In the mid-1990s, the US Navy’s technical community, led by Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), recognized existing coatings used to protect the inside of ships’ tanks were failing on average 5-8 years after application. The high cost to blast and recoat over 11,000 tanks every 5-8 years, not counting submarines and aircraft carriers, was prohibitive. To address this issue, the Navy conducted a study to analyze the problem and decided to replace these legacy coatings with high solid epoxy coatings.1
Product Number:
51322-17996-SG
Author:
Guy Zanti
Publication Date:
2022
$0.00
$20.00
$20.00
In 2000, the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for Corrosion Science & Engineering began work on the Future Naval Capabilities’ Single Coat Program. The program aimed to reduce corrosion damage and maintenance time by replacing legacy, solvent-based coatings with high solids, single coat, rapid cure, MIL-PRF-23236D Type VII high solids epoxy coatings to the fleet.
In 2005, a US Navy ship’s seawater ballast tank coating had failed and needed replacement. The failed coating (applied in 1996) was replaced by a 100% solids epoxy coating system and the ship was returned to service. Follow-up inspections on the coating’s performance were conducted 15 months, 7.5 years, and 15.5 years after the lining was applied.
The 100% solids, single coat epoxy coatings system demonstrated that it was meeting the Navy’s goals of minimizing failures and reducing maintenance costs.