The accelerated laboratory ageing of coated steel by multiple thermal shock
has been proposed. Three polyvinyl coated steel panels exposed to natural
weathering for different periods (0, 3 and 6 years) were thermally treated
from temperatures of 20-65 degreesC. A new epoxy coating for tank protectio
n was treated by multiple thermal shock. Observed changes were interpreted
as a protective system degradation and explained on the basis of analysis o
f stresses within the coating system. It was concluded that the proposed pr
ocedure allows to distinguish the performance of different coatings in a sh
orter time compared to traditional laboratory exposition. (C) 2001 Elsevier
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