The Investigation of Performance Properties of the Epoxy/Glass Flake Composite Coating on Steel Pile Pipes

Abstract

Steel pile pipes used for offshore applications and port construction are subject to high levels of corrosion. To protect the top end of the steel pile pipe against aggressive corrosion conditions, the splash zone of the steel pile pipe is coated with epoxy. For a high strength offshore system applications, the requirement of the long term durability of coating was specified as C5 (H) Im2 according to ISO 12944. The coated specimens with glass flake reinforced epoxy were exposed to neutral salt spray (NSS) for 1440 hours according to EN ISO 9227 and examined adhesion strength of the coatings. The corrosion and adhesion results of the samples which are coated in single and 2 layers with a dry film thickness of 600 microns, were found to be suitable and the painting operation was applied on the pipe to specify application condition. When the application results were examined, it was seen that the sample with a dry film thickness of 600 microns, coated in 2 layers, met the desired requirements.