Promising Results of the Comparison of Coatings on Aged Bridges and of Same Coatings in Laboratory

Many factors contribute to the high durability of anti-corrosion coatings. The most frequently mentioned are: appropriate protection design selected for the operating conditions, type of protection-type of metal and/or coatings, surface preparation, and proper application. Particular emphasis is placed on the type of protective materials. A lot of research is also carried out in this direction. In this article, we want to show that the standard protection with an epoxy/polyurethane system with thickness as recommended in ISO 12944-5: 2019, without special active fillers, is able to ensure high durability in a C4/C5 environment. This is confirmed by the presented results of electrochemical analysis, visual evaluation of coatings and adhesion of coatings and allows the use of well-known, inexpensive paint systems, assuming greater emphasis on their proper application. The results of the assessment of coating systems on bridges were used for comparison with the results obtained in various types of accelerated tests of the same coating systems and to make the selection of the optimal version of the laboratory tests.