Influence of AC-DC-AC Cycling with Hydrostatic Pressure on Accelerated Protective Performance Test of Glass Flake Epoxy Coating

Abstract

To achieve fast testing of the barrier properties of organic coatings, immersion tests, AC-DC-AC tests, and coupled tests of AC-DC-AC with hydrostatic pressure were conducted in seawater for a glass flake epoxy coating. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to characterize the degradation processes of the coating during the tests, and the surface of the coating was analyzed using an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). The results showed that periodic cathodic polarization coupled with high hydrostatic pressure can accelerate the degradation of a coating by facilitating the diffusion and uptake of electrolyte and the delamination of the coating. The coupled test method has the largest acceleration due to the synergetic effect of AC-DC-AC and hydrostatic pressure.