Flow accelerated degradation of organic clear coat: The effect of fluid shear

Flow accelerated organic coating degradation has been received attention, but the degradation mechanism is still not completely understood. In this study, we focus on investigating the influence of fluid shear on the degradation of organic coatings. A commercially available epoxy based clear coating was exposed to the laminar flow, and a 3.5 wt% NaCl solution was employed as the working fluid with a variety of flow rates. The change in the composition of the working fluid during the coating immersion was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) and conductivity measurement. The effect of fluid shear is also demonstrated by the change in coating thickness. The barrier properties of organic coatings were monitored inline by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) measurement. The time evolution of coating resistance, capacitance, and permittivity obtained from the equivalent circuit model was studied to demonstrate the internal composition change of the coatings due to the flowing fluid. In this study, the experiments and analysis confirmed that flowing fluid promotes the release of coating materials from the coating into the surrounding working fluid while it accelerates the transport of water and ions into the coating.