53 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE: VOL. 57, NO. 4 APRIL 2018
"e use of traditional coatings is low in
efficiency here, as you have to wait for the
first layer to dry before applying the next
one," Fanglei says through the use of a
Chinese-to-English translator. "Due to its
shielding nature, it is hard to detect major
flaws during construction, which may cause
the equipment to fail after being put to use."
Dual Choice
A six-man crew from regional contrac-
tor Jianghan Oilfield Hengshi Engineering
Construction (Wuhan) Co. was chosen for
the most recent job, which required utiliz-
ing a scaffolding system to reach the
entirety of the cannons at 78.7 ft (24 m)
high.
Working together and knowing the site's
climate issues, the contractor and client
opted to try an inorganic spray-on protec-
tive coating developed by scientists with
North Carolina, USA-based EonCoat, LLC.
e EonCoat product provides corrosion
protection for the metal through a chemi-
cally bonded phosphate ceramic (CBPC) on
the surface of the substrate.
In contrast to coatings that sit on top of
the substrate and bond mechanically, the
anticorrosion CBPC coating bonds through
a chemical reaction. Slight surface oxida-
tion improves the reaction, making it
impossible for corrosion promoters like
oxygen and humidity to get behind the
coating. e coating creates a ceramic shell
that covers the corrosion barrier. e pro-
cess has been tested by independent third
parties, and it has undergone thousands of
hours without corroding in an ASTM B117
salt spray test.
"EonCoat is perfect for the high-humid-
ity environment in coastal area construc-
tion," says Wang Zhijun, Wuhan's project
manager for the Ningbo assignment. As
Continued on page 54
The crew applied EonCoat at ~20 mils
(508 µm) on the towers and equipment.
They also sprayed PPG's PSX 700 siloxane
as decorative topcoat at 5 mils (~127 µm) in
red and white. Photo courtesy of EonCoat.