Polyethylene coatings in Europe: A look back on 30 years of experience
- Eupec Pipe Coatings GmbH, Essen (Germany)
- Ruhrgas AG, Essen (Germany)
Two-layer and three-layer polyethylene (pe) coating systems have been successfully applied in Continental Europe for more than 30 years, while in the USA and in the UK fusion-bonded epoxy (FBE) coatings prevail. The three-layer pe coating philosophy is explained with its specific features and advantages that lead to the so called ``purpose-designed`` coatings for the specific laying and operational conditions of a pipeline project. Taking into consideration the properties required of a high-quality coating, comparative testing has shown that multi-layer pe or pp coatings represent an optimum solution to the related problems. In the Continental European coating philosophy, mechanical impact resistance is the most important single service property of a coating system. In this respect, multi-layer polyolefin coatings afford a wide safety margin and stand up even to unforeseeable mechanical loads. A summary of investigations done on Ruhrgas` pipelines shows that the quantity and size of coating defects on pe-coated pipelines are considerably lower in comparison with bitumen coating. Most coating defects are located on field-joint coatings. For pipelines with high-quality coatings, the measures against ac interference caused by nearby high voltage lines are generally more complicated and expensive. In a few cases, disbonded coating has been found. Corrosion or stress corrosion cracking of steel under disbonded coating was not observed.
- OSTI ID:
- 237687
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9510266--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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