American Coatings Show 2018

Sessions Speakers Exhibitors Products Press Releases Show Specials Floor Plan Buzz

12.1 Broad Thermal Gradient Testing ISO 2812-5 Based (Room 234-236)

10 Apr 18
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Tracks: Session 12: Measuring & Testing II, Session 12: Measuring, Testing & Automation

Excessive use of fossil fuels and the threat of climate change have encouraged stakeholders to concentrate on renewable energy sources. In Europe, the demand for global energy is expected to increase steadily at an annual growth rate of 21% until 2021. The wind energy industry is increasingly moving into deeper waters. The advantages of locating wind farms offshore are the larger unrestricted space, limited environmental and social impact, higher mean wind speeds (and relatively low extreme winds), and the wind turbulence is lower. Since these are unmanned structures with limited access, costs of repairs are significantly higher than onshore repairs and they are expected to show higher reliability. Therefore, robust coating materials capable of tolerating extreme marine climates with minimal maintenance are required. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) is an important tool in the mechanical characterization of protective films with application in the offshore industry. DMA was performed on three different offshore wind turbine tower and transition piece coatings. The coatings were airless-sprayed onto silicone release paper to produce free films of different dry film thicknesses. It was determined that the physical and mechanical properties of the protective films are dependent on the coating thickness. The increase of the coating thickness reduces the storage modulus and glass transition temperature of the films, and increases of the stiffness and thermal expansion coefficient of the coatings. This knowledge can give an understanding of coating properties that could lead to further improvements in the coating and corrosion protection of offshore structures in general.