Service life prediction of organic coatings: electrochemical impedance spectroscopy vs actual service life

摘要

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is used to derive an expression for predicting the service life of organic coating in a C4-type environment (industrial and costal areas with moderate salinity) as defined in ISO 12944 standard for paints and varnishes—corrosion protection of steel structures by protective paint systems. Three coating systems with a record of 2, 5, and 10 years of durability were selected for the study. The selection was also based on proven composition and dry film thickness (DFT) of the coatings as per ISO 12944. Electrochemical impedance measurements of the paint-coated panels were carried out by exposing the coated mild steel panels without scribe in different corrosive environments such as immersion in NaCl solution, neutral salt spray, etc. Neutral salt spray exposure was found to be the most severe corrosive environment among all the three coating systems. In most of the cases, EIS gave early indication of coating failure when compared to visual defects such as blistering and over-film corrosion.