8th PSK Conference, Ostróda, Poland, 2014
8th Annual Conference of the Polish Corrosion Society “MODERN CORROSION PROTECTION TECHNOLOGIES"
Ostróda, Poland, 19-21 May 2014 · EFC Event No. 374
On 19–21 May at the Willa Port Hotel in Ostróda, the annual Scientific-Technical Conference of the Polish Corrosion Society (PSK) was held, which the 374th event of the European Federation of Corrosion (EFC). The slogan of this year’s conference was: Corrosion – One who asks never loses his way.
Guests of the conference included: Prof. Lorenzo Fedrizzi – President of European Federation of Corrosion (EFC), Józef Kozieł – President of the Federation of Associations of Technicians for Industry of Paints in European Countries (FATIPEC) and Prof. Pier Luigi Bonora – member of the Scientific Committee of FATIPEC.
The Great Corrosionist is a decoration awarded at each conference. This year, the jury, chaired by Aleksandra Baraniak, awarded the prize to Andrzej Królikowski, PhD, Eng.
At this year's Conference, the Polish Corrosion Society signed another agreement on mutual cooperation, this time with the Polish Chamber of Steelworks (PIKS). The first was signed with the Galvanising Association of Poland (PTC) in 2009 at the conference in Jurata. The agreement covers cooperation in the following areas: raising the qualifications of the members of both organizations in the fields of corrosion protection and corrosion awareness among all people and companies cooperating with PIKS and PSK, preparation and carrying out of an information campaign concerning the technical, technological and organisational solutions and mutual sharing of websites and other publications in order to promote and disseminate knowledge in the field of corrosion protection.
The plenary session included the reading of three papers. The first one, entitled: "Environmentally friendly sol-gel coatings for aluminum alloys", was delivered by Prof. Lorenzo Fedrizzi. In it, he discussed the development of thin ZrO2 coatings (100–200 nm) for different aluminium alloys. Tests of layers obtained in conjunction with a primer and top coat showed that the thin sol-gel improves the resistance of organic coating to corrosion thanks to barrier properties, as well as promotes strong adhesion of paint, limiting creepage and blister formation in the scratch area in salt spray, filiform corrosion and alternate immersion emersion tests. An addition of cerium compounds provides the coating with selfhealing properties thanks to the migration of ions to the damaged locations. The sol-gel coatings being developed can provide an alternative to chromate conversion coatings used in the automotive and aviation industries.
In the second plenary paper presented, Wally Mirgorod spoke about a surface treatment technology employing Sponge-Jet abrasives (abrasives embedded in a urethane sponge). Use of this type of abrasive reduces airborne contaminants by 98% compared to conventional abrasive materials, making it possible to conduct work near working devices and equipment. The company Chesterton International Poland – the distributor of Sponge-Jet abrasives – demonstrated the technology in a practical presentation.
The plenary session ended with a speech given by Józef Kozieł, who familiarised the participants of the conference with the activity of FATIPEC, an association founded in 1950 and currently representing 12 countries, in the fields of science and the industrial coatings industry. Every two years, FATIPEC organizes the European Technical Coatings Congress (ETCC), which this year will take place in Cologne on 3-5 September under the slogan "New functions and sustainable development as a stimulus for coatings of the future".
The other 28 papers were read in seven different thematic sessions.
In the session "Metal coatings, municipal and road infrastructure" papers on the following subjects were presented: changes in hot-dip galvanising technology in Poland, the role and responsibility of the designer for the final result of corrosion protection, factors affecting the durability of coatings on structures of the urban and road infrastructure, reasons of claims filed with producers and suppliers of corrosion protection paint on the basis of statistical data in the years 2005–2013 and over the author’s 20-years’ of experience. Two papers in this session focused on the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) method as used in practice: Andrzej Królikowski (Warsaw University of Technology) presented the fundamentals and specifics of electrochemical corrosion measurements and examples of their use in practice, and Leszek Komorowski (Road and Bridge Research Institute – IBDiM)) discussed the results of EIS measurements on selected bridge structures. A heated discussion was stirred up by Agnieszka Królikowska (IBDiM), in which the author presented an approach to corrosion protection in areas including: construction as well as urban and road infrastructure, for which there are no clear corrosion protection procedures. She presented two possible solutions to the problem: the use of very durable coatings produced by specialized companies under certified supervision, which requires thorough knowledge, high initial costs and relevant legislation or an approach in which renovation work is pre-considered as inevitable during the use of the structure.
In the session "The chemical and petrochemical industry", the following were presented: Formal and technical requirements as a foundation for the implementation of a construction plan for chemical industry structures and the rules for the selection of appropriate material and construction solutions for reinforced concrete structures, including damp proofing, waterproofing, thick coating paints, laminates, sheet metal and ceramic linings; corrosion protection of steel constructions in chemical industry installations in new fume desulphurization and ammonia storage installations. In this session, methods of obtaining composites in the chemical and petrochemical industries as well as their types, properties and application were also discussed.
The next session included issues related to corrosion and protection of reinforced concrete, such as: application of the novel polymer-cement concrete for the repair of breakwater in the port of Gdynia, corrosion hazards of bridge and hydrotechnical structures, deep hydrophobization.
In the "Architecture, facades, aluminium" session, the following issues were presented: new generation powder paint, industrial systems for the application of powder paint, protective and combined protective and decorative coatings for architectural applications and assessment of the effectiveness of the proposed protection of thin-walled structural elements located in the immediate vicinity of a road on the basis of operational assessments.
For several years, the topic of fire retardant coatings has been met with considerable interest among the participants of the conference, hence a session on the subject was also held this year. Michał Wójtowicz (Building Research Institute – ITB) presented the requirements of Regulation No. 305/2011 (CPR) establishing the harmonized conditions for the marketing of construction products, which came into force in 2013. He also presented the current status of implementation of the requirements for the marketing of fire protective products and the initiative of the Construction Committee on the preparation of a harmonised standard for products used in protecting steel structures in conditions of fire. The main goal of the paper presented by Iwona Gajecka (PPG Coatings Poland) was to point out the important technological parameters which have to be kept to obtain the functional properties of intumescent fire protection coatings. The paper included application rules, criteria of acceptance and solutions for specific steel sections, mainly based on the recommendations of ASFP (Association for Specialist Fire Protection, UK). Piotr Skrzypczak (Sika Poland) analysed the requirements for the fire resistance of road and train tunnels in the country and abroad, pointing to the existing inconsistencies in the documents, despite the fact that all types of protection have the same objective, regardless of the type of tunnel. The paper of Andrzej Głębowicz (International Paint) overed issues relating to the basic components of fireproof products including fire retardant, cementitious based and intumescent products and their mechanism of action during a fire.
In the "Energy and transmission networks" session, the requirements of PSE-Operator for the corrosion protection of electric pylons made of galvanized steel and technologies of coating them in the factory and at the installation location were discussed. Subsequent reports revealed that there is no economic nor logistical justification for applying thick, durable anti-corrosion coatings at fabrication stage, as the method of assembly of the structure in the field inflicts a lot of damage on the structure requiring repair of the damaged surface or recoating everything altogether with a topcoat. The last paper of this session covered the issue of thermal-sprayed metalizing coatings. The basic methods of application of thermal-sprayed coatings, which produce coating layers featuring a complex structure and chemical/phase composition, good functional properties and corrosion and wear resistance in particular, were discussed. Examples of the use of this type of coating in the energy, machine industries and in regeneration processes, and the advantages and disadvantages of different methods of application were identified.
The last session were devoted to protective coatings. Development trends in corrosion protection coating technology, with particular focus on coating materials containing nanoparticles, including selfhealing coatings, were presented by Małgorzata Zubielewicz (IMPiB Institute, Paints and Plastics Department). Wojciech Zatorski (CIOP-PIB) outlined the chemical hazards caused by the thermal decomposition of film-forming polymer plastics, while Józef Koziel spoke about industrial methods of applying coatings, which included coil coating, flow-coating, application of lithography and imprint by means of rollers, coating drums and household appliances with 2 colours, coating of furniture boards with UV-cured products.
During the conference, presentations were made by the companies: Kraj, Daas and Graco.
As every year, awards were handed out for the best engineering, master's and doctoral theses in the fields of corrosion and corrosion protection. This year, they went to:
– in the category of engineering papers: Piotr Gawroński (Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering) for the paper entitled: "Evaluation of the chemical resistance of polymer-cement composites",
– in the category of master's theses: Jaosław Medyński (Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering) for the paper entitled: "Theory and practice of standard and non-standard research of concrete carbonation",
– in the category of doctor’s theses: Zbigniew Szklarz (AGH, Kraków) for the paper entitled: "The influence of plastic deformation on the microstructural corrosion of aluminum alloys types AlCu4Mg1 and AlMg2".
On the third day of the conference, a General Meeting of the PSK was held, in which a Board was elected for the 2014–2018 term.
The elected board now consists of: Agnieszka Królikowska – president, Wojciech Sokólski – vice-president, Sławomir Piłat – treasurer, Małgorzata Zubielewicz – spokeswoman, Anna Białecka – member, Leszek Augustynek – member.
Composition of the Audit Committee: Andrzej Brandt – chairman, Andrzej Kubacki, Urszula Szczyrek.
Disciplinary committee: Michał Jaczewski – chairman, Iwona Gajecka, Anna Orzyłowska.
As a result of the discussions of the Round Table, a resolution was passed to form a Coating Manufacturers and Suppliers Division, in which Michał Jaczewski, the promoter of the division, was appointed as head. Draft versions of the action plan and the articles of association being prepared by the division will be submitted to the members of PSK.
All of the papers read were listened to with much interest by the audience and inspired lively discussion, are they focused on practical issues and problems, which the conference participants have to deal with on a daily basis. PSK conferences are of a practical nature, although they do include scientific papers as well. The results of all the research presented, however, are of practical use. PSK members have the possibility to shape the agenda of the conference, which is why it attracts so many participants every year. Feel invited to come to next year’s conference, which will be held on 22–24.04.2015.
Małgorzata Zubielewicz
