Corrosion protection of powder coatings : Testing the barrier properties and adhesion of powder coating on aluminum for predicting corrosion protection by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy

Sammanfattning: The choice of corrosion protection system depends on the environment and needed lifetime for the product. The right corrosion protection should be selected in a sustainable point of view, since a well-selected coating system can reduce the environmental and economical impact, by using less and better material. The systems used for classifying corrosion protection often give a passed/not passed result for the number of years it is expected to last in a specific corrosive environment. In the last decades, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) has become a popular method for evaluating corrosion protection for organic coatings. EIS can collect quantitative data by monitoring the coatings electrochemical behavior over time, which can be used for optimizing the coating system. The purpose of this thesis was to try to predict how different combinations of coating layers and substrates will perform as a corrosion protection, which could provide information that can optimize the coating process. In this thesis, EIS has been used as a test method to evaluate organic coating systems for corrosion protection, by looking at barrier properties and adhesion for powder coatings on aluminum substrates. The main part of the coatings were applied in the coating plant at Fagerhult AB, but an external supplier has been used as a reference. The powders used in the coating process were based on polyester resins and the substrates were different aluminum alloys. The EIS measurements were performed in the chemistry lab at the School of Engineering at Jönköping University and depending on the sample setup was each sample evaluated for two or four weeks of testing. Two groups of samples had intact coatings and a third group had samples with an applied defect in the coating. The analysis of sample setups with intact coatings showed that the topcoat absorbed water faster than the primer. The samples showed no significant degradation in corrosion protection for the evaluated period and could thereby not provide enough information to be able to conclude which setup give the best corrosion protection over time. The samples with a defect in the coating indicated that two of the substrates provided similar adhesion in the coating-substrate interface. The coating from the external supplier was also included in the test and it showed the best adhesion of the tested samples. The main conclusion is that the coating system used at Fagerhult AB provides a very good corrosion protection. Longer testing time with EIS measurements on intact coatings is needed to be able to rank the different sample setups by failure of corrosion protection.