Evaluating Underfilm Corrosion Creep and Cathodic Delamination

Underfilm corrosion creep is a common test for evaluating corrosion resistance of coatings over steel substrates, and is typically measured by determining the distance from a holiday that corrosion spreads under a coating film when subjected to corrosive conditions. This is a commonly specified property in coatings specifications. Another test that is somewhat related to underfilm corrosion creep is cathodic delamination. Cathodic delamination is the separation of a coating from a substrate occurring at a defect in the coating film in a corrosive environment. The cause of this delamination has been associated with the generation of an alkaline substance produced by the cathodic half-cell reaction in the corrosion process. Cathodic delamination has the potential to become a serious corrosion issue; however, this property is rarely specified in coatings specifications. An examination of the possible mechanisms of underfilm corrosion creep and cathodic delamination over steel surfaces; the relationship between these two processes; the effect that two-component epoxy/amine coatings have on protecting the substrate against these two processes; and a possible mechanism of that protection are presented in CORROSION 2014 paper no. 4271, “Underfilm Corrosion Creep and Cathodic Delamination: Under the Microscope,” by C. Reed.