Performance Evaluation of a Commercial Polyurethane Coating in Marine Environment

A material evaluation study has been carried out to determine corrosion behavior of a commercial polyurethane coating system (Souplethane 5) in the marine environment. The coating system is solvent free, two-component polyurethane protective coating. The performance of the coating on steel and rebar concrete was evaluated by conducting different types of tests which include atmospheric exposure, immersion in 5% sodium chloride solution, exposure to splash zone in seawater, salt fog, sabkha soil burial, and electrochemical tests, which include potentiodynamic polarization and AC impedance measurements. Uncoated, coated, and coated scribed specimens were used in each study. In general, the coating showed good corrosion resistance in marine environment. However, the coated samples, when subjected to break under applied compressive load, showed partial or complete detachment from the substrate, e.g., steel and rebar concrete. This appears to be the major drawback of the coating while applying on steel and concrete structures.