Evaluation of coating performance on carbon steel A-36 in copper concentrate environment using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

The presence of chalcopyrite increases the corrosion rate of carbon steel through a galvanic couple. In this study, five organic coating systems were evaluated for their strength against consequent corrosion in the presence of copper concentrate by electrochemistry impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement. The coating system studied are a single application epoxy coating (C1); a three-layer epoxy system with zinc-rich epoxy primer base coat, surface tolerant epoxy middle layer, and a top layer polyurethane (C2); a three-layer epoxy system that has the advantages of fast dry time consist of epoxy zinc phosphate base coat primer, the middle layer of the epoxy primer containing the pigment zinc phosphate and top layer polyurethane (C3); metallic pigmented polyurethane coating (C4), and an epoxy coating which can be applied to wet surfaces or in water (C5). All those systems have been tested by the EIS. The test results showed that C2, C3, C4, and C5 coating systems maintained good barrier properties during the immersion process, the low frequency |Z| is more than 108Ω.cm2 after 30 days of immersion exposure. Epoxy modified coating (C1) had the lowest impedance with resistance under 106 Ω.cm2 provide poor corrosion protection.

Substrate Cleaning Threshold for Various Coated Al Alloys Using a Continuous-Wave Laser

In this study, different coatings (gray epoxy primer, white epoxy varnish and red alkyd paint) of 7075 aluminum alloy are cleaned with a 500 W continuous-wave (CW) fiber laser. We analyzed the influence of the laser power density on the temperature evolution and target surface morphology. Under the condition of continuous laser irradiation for 1 s, the experimental results indicated that the suitable cleaning thresholds of epoxy primer, epoxy primer and epoxy varnish, as well as epoxy primer, epoxy varnish and alkyd paint were 177.74, 192.89 and 147.44 W/mm2. The results show that the cleaning threshold of thicker three-layer paint target was smaller than the single-layer paint layer, and we analyze the mechanism of this phenomenon.

The Interfacial Structure and Adhesion Mechanism of N-(2-Aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane and Epoxy Modified Silicone Tie-Coating to Epoxy Primer

The matching application of silicone antifouling coating and epoxy primer is a major problem in engineering. Novel epoxy-modified silicone tie-coating was prepared to tie epoxy primer and silicone antifouling coating. Firstly, N-(2-Aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane was mechanically mixed with bisphenol A epoxy resin to form silylated epoxy resin, then the silylated epoxy resin was uniformly mixed with hydroxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane and a curing agent and catalyst for coating. An infrared spectrometer, differential scanning calorimeter and tensile tests were used to investigate the chemical structure, phase transition temperature and mechanical properties of the tie-coatings. The interlaminar adhesion of the matching coating system was tested and analyzed by a peel-off test and a shear test. Fracture morphology was observed by scanning using an electron microscope. The results showed that crosslinking density of the tie-coating, the elastic modulus and the tensile strength of the coating increased with an increasing epoxy content, but fracture elongation decreased. The shear strength of the matching coating system is 0.37 MPa, and it shows a good tie performance. The maximum anti-peeling rate of the tie-coating on the epoxy primer reaches 100%.

Effect of under layer metallic coating composition on phosphating and the corrosion performance for automobile applications

Automobile coating system consists of a metallic underlayer followed by a phosphate coating and, lastly, multilayer organic coating. In this work, the effect of the underlying metallic coatings, namely, a Mg-Al-Zn alloy coating (Magizinc) and a conventional galvanized Zn coating on the phosphate coatings formed thereon, and its corrosion performance was investigated. The corrosion resistance offered by the phosphate coating formed on the Magizinc coating was higher than the phosphate coating on the galvanized Zn coating (a reference coating employed in the study) in NaCl solution, as revealed by potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and salt-fog tests. In-depth characterization of the phosphate coatings was carried out using scanning electron microscopy and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy. It was revealed that the phosphate crystals formed on the Magizinc coating were more fine-grained, compact, and crack-free as compared to that formed on the galvanized coating and contained Mg aiding 4-10 times increase in the corrosion resistance as determined by the electrochemical studies. However, it only improved marginally against the appearance of red rust in a salt-fog test over the unphosphated Magizinc coating. The phosphate coating on Magizinc marginally improved the adhesion of an epoxy primer coating applied on the phosphated Magizinc coating and significantly (>3.5 times longer exposure) retarded the deterioration of the epoxy primer coating in the salt-fog environment in comparison with the similar studies carried out on the phosphated conventional galvanized zinc coating. Notably, phosphating the Magizinc coating caused a ten times reduction in the H pickup compared to that in the galvanized coating under identical phosphating conditions, suggesting the former coating lowered the propensity for hydrogen embrittlement in the steel.

Corrosion Behavior of Laser Interference Structured Al 2024 Coated with a Chromate-containing Epoxy Primer

In this study, corrosion behavior of laser-interference treated Al20204-T3 specimens, which were coated with a primer, is presented. The surface of as-received Al2024-T3 specimens were laser-interference structured by splitting the primary beam of a Q-switched Nd:YAG pulsed nanosecond laser into two beams and focusing them to the same spot on the specimen surface. After being stored in plastic cases for up to 70 days, without any additional cleaning, the specimens were spray painted with a chromate-containing epoxy primer, CA7233, compliant to MIL-PRF-23377 Type I Class C2 specification. The corrosion behavior of laser-interference specimens was assessed against that of specimens prepared by chromated conversion coating and sulfuric acid anodizing treatments. After the ASTM B117 corrosion exposure, it was found that the laser processed specimens exhibited only few blisters. On one hand, most specimens prepared at a laser fluence of 1.78 J/cm2, without any additional chemical cleaning, were found to develop one very small blister after only 96 h of exposure. However, the growth of these blisters was not significant even after 1000 h of salt spray exposure. On the other hand, only a fraction of the specimens prepared at a laser fluence of 1.24 J/cm2 and acetone wiped right after the laser structuring, were found to develop several tiny blisters after 790 h and longer exposure. Overall, it was found that the corrosion damage was minimized at a laser rastering speed of 4 mm/s, condition for which only 33% of specimens developed very minor corrosion damage. The ASTM D1654 creepage ratings, which was used to evaluate the corrosion damage along the scribe lines, were found to be at least nine for all coated panels. These results indicate that the laser-interference technique with the additional acetone wiping has the potential to be further developed as a non-chemical surface preparation technique for chromate-containing epoxy primers coating systems.

Long-Term Atmospheric Aging and Corrosion of Epoxy Primer-Coated Aluminum Alloy in Coastal Environments

Aircraft are subjected to extreme weather conditions in coastal areas. This study reports long-term atmospheric exposure tests carried out on an epoxy primer-coated aluminum alloy in a coastal environment for 7, 12, and 20 years. The micromorphology and characteristics of the section and surface, the products of corrosion, electrochemical impedance, and molecular structure of the coated specimens were examined through a spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). The results showed that the angles of contact of the specimens with different numbers of years of atmospheric exposure satisfied the normal distribution. Their fractal dimensions increased with an increase in the duration of exposure. Intergranular corrosion and exfoliation corrosion appeared in the specimens after 20 years, where the product of corrosion was Al(OH)3. The impedances and thermal properties of the epoxy coatings were influenced by the synergistic effects of aging and post-curing. The impedances of the coatings decreased greatly after long-term atmospheric exposure. After 20 years of corrosion, the specimen showed the characteristics of the substrate being corroded. The mechanism of corrosion and the electrochemical equivalent circuit were also analyzed.