Authors: SANJA MARTINEZ and IVANA ŠOIĆ
Company: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Zagreb, Croatia
e-mail: smartin@fkit.hr ; isoic@fkit.hr
Device for quick and reliable laboratory and field probing of polymeric, inorganic, conversion and oxide coatings on metallic substrates as well as of self-standing films and foils will be presented. The device developed by the ReCorr Laboratory at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology of the University of Zagreb provides the users with quantitative information on coating impedance as an indicator of the coating barrier properties and protective ability.
DEVICE ARCHITECTURE
The device consists of a pair of flexible, conductive polymer sensor electrodes sticking to a coated surface with the aid of a low-resistivity paste. The measurement is done between a single electrode and a substrate or between the two identical electrodes. The electrodes are connected to the impedance spectroscopy instrument run from the PC, tablet or phone application (Window or Android platforms).
FIELD AND LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS
The device may be used for testing and inspection of coatings on metallic products and constructions. It is intended for measurements in testing laboratories, for coating systems and application processes qualification, in the paints and varnishes industry R&D laboratories, for quickly optimizing the coatings formulations and for the field testing of coatings in service.
Intellectual property: patent application