U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations
| REPORT |
| This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information |
 |
| Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-12-044 Date: November 2012 |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-12-044 Date: November 2012 |
PDF files can be viewed with the Acrobat® Reader®
The Federal Highway Administration 100-Year Coating Study was initiated in August 2009 to identify coating systems that can provide 100 years of virtually maintenance-free service life at comparable costs to the existing coating systems, even in adverse environments. Eight coating systems were selected for the study—three three-coat systems consisting of organic, inorganic, and moisture-cured zinc-based primers; four two-coat systems with various combinations of zinc-based primers and organic top coats; and a single-coat system of calcium sulfonate alkyd. One design innovation feature was the employment of 18- by 18-inch large test panels that contained welding joints and angle attachments using bolts and nuts to closely simulate realistic conditions that are encountered in bridges in the field. All coating systems were evaluated under accelerated laboratory testing and three outdoor exposure conditions, namely natural weathering and natural weathering with salt spray in McLean, VA, and outdoor testing at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA. This report presents results of the performance evaluation of the eight coating systems.
Jorge E. Pagán-Ortiz
Director, Office of Infrastructure
Research and Development
Notice
This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document.
The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.
Quality Assurance Statement
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.
Technical Report Documentation Page
| 1. Report No.
FHWA-HRT-12-044 |
2. Government Accession No. | 3 Recipient's Catalog No. | ||
| 4. Title and Subtitle
Federal Highway Administration 100-Year Coating Study |
5. Report Date November 2012 |
|||
| 6. Performing Organization Code | ||||
| 7. Author(s)
Pradeep Kodumuri (SES Group and Associates) and Seung-Kyoung Lee (Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation) |
8. Performing Organization Report No.
|
|||
9. Performing Organization Name and Address SES Group and Associates |
10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) |
|||
| 11. Contract or Grant No. | ||||
| 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Office of Infrastructure Research and Development |
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Final Report |
|||
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
|
||||
| 15. Supplementary Notes
The Federal Highway Administration project managers were Seung-Kyoung Lee (Rutgers) and Y.P.Virmani, HRDI-60. |
||||
| 16. Abstract
The Federal Highway Administration 100-Year Coating Study was initiated in August 2009 to search for durable coating systems at a reasonable cost. The objective of the study was to identify and evaluate coating materials that can provide 100 years of virtually maintenance-free service life for steel bridges. Selected coating systems included three three-coat systems, four two-coat systems, and a single-coat system of high-ratio calcium sulfonate alkyd. All coating systems were evaluated under accelerated laboratory testing and three outdoor exposure conditions, namely natural weathering and natural weathering with salt spray in McLean, VA, and outdoor testing at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA. One design innovation was the employment of 18- by 18-inch large test panels that contained welding joints and angle attachments using bolts and nuts to closely simulate realistic conditions that are encountered in bridges in the field. This report presents results of performance evaluation of the eight coating systems. |
||||
| 17. Key Words
One-coat, Two-coat, Three-coat, Steel bridge coatings, Corrosion protection, Accelerated laboratory testing, Outdoor exposure, Coating performance evaluation |
18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161 |
|||
19. Security Classification Unclassified |
20. Security Classification Unclassified |
21. No. of Pages 58 |
22. Price | |
| Form DOT F 1700.7 | Reproduction of completed page authorized |
SI* (Modern Metric) Conversion Factors
