Research project: Improved Testing Methodologies for Evaluating the Performance of Paint Systems and Materials

Current testing methodologies for appraising the performance of coating systems rely on the use of standard tests which are often far removed from the environments that will be experienced in operational conditions.  Consequently, although coatings pass these standard tests they can prematurely fail in-service, leading to corrosion and wear of components and their subsequent failure.  This has been observed, for example, on chromate-free systems, where performance under accelerated test conditions such as salt spray have shown equivalent resistance to corrosion as that exhibited by the well proven chromate systems.  When deployed, however, the performance of these non-chromated systems has proved disappointing when compared to chromate-containing paints.  This is because the environment often encountered by the coatings bears little resemblance to the original screening technique used to select the preferred options.

Industrial Partner: Dstl