Corrosion properties of thermal sprayed aluminium (TSA) coatings deposited by powder flame spraying

Thermal sprayed aluminium (TSA) coatings are widely used for the protection of steels from aqueous corrosion, including offshore structures and components that are exposed to seawater immersion, tidal and splash zone environments. In this paper, the influence of deposition parameters of aluminium coating on its corrosion properties was studied. For different application parameters of TSA coatings, the thickness, the microstructure and corrosion properties were determined. Determination of thickness was performed according to EN ISO 2064:2000 relating to the definition and determination of the thickness of metallic and other inorganic layers. Microstructure was determined using a Olympus GX50 optical microscope. The corrosion properties of the coatings were compared using an accelerated electrochemical corrosion test method. Electrochemical studies were carried out in accordance with the requirements of ASTM standard G 102 – 89. The TSA coating performance was quantified in terms of its corrosion potential and the corrosion rate, which was estimated from Tafel polarisation resistance measurements.