-I
very high
(industrial)
C5-M: very
high (marine)

Atmospheres with low level of pollution. Mostly
rural areas.
Urban and industrial atmospheres, moderate
sulphur dioxide pollution. Costal areas with low
salinity.

Industrial areas and coastal areas with
moderate salinity.

Zinc

Mass loss
g/ m 2

Thickness
loss
µm

Mass loss
g/ m 2

Thickness
loss
µm

≤ 10


≤ 1.3

≤ 0.7

≤ 0.1

> 0.7 – 5

> 0.1 – 0.7

> 10 – 200 > 1.3 – 25
> 200 –
400

> 25 - 50

> 5 – 15

> 0.7 – 2.1


> 400 –
650

> 50 – 80

> 15 – 30

> 2.1 – 4.2

Industrial areas with high humidity and
aggressive atmosphere.

> 650 1500

> 80 – 200

> 30 - 60

> 4.2 – 8.4


Coastal and offshore areas with high salinity.

> 650 1500

> 80 - 200

> 30 - 60

> 4.2 – 8.4

Refineries are placed in coastal areas. Depending
on the location the corrosivity category may be C4 or C5.

How to limit corrosion










Correct material selection
Organic coatings - paint
I norganic coatings – metallising/ galvanising
Cathodic protection
Good surface preparation
Regards to the corrosivity category
Other measures

Paint and protective coating systems

Why paint?



Decoration



I dentification/ I mage



Warning/ Safety



Camouflage



Specific properties: Cleaning, anti-slippage

• Protect

Resin – film formation

Chemically curing:

+
Physically drying:

Wet paints - overview




Physically drying:
Acrylic: For items not in marine environments and for repairs.



Chemically curing:



Oxidatively curing alkyd: For items in non-aggressive environments (C1 = > C4)



Epoxy: For items in aggressive environments



Polyurethane: For items for which colour fastness is important

Wet protective coating system - C4

Corrosivity category C4

Physically drying

Chemically curing

Acrylic primer

80 µm Epoxy primer

Acrylic intermediate coat
Acrylic topcoat

80 µm 80 µm Polyurethane topcoat

180 µm
60 µm

Wet protective coating system, C5-I
and C5-M

Corrosivity categories C5-I and C5-M

Physically drying
-

Chemically curing
ZnEpoxy primer
Epoxy intermediate coat
Polyurethane topcoat

60 µm
200 µm
60 µm

Paint systems for low-alloy carbon steel for corrosivity
categories C5-I and C5-M

DS/ EN I SO 12944-5,
table A.5

Thermal spraying (metallisation)



Methods
– Flame spraying (powder/ wire)
– Arc spraying



Metals for corrosion protection
– Zinc
– Zinc/ aluminium (85/ 15)
– (Aluminium)



Application
– As corrosion protection alone (100, 150, 200 µm), e.g. as CUI
– As corrosion protection for joints in hot-dip galvanised constructions
– As “primer” in a protective coating system (40-60 µm)
– Used for bridges and wind turbines as part of a “duplex system”

Why pre-treat?

Surface contamination must be removed

Why pre-treat?
Avoid osmotic blistering:

Avoid flaking:

Create a surface profile:

Contaminants

• Salts
• Oil
• Grease
• Dust
• Mill scale
• Rust
• Old coating

Preliminary pre-treatment

• Cleaning:
–Degreasing in order to remove oil,
grease and salts

• Method:
– cleaning by water/ steam
– emulsion cleaning
– alkali degreasing
– solvent cleaning

Manual or mechanical pre-treatment

• Methods
– steel brush
– grinding
– cutting/ chipping

”Almet” - files

”Bristle Blaster”

Mechanical pre-treatment – abrasive
blast cleaning

Abrasive blasting, dry

Effect:

Examples:
Sandblasting
Centrifugal blasting
Vacuum-sandblasting

I mpact
Abrasion
E = ½ mv 2 ~ speed (pressure) is
important!

Mechanical pretreatment- abrasive blasting

Mechanicaa pre-treatment sandblasting

Examples:

Sandblasting, w et:

Wet abrasive blasting
Dispersion abrasive blasting
Sandblasting with liquid under pressure

Abrasives - types

Mineral ( natural) :

quarts
olivine
garnet

Mineral ( artificial) :

Copper slag
Aluminium silicate
I ron slag
Aluminium oxide - corundum
”sponge”

Metallic:

steel, iron
aluminium

Organic:

plastics
shells (nuts, corn)

Others:

ice
carbon dioxide
baking powder
(sodium hydrogen carbonate)
water

Steel surface qualities

A

C

B

D

Sandblasting - cleanliness

Cleanliness control according to I SO 8501-1:

I SO 8501-1: Sa 2½

Pre-treatment
Pre-treatment extends the corrosion protection

No cleaning

Flame cleaning
St 1

St 2

St 3 manual brushing
St 3 mechanical brushing
St 3 mechanical grinding/ sanding?

Sa 1

Sa 2
Sa 2½

0

2

4

6

8

10

Sa 3

12 Years

I nsufficient pre-treatment

• Painting on mill scale after 3 years in C4 environment:

UHP high pressure cleaning

Control: Surface treatment according to I SO 8501-4

Why pre-treat?

• Remove salts and contamination
• Remove rust and mill scale
• Create a surface profile (roughness)


- in order to prepare the item for surface
treatment

Repair and maintenance

Surface treatment cost



I nitial cost - investment



Service cost - maintenance



Lifetime cost – total cost

Surface treatment cost

Difference in lifetime cost

6 x maintenance

3 x maintenance

The maintenance process

The condition of the coating on large constructions should always be
inspected and reported on a regular basis.
Based on the aggressiveness of the environment the inspection interval
may be 1-5 years.

The maintenance process

I n general the maintenance process includes:



Condition assessment



Reporting, choice of method for repair



Surface treatment: Pre-treatment and application



Control

Condition assessment

Condition assessment may include:
Method

Technique

Purpose

Visual inspection

- Degree of blistering,
rusting, cracking,
flaking, chalking

I dentify coating
breakdown

Non destructive tests

- Dry Film Thickness
(DFT)

I dentify coating
thickness

Destructive tests

- Adhesion test (x-cut,
pull off )

I dentify potential
reduction in
adhesion/ cohesion

Laboratory analyses

- FTI R or solvent
dissolution test

I dentify coating type if
unknown

Condition assessment

I SO 4628-3:
Rust grade, corroded area, %
Ri 0

0

Ri 1

0,05

Ri 2

0,5

Ri 3

1

Ri 4

8

Ri 5

40/ 50

Ri 3 – 1% corroded

Repair

First:


Cleaning

Thereafter based on the old coatings condition:


I ntact, but matt and discoloured surface, Ri 0: Maintenance painting



Surface with spot rust, up to Ri 3 (1% rust): Spot repair



Corroded surface, Ri 4 and Ri 5: New painting

Repair

Why new paint w hen more than 1 % of the surface is corroded?
-

I n general a failure rate of > 15-20 % may be uneconomical to spot
repair

-

The percentage is based on the percentage area that will receive new
coating, not the area of visible failure

-

E.g. a small defect, 10x10mm may end up as a repair of perhaps 400500 mm in diameter if done correctly

Spot blasting and grinding

Cracked coating is ground and chamfered

Spot repair

Design should allow for maximum access
for maintenance and repair painting

C.G. Munger, NACE 1984.

See: DS/ EN I SO 12944-3 Design considerations

I nspection is crucial

• The coastal location exposes the structures to heavy stresses and a
severely corrosive environment.

• Coatings must withstand and protect against humidity with high
salinity, reflecting UV light (as well as tidal and wave actions).

Water, (salts)

Water vapour

Sunlight – UV radiation

Coating defects

Coating defects can be introduced in every step of the coating
process during fabrication:

• Steel quality / surface preparation
• Application ( + climatic conditions)
• Quality of the paint
• Handling

Furthermore defects w ill occur after prolonged
environmental exposure ( general breakdow n)

Control during the construction phase

I n order to avoid costly coating repairs, it must be ensured that all
application work during the construction phase is carried out in
accordance with:
- I nternational standards
- The owner’s specific standards
- The guidelines described in the paint’s technical data sheet

Many costly failures can be prevented by paying thorough attention to
the complete painting process - going from the specification stage
over the application process and to the final coating inspection.

Control

Relative humidity

Dry film thickness

Bresle-test

Wet film thickness
Adhesion