Protecting offshore structures from corrosion and abrasion damage is a constant and expensive challenge for operators.
Both abrasive and exceptionally corrosive, the marine environment is extremely harsh on marine structures like offshore platforms and rigs and ocean-going vessels, all of which are significant investments for the businesses that operate these structures. Corrosion affects all structures in the marine environment.
The marine environment can be extremely harsh on surface coatings, both in terms of wear and application. The most affected areas are superstructures, decks, ballast tanks, chains, and anchor wells. These areas are subjected to salt water, chemical chemicals, and abrasion.
A corrosion barrier needs to be assembled with toughness and flexibility and inert to the wide variety of marine-related agents. One approach to limit and reduce the impact of certain types of corrosion is by applying flexible surface coatings, which are immune to chemical damage from petroleum products and salts.
To increase the safety of people moving within vessels or offshore structures, spray-applied surface coatings with anti-slip properties make decks safe and provide walkways.
Protection of decks and platforms from abrasion
Applying coatings designed specifically for marine structures employed for oil and gas production oil or gas industry can help reduce the abrasive impact of drilling.
An oil rig deck with 14-meter lengths of drill pipes laid out before being pulled over the deck and then pulled up to drilling operations is susceptible to significant damage caused by abrasive. Most surface coatings are easily abrasive and expose the metallic substrate for corrosion.
To prepare these areas for coating treatment, The deck’s surface deck is an abrasive blast to remove the existing coatings and shape the surface to ensure the best bonding for primer and a protective coating.
A Zinc-rich primer is then applied to the metal surface; another spray primer is sprayed. The top primers for this application do not have volatile organic components (VOC) properties and are easy to spray.
To provide the best protection for maximum protection, a thick coating with polyurea will be applied on the primed area to the size that is 3000 millimeters (3 millimeters). The final coating is chosen due to its resistance to extreme weather conditions, excellent flexibility, and high impact strength. Polyurea can cure quickly, which allows workers to walk on the surface in just a couple of minutes, meaning that a facility will return to operating faster.
Minimizing downtime is the most important factor to consider when applying any surface treatment. Spray coating can allow for quicker application with less disturbance to the operation. The rapid setting coating will be set within just 6 minutes. In contrast to other coatings made of pure polyureas, they aren’t adversely affected by temperature or ambient humidity in the application. This is a crucial factor to consider when it comes to offshore operations.
Coating Protrusions in Decking
In the places where pipes and other devices can penetrate through the deck parts of offshore structures, liquids mustn’t flow down the pipes into the sea below. Most offshore rigs will cover the pipe penetrations with a rubber boot secured to the pipe and the deck. But, the rubber in both the boots and glue can be damaged through UV light and salt exposure within just a few months.
To extend the lifespan of deck penetration boots, butyl rubber and the steel surfaces surrounding it are typically cleaned and scuffed before applying a suitable primer. It is essential to ensure that all loose coatings, such as oils and dirt, are removed thoroughly before applying the new membrane. The pipes, equipment, and deck surfaces should be covered to protect against spraying.
Applying the polyurea coating with an amount of 2000 microns and greater and then extending 50mm across the pipe and 100 millimeters onto the deck creates an air-tight weatherproof, flexible and flexible connection to all deck penetrations, providing the long-term durability needed by the marine industry. Marine industry.
Polyurea Coating Specifications
Pure polyureas are created when the liquid isocyanate is mixed at extreme pressure using an amine-driven solution for resin. Isocyanates react because the double bond that connects the carbon atom to the oxygen and nitrogen atoms is easily broken into single bonds in this more solid tetrahedral shape around the carbon atoms.
Certain kinds of polyureas can be found in a double-component solution mixed under high temperatures and pressure (3000 Psi, at 65oC) inside a specially designed spray apparatus. When applied to the surface, superior chemical cross-linking creates a tough and flexible layer. The density makes the coating nearly impervious to abrasion, water, and chemicals.
A surface with a polyurea coating is simple to clean, maintain and then recoat as needed. Pure polyurea coatings can be cured rapidly to create a smooth surface that can be walked upon without harm within less than a minute. Another benefit is allowing polyurea to spray up to 6000 microns (and higher) on a sloped or vertical surface without sagging and flowing.
Epoxies and paints produce an impenetrable, rigid shell, whereas pure polyurea coatings’ flexible nature enables them to adapt to the expanding and contracting of the base structure when temperatures change.
