New anti-corrosion fluoropolymer coating system for steel infrastructure in extreme environments

 
Global climate change poses new challenges in protecting steel infrastructure from corrosion, particularly in coastal regions experiencing record temperatures, humidity levels and rainfall. These extreme environmental forces, in the presence of salts and pollution, can accelerate corrosion of critical steel structures such as bridges, electrical utilities and telecommunications, increasing the likelihood of catastrophic failure. Conventional anti-corrosion coating systems are vulnerable to degradation under these same extreme environmental conditions and require costly maintenance programs, multiple time-consuming re-coats and in severe cases of neglect, early failure. This paper explores a novel multi-layer coating solution consisting of a topcoat formulated with an aqueous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) -acrylic dispersion that has demonstrated decades of exceptional coastal durability in architectural applications. Combined with an innovative cathodic primer layer and mid-coat, this system demonstrates benefits in ultraviolet radiation durability, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and corrosion resistance when compared to conventional anti-corrosion coating systems.