ISO 12944

DEFG

This standard, which is both an International and a European Standard, has been given positive votes by both the International and European committees, and is now published in eight parts. It should be noted, that because of the approval given by the European committee, this standard will replace existing national standards such as BS5493 and DIN 55928. At present (early 2004) , working groups are meeting to update both parts 5 & 6, and work should be finalised late 2004/5. ISO 12944 states that it is designed for use by engineers who have some technical knowledge in the area of corrosion protection, as well as knowledge of other relevant specifications. Many will find the durability ranges to be extremely useful - this is the estimated time to first major maintenance (The durability can also be considered as the 'design life' of the coating system). The extent of corrosion or coating breakdown needs to be agreed between the interested parties with reference to ISO 4628/1 to ISO 4628/5. It should always be realised that much less effort is required to maintain a coating which has broken down to Ri2 (0.5% breakdown) than one which has broken down to Ri3 (1% breakdown), for example. The durability ranges considered are:Low Medium High 2-5 Years 5-15 Years >15 Years

and are assuming the coating has reached a breakdown level of Ri3. (It is emphasised that the durability range is NOT a guarantee time. It is purely present to help the owner of the structure estimate sensible maintenance times. The guarantee time is generally shorter than the durability range, and there is no simple relationship between the two.)

ABCDE
www.international-pc.com

Page 1

MJM/19/07/97/GD 24/02/2004

ISO 12944

DEFG
SUMMARY SECTIONS General Introduction Classification of Environments Covers the corrosivity of various environments and how these can be measured. Various anti-corrosive systems can then be specified for these environments. Design Considerations Deals with best practices in structural steel design from a corrosion prevention viewpoint. Types of surface and surface preparation Covers surface preparation - reference to ISO 8501, IS0 8502, IS0 8503, ISO 8504. Protective paint systems Typical paint systems by generic type for a given durability in a given environment. Laboratory performance test methods Laboratory testing of paint systems, particularly intended for those where sufficient practical experience is not yet available. Does not cover power tool cleaned steel specifically. Execution and supervision of paintwork Covers application at works or on site, inspection and follow up. Also deals with reference areas. Development of specification for new work and maintenance Describes how to prepare specifications for corrosion protection and ancillary issues.

ISO 12944-1 ISO 12944-2

ISO 12944-3

ISO 12944-4

ISO 12944-5

ISO 12944-6

ISO 12944-7

ISO 12944-8

ABCDE
www.international-pc.com

Page 2

MJM/19/07/97/GD 24/02/2004

ISO 12944

DEFG
ISO 12944 PART 2 CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTS

Defined from weight loss of metallic (low carbon steel and zinc) specimens over a defined period of 1 year (not more and not less). There are obvious differences in this approach because of change of climate on a yearly basis, but this certainly helps quantify the corrosivity of an environment.

ABCDE
www.international-pc.com

Page 3

MJM/19/07/97/GD 24/02/2004

ISO / EN 12944
TABLE 1 - CORROSIVITY OF ENVIRONMENTS
Corrosivity Category C1 C2 Very low Low Steel Loss Exterior Rural areas, low pollution, dry. Interior Heated buildings/neutral atmospheres. Unheated buildings, possible condensation Production rooms with high humidity and air pollution Chemical processing plants Swimming pools Permanent condensation and high pollution Permanent condensation and high pollution

DEFG
Typical D.F.T* for high durability 75m 160m

10 (1.3m)
10-200 g/m2 (1.3-25m)

C3

Medium

200-400 g/m2 (25-50m) 400-650 g/m2 (50-80m) 650-1500 g/m2 (80-200m) 650-1500 g/m2 (80-200m)

Urban and industrial atmospheres Moderate SO2 pollution Moderate coastal Cl) Industrial and coastal. Industry with high humidity and aggressive atmosphere Marine coastal, offshore ** High salinity

200m 240m (Zinc) # 280m (Non-zinc) 320m#

C4 C5-I

High Very high industrial Very high marine

C5-M

320m

I1 I2 I3 * ** #

Structures immersed in fresh water Structures immersed in sea or brackish water Structures immersed in soil (Refer to ISO 12944-2) Above thicknesses refer to multi-coat systems. Where single coats are applied higher film thicknesses will be required (see recommended ISO 20340 has been written specifically to address CSM Offshore corrosion protection Systems based on zinc rich primers and polysiloxane also meet the ISO 12944 performance requirements at 200m

specifications).

ABCDE
www.international-pc.com

Page 4

MJM/19/07/97/GD 24/02/2004

ISO 12944

DEFG
ISO 12944 PART 3 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

ISO 12944-3, which covers basic design criteria, is really outside the scope of protective coatings manufacturers. This can only be fully implemented at the New Construction stage or by major modification at a later date. Coatings are often expected to alleviate, or help to alleviate, corrosion problems due to design errors. In this instance, it could well be that different coating specifications would be required for these areas which could be thicker/more corrosion resistant than those used elsewhere. Typically, if a certain area was subjected to frequent ponding of rain water because of design, then either modification would be required to prevent this or a different coating system could be needed i.e. suitable for immersion.

ABCDE
www.international-pc.com

Page 5

MJM/19/07/97/GD 24/02/2004

ISO 12944

DEFG
ISO 12944-5 PROTECTIVE PAINT SYSTEMS

This section, and that on testing, are those most likely to be argued over and to provide the greatest areas of contention. In the areas of generic paint systems, almost every type which can be imagined has been covered, and what appears to me a series of quite complicated matrices have been put together. This part of the specification is already being reviewed to reduce the number of systems and to make the table more readable. Currently, for example, it is indicated that both solvent based alkyds and water based acrylics will dry at 0C: certainly we would not recommend this type of condition for water based, and on conventional alkyds an extremely negative effect would be expected. Note, the definition and rider regarding zinc rich coatings. This now becomes much closer to the SSPC SP20 definition than, for example, current British Standards. Minimum spot measured film thickness should be >80% of the specified target d.f.t. Recommended that maximum d.f.t. is not greater than 3x nominal d.f.t. (this is much greater than we would specify and would certainly potentially create problems). This is also hopefully to be changed. Reference is made to refer to paint manufacturers technical data sheet. Note, all references are to airless spray application.

ABCDE
www.international-pc.com

Page 6

MJM/19/07/97/GD 24/02/2004

ISO 12944

DEFG
TYPICAL THICKNESSES/LIFETIMES FOR VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTS (Refer to ISO 12944-5) Full system guides available at www.infrastructure-coatings.com

C2

80m 150m 200m 120m 160m 200m 160m 200m 240m *280m

Low Medium High Low Medium High Low Medium High (Zinc) High (Non Zinc) Low Medium High Low Medium High Low corresponds to 2-5 years Medium corresponds to 5-15 years High corresponds to >15 years

C3

C4

C5I

200m 280m *320m 200m 280m 320m

C5M

* Zinc rich primer/acrylic polysiloxane systems have demonstrated high durability for C4 and C5I environments at 200 microns.

ABCDE
www.international-pc.com

Page 7

MJM/19/07/97/GD 24/02/2004

ISO 12944

DEFG
PAINT SYSTEMS

Those shown are examples for several environments: Other systems having the same performance are possible. All paints for all systems shall be suitable for the highest corrosion stress of the given corrosivity or immersion category. Documentation or statement confirming suitability or durability of a paint system in a given environment - experience or artificial ageing tests where necessary.

The standard arranges systems in tables A1 to A9 as follows:A1,A5, A9 Others Table A1 Table A2 Table A3 Table A4 According to binder in the topcoat According to binder in the primer coat

Compilation table of systems for C2, C3 and C4. Systems for C2 (system not shown if it has high classification in A3, A4). Systems for C3 (system not shown if it has high classification in A4). Systems for C4.

Where a paint system cannot be allocated to one of the Tables A1 to A9, full information regarding:Surface preparation Generic type Number of coats Nominal dry film thickness shall be given in the same way as indicated in the tables.

ABCDE
www.international-pc.com

Page 8

MJM/19/07/97/GD 24/02/2004

ISO 12944

DEFG

There are an extremely wide range of generic coatings included in the specification, and really these can only be considered as examples. Basically, paint types used by all participating members have been included. No reference or allowance appears to have been made to recognise the effect of the introduction of legislation to reduce solvent emissions, and paint types whose use is being restricted for health and safety reasons are also included (although this is being addressed by the present revision committee). Also, as in almost all specifications, there is no allowance or mention of what are often perceived as key issues regarding coating systems, i.e. Drying times - handling times, overcoating times Maximum overcoating times Effect of application conditions

In general, more problems are encountered due to poor interpretation, ignorance of the above, or by use of coatings which are not sufficiently tolerant over a wide range of conditions. It is likely that most interest will be with the high durability systems, i.e. those with an expected life to first major maintenance of 15 years plus. With these it is also likely that the following environments will be most important:C4 C5-I C5-M High Corrosivity Very High Industrial Very High Marine

The C3 area of medium corrosivity will meet the 15 year requirements with most reasonable 2 or more coat schemes, giving minimum d.f.ts of 150-200 microns.

ABCDE
www.international-pc.com

Page 9

MJM/19/07/97/GD 24/02/2004

ISO 12944

DEFG
All coating systems, with the exception of those designed for immersion, are very multi-coat in type. This would almost certainly lead to a request from any contractor to reduce the number of coats and utilise higher solids coatings with higher d.f.ts. Some of the mixtures of systems, for example, overcoating alkyds with chlorinated rubbers, are not normally utilised.

When considering the actual schemes listed, the following points are worth noting:1.

2.

All specifications tend to be based on multiples of 40 microns, whereas in UK and many countries the multiples are of 25 microns, probably due to the influence of the US and 1 mil = 25 microns.

Additional Reading 1. www.infrastructure-coatings.com 2. ISO 12944 systems Guide

ABCDE
www.international-pc.com

Page 10

MJM/19/07/97/GD 24/02/2004