Facilities
CoaST covers the most relevant standard equipment and instruments for small-scale production of coatings, coating quality control, exposure and test and characterization. In addition to this, the department has a long tradition for developing specially designed exposure, test and characterization equipment when standard equipment and standard test protocols cannot provide the data we need.
Small-scale production of coatings
In research and development, small-scale production of coatings is crucial and feeds well into the sustainability when trying out new formulations. Small-scale production during a test phase also contributes to an increased sustainability in coating production. A range of equipment enable CoaST to produce coatings typically in batches from 5 mL to 1 L, but even up 70 L if needed.
Quality control in coatings production
A high quality coating usually guarantees a standardized life of the coating and its function, securing a longer service life of the substrate it covers. CoaST holds the most relevant standard equipment for controlling the quality of the wet coating, measuring amongst others particle size distribution, fineness of grind, density, rheology and the chemical composition of the wet coating.
Exposure – simulation of the relevant environment
Before a coating enters the market it must be examined whether it can meet the required standard. To do so, the coating is exposed to conditions that mimic the conditions it will encounter throughout its service life. In the laboratories, CoaST can expose samples according to present standards (i.e. for water resistance, chemical resistance and UV-light). Many of our exposure tests relies on accelerated testing.
Test and characterization
After exposure, the coating performance can be evaluated by a range of characterization techniques; e.g. Scanning Electron Microscopy for detection early crack formation and identification of corrosion products or Scanning Acoustic Microscopy that may reveal early signs of corrosion, loss of adhesion or cathodic disbondment.
CoaST Maritime Test Centre
The CoaST Maritime Test Centre is a full-scale field test facility located in Hundested harbour, Kattegat, North Zealand, Denmark.
For anticorrosion coating systems the CoaST Maritime Test Centre offers exposure in the atmospheric, splash/tidal and immersed zones. For fouling control coating systems the field station can handle systems for both pure static fouling testing and for static/dynamic testing (up to 30 knots).
Presently the Test Centre holds a capacity of 5200 fouling control samples and 8400 corrosion resistance samples. The peak season of testing is from around middle of April to around middle of October. In this period, an intense fouling pressure is observed.