The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) first published its current coating standard, ISO 12944, in 1998. Entitled Corrosion Protection of Steel Structures by Protective Paint Systems, this standard is intended to cover a wide variety of industries and service conditions involved in marine applications, including C3 Medium for coastal areas with low salinity, C4 High for coastal areas with moderate salinity, and C5-M for coast and offshore areas with high salinity. In a few short years, ISO 12944 has been widely adopted in Europe, North America and elsewhere by the industry. However traditional multi-coat epoxy systems are under pressure as manufacturers strive to reduce costs and speed up throughput times in an increasingly competitive global market. Many of the traditional epoxy and urethane systems require as many as 12 or more hours cure to handle; technology is now available that will cure much more quickly, in some cases in a matter of minutes. Traditional products often require force curing in order to achieve throughput efficiencies; products that set at cold temperatures will provide energy savings.
GL’s rapid cure polyurethane and epoxy coating systems provide the industry with an average reduction of 30% in application cost (direct labor), very fast productivity, sequential application and real-time QA. In 2003, US Navy concluded that when the rapid cure coating systems were used for navy ship tank preservation, the time savings resulted in a tank preservation cost avoidance of 20 to 25% during maintenance availabilities. US Navy described the adoption of the rapid cure coating technology as success stories in Navy asset protection.
GL also presents to the industry with its “Smart PU” technology – a novel, non-leachate, environmentally-friendly, and effective antifouling/fouling release polyurethane coating technology. The SMART PU combines 4 key characteristics of anti-fouling and foul release coatings together:
- Bi°Cidal functionality for killing broad marine bacteria
- Amphiphilic coating surface for preventing proteins and microorganisms from attaching
- Cross-linking for not losing its efficacy over time
- Low surface energy and smooth coating surface for fouling release
Examples of GL’s marine solutions are:
| Issue | Solution | Description |
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| Above water, standard exterior application for UV and corrosion protection for a service life up to 5 years |
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| Above water, standard exterior application for UV and corrosion protection for a service life up to 10 years |
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| Above water, standard exterior application for UV and corrosion protection for a service life of 15 years and up |
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| Below water, standard exterior corrosion protection |
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| Below water, critical exterior corrosion protection which requires anti-fouling properties |
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| Lining and immersion protection in potable water for operating temperatures up to 80°C |
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| Lining and immersion protection in standard non-potable water and wastewater for operating temperatures up to 50°C |
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| Lining and immersion protection for critical applications for operating temperatures up to 80-100°C |
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