Laboratory Evaluation of Commercial Epoxy Zinc-Rich Primers for Civil WorksApplications

摘要

The Corps of Engineers' specification for epoxy zinc rich primer designates E-303d for application as a primer for topcoats. However, E-303d has a relatively high volatile organic compound (VOC) content, which will likely be limited by a forthcoming U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) national rule for VOC content of architectural and industrial maintenance coatings. A possible alternative to E-303d is an epoxy coating enhanced with a zinc-rich primer. This research evaluated the performance and potential utility of commercially available zinc-rich epoxy primers as replacements for E-303d. Ten commercially available low-VOC epoxy zinc-rich primers were evaluated using laboratory tests designed to simulate three exposure environments: (1) fresh water immersion, (2) salt water immersion, and (3) atmospheric weathering. Overall, the commercial primers performed nearly as well as E-303d. This study found that multiple low-VOC commercial equivalents to E-303d are available for each exposure environment, and recommended field tests of the most promising primers.