Development of zinc-based coating for corrosion protection of bus frames

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Corrosion of metallic materials results in their degradation and potential failure, ultimately requiring their repair or replacement. Corrosion damage affects all aspects of modern civilization, including infrastructure (e.g., highway bridges, railroads, HazMat storage), utilities (e.g., gas distribution, telecom and pipelines), transportation (e.g., vehicles, ships, aircraft) and production & manufacturing (e.g., food processing, petroleum refining, pulp & paper). In Canada, the direct and indirect cost caused by corrosion has been estimated at ~$70 billion. Corrosion management systems have been developed over the decades. Currently, application of protective paints and coatings has proven to be one of the most economic and effective methods to manage and mitigate corrosion damage. Axalta Coating Systems develops, fabricates and markets diverse protective paints and coatings for wide range of industrial applications. Their global market lead over the decades was achieved by consistent R&D programs into providing innovative solutions for coating performance to achieve corrosion protection. Axalta recently identified a significant opportunity to develop advanced coatings for the transportation industry (steel frames used during the construction of buses). This NSEC-Engage project seeks to establish a new collaboration between UBC and Axalta to enable the development of a new high-performance liquid Zinc-based coating system for protection of steel structures. Coated steel test samples will be prepared and subjected to electrochemical corrosion studies in diverse environments. The microstructure, composition, consistency, corrosion resistance, and protection ability for the new liquid coating will be quantitatively studied using advanced characterization techniques. The corrosion rate of the steel will be determined, and the effect of manipulating the coating's properties on the corrosion rate will be identified. Through direct participation of Axalta's R&D experts, the results will be immediately transferred to Axalta in order to achieve rapid transfer of knowledge leading to commercialization.