Evaluation and improvement of pipeline coating performance

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Steel pipes tend to corrode, i.e. become an anode and get oxidized, when exposed to moist soil or wet air. Coatings provide a physical and electrochemical barrier between the steel surface of the pipe and the surrounding environment. Selecting and applying appropriate coating systems capable of preventing or mitigating external or internal pipeline surface corrosion is critical for long-term pipeline integrity. This concern has specifically been raised by various stakeholders in the Oil & Energy sector when it comes to the several Alberta-to-tidewater pipeline projects in discussion over the last few years. Shawcor Ltd. is interested in developing new cathodic disbondment test method to assess the performance of its external coating products in rocky areas and where there is the potential for interaction with acid generated from the oxidation of natural rocks (i.e. sulphides). A reliable non-destructive test method to measure cathodic disbondment is also of significant interest to Shawcor and to the pipeline industry in general. Specialty Polymer Coatings, Inc. has interests in generating an economically feasible way to allow liquid epoxy coatings to adhere to the polyethylene layer of 3-layer coating systems as a solution to the problem of applying field joint coatings. Major Canadian pipeline operators and coating applicators also wish to evaluate the performance of pipeline internal coatings after prolonged exposure to water that might result in coating disbondment and to find ways to prevent the negative effect the water might bring to the coating integrity. This proposal describes the experimental plans to address the three topics described above. One postdoctoral and two PhD students will perform the research work on evaluating the performance of external and internal coatings, and exploring the feasibility and economics of field joint coatings, respectively. The ultimate goal is to facilitate these stakeholders in making coating selection decisions by generating new methods to assess coating performance and providing new criteria to select suitable coating systems for field application.