to weather delays, the disturbing effects of abrasive
blasting during surface preparation stages and the need
for re-blasting or re-painting when the agreed coating
standard has not been achieved. Therefore, enabling
year-round coating work where required has become
increasingly important, particularly in Europe where
plunging temperatures in harsh environments often
prohibits or delays vital work.
The application, durability and performance of coatings
for these offshore projects requires the highest levels of
quality to meet the challenges presented by the diverse
types of environments and structures. Driven by customer
requirements worldwide, the coatings industry has
developed numerous products for a variety of different
needs.
Dura-Plate 301
Sherwin-Williams is meeting this challenge with its
Dura-Plate 301 line of products. To date, more than
15 million m
2
of steel has undergone protection from the
renowned suite of Dura-Plate 301 worldwide, including
offshore platforms, ships, steel bridges, refineries and
tanks.
For years, this technology has enabled durable
application over damp surfaces, flash rust, existing
coatings and with the comfort of excellent adhesion
sometimes reaching 25 MPa (3625 PSI), one of the results of
a technology designed to provide a 25 year service life for
offshore conditions.
One of the most impressive impacts of the
Dura-Plate 301 technology is the way it has transformed
the perception about the use of ultra high pressure water
jetting (UHP) as the preferred surface preparation method.
UHP has a number of advantages, namely reduced
environmental impact and better surface cleanliness. But
it also poses three challenges: the steel surface gets damp,
flash rust quickly develops before coating application and
no surface profile is generated. Conventional coatings
struggle to cope with such challenges.
Dura-Plate 301 addresses each one of these challenges.
It has become a symbol of the safe adoption of UHP
for high durability projects since starting its expanded
global use more than a decade ago. UHP water jetting,
offering reduced health and safety dangers compared to
abrasive blasting and potentially reduced labour costs,
is particularly relevant for the maintenance of offshore
structures, refineries, storage tanks, marine vessels, ballast
tanks and steel bridges.
This has included applications at onshore and offshore
locations in Europe on storage tanks at the Sines Refinery
– one of the largest refineries in the Iberian Peninsula
– and the Setubal terminal in
Portugal for Galp Energia as well
as projects in America, Brazil and
Singapore.
In order to meet the demands
of the market, the Dura-Plate 301
product line has been extended.
Working with key customers,
the technical team in Bolton,
Greater Manchester, has
researched and developed a cold
curing expansion of Sherwin-
Williams’ surface and humidity
tolerant epoxy technology,
keeping the same broader field
of application covering its use in
immersion as well as atmospheric
service conditions in offshore,
marine, industrial and construction
applications.
Sherwin-Williams has sought
to provide a balance of uses for
the Dura-Plate 301 technology and
Figure 3.
Effective ultra high-pressure water jetting.
Figure 2.
Offshore platforms present challenges.
64
World Pipelines
/
JANUARY 2015
