ISO/EN 12944

This standard, which is both a and, a European,/

Standard, has been given positive the International and
committees and can now proceed to being standard. It is unlikely
that this will be the case for ru! parts until n;Jfd 1998 the earliest.
,

It should be noted, that because of the approval given by the European committee,
this standard will replace existing national standards such as 8S5493 and DIN
55928.
The main problem I see at the moment is that it appears unlikely that the US based
specifying houses will use the specification, but will continue to use SSPC and
NACE guidelines.
ISO 12944 states that it is designed for use by engineers who have some technical
knowledge in the area of corrosion protection. as well as knowledge of other
relevant specifications.
Many will find the durability ranges to be extremely useful - this is the estimated time
to first major maintenance. This needs to be agreed between the interested parties
with reference to ISO 4628/1 to ISO 4628/5. It should always be realised that much
less effort is required to maintain a coating which has broken down to Ri2 than one
which has broken down to Ri3, for example.
considered are:-
Low 2-5 Years
Medium 5-15 Years
High >15 Years
and are assuming the coating has reached a breakdown level of Ri3.
(It is emphasised that the durability range is not a guarantee time. It is purely
present to help the owner of the structure estimate sensible maintenance times.
The guarantee time is generally shorter than the durability range, and there is no
simple relationship between the two,)
MJM/19/07/97/GD Page No.1
ISO/EN 12944
IS 10":;;"1''''--'')
ISO 1LO....... - ...
ISO 1
ISO 12944-6
ISO 12944-7
ISO 12944-8
SUMMARYSECTIONS
Covers the corrosivity ofvarious environments and how these can
be measured. Various anti-corrosive systems can then be
specified fortheseenvironments.
Dealswith best practices in structural steel design from acorrosion
prevention viewpoint.
Covers surface preparation - reference to ISO 8501, ISO 8502, ISO
8503, ISO8504.
Typical paint systems by generic type for a given durability in a
given environment.
Laboratory testing of paint systems, particularly intended for those
, , - - - ~ ~ ~ ~ - - - ""
where sufficient practical experience is not yet available. Does not
coverpowertoolcleaned steel specifically.
Covers application at works or on site, inspection and follow up.
Alsodealswith referenceareas.
specifications for corrosion protection
and ancillary issues.
Describes how to
ISO/EN 12944
~ ~
PARt2 )
4 __ ~ /
CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTS
Defined from weight loss of metallic (low carbon steel and zinc) specimens over a
defined period of 1 year (not more and not less).
There are obvious differences in this approach because of change of climate on a
yearly basis, but this certainly helps quantify the corrosivity of an environment.
Very low - low
Medium
High
Very high
industrial
Very high
marine
Structures immersed
Structures
* Above thicknesses
<10-200 g/m
2
(1.3-25IJm)
200-400 g/m2
(25-50lJm)
40-650 g/m
2
(50-80lJ m)
650-1500 g/m
2
Exterior
pollution, dry.
and industrial atmospheres
Moderate S02 pollution
Moderate coastal CI)
Industrial and coastal.
ndustry with high humidity
atmosphere
Heated buildings/neutral

Unheated buildings, possible
condensation
Production rooms with high humidity
and air pollution
Chemical processing plants
D.F.T*
75IJm
200IJm
200IJm
240IJm (Zinc)
280IJm (Non-zinc)
320IJm
650-1 320IJm
ISO/EN 12944
TABLE1- CORROSIVITYOFENVIRONMENTS
(Refer to ISO 12944-2)
Where single coats are applied higher film thicknesses will be required (see recommendec
specifications) .
MJM/19/07/97/GO Page No.4
07 May 1997
ISOIEN 12944
PART 3
STRUCTURALDESIGN
ISO 12944-3, which covers basic design criteria, is really outside the scope of
protective coatings manufacturers. This can only really be fully implemented at the
New Construction stage or by major modification at a later date. Coatings are often
expected to alleviate, or help alleviate, corrosion problems due to design errors. In
this instance, it could well be that different coating specifications would be required
for these areas which could be thicker/more corrosion resistant than those used
elsewhere. Typically, if a certain area was subjected to frequent ponding of rain
water because of design, then either modification would be required to prevent this
or a different coating system could be needed.
ISO/EN 12944
ISO 12944-5
PROTECTIVEPAINTSYSTEMS
This section, and that on testing, are those most likely to be argued over and to
providethe greatestareas ofcontention.
In the areas ofgenericpaintsystems, almosteverytype which can be imagined has
been covered, and whatappears to me aseries ofquite complicated matrices have
been put together. This is possibly why this part ofthe specification is not due for
completion until1998and will be the lastsectionfinalised.
Atthistimetherecontinuesto be much discussionon this section. and modifications
will certainly be made.
Currently, for example, it is indicated that both solvent based alkyds and water
based acrylics will dry at DoC, certainly we would not recommend this type of
condition forwater based, and on conventional alkyds Iwould expect an extremely
negativeeffect.
Note, the proposed definition and rider regarding zinc rich coatings. This now
becomes much closer to the SSPC SP20 definition than. for example, current
British Standards.
Minimumfilm thicknessshould be >80% specifiedd.f.t.
Recommended that maximum d.f.t. is not greater than 3x nominal d.f.t. (this is
much greater than we would specify and would certainly potentially create
problems). Referenceto paintmanufacturer'stechnical data sheet.
Note, all references areto airless spray application.
ISO/EN 12944
THICKNESSES/LIFETIMESFORVARIOUS ENVIRONMENTS
(Referto ISO 12944-5)
C2 8Ol-lm -
Low
150l-lm -
Medium
2OOl-lm
-
High
C3 120l-lm Low
160l-lm Medium Mediumcorrespondsto5-15years
200l-lm
-
High Highcorrespondsto >15years
C4 16Ol-lm -
Low
2OOl-lm
-
Medium
240l-lm High (Zinc)
28
0
l-lm High (NonZinc)
C51 200l-lm _ Low
C5M 280l-lm _ Medium
Lowcorrespondsto2-5years
High
ISO/EN 12944
PAINTSYSTEMS
Thoseshown areexamplesforseveralenvironments:-
Othersystems having the same performance are possible.
All paints forall systems shall be suitable for the highestcorrosion stress ofthe
given corrosivityorimmersioncategory.
Documentation or guarantee stating suitability or the durability ofa paintsystem
in agivenenvironment- experienceorartificialageing testswhere necessary.
Standard arranges systemsas follows:-
A1 to AS Accordingto binderin the topcoat
Others According to binderin the primercoat
A1 All examplesofsystemsforC2, C3 and C4.
A2 SystemsforC2 (system notshown ifithas high classification in A3, A4).
A3 SystemsforC3 (system notshown ifithas high classification in A4).
A4 SystemsforC4.
Where a paint system cannot be allocated to one of the Tables A1 to A9, full
information regarding:-
Surfacepreparation
Generictype
Numberofcoats
Nominaldryfilm thickness
shall begiven in the samewayas indicated in thetables.
ISO/EN 12944
There are an extremelywide range ofgenericcoatings included in the specification,
and really these can only be considered as examples. Basically, paint types used
by all participating members have been included. No reference or allowance
appears to have been made to recognise the effectofthe introduction oflegislation
to reduce solventemissions, and painttypeswhose use is being restricted for health
and safety reasons are also included.
Also, as in almost all specifications, there is no allowance or mention ofwhat are
often perceived as key issues regarding coatingsystems, i.e.
Drying times- handling times, overcoating times
Maximum overcoatingtimes
Effectofapplicationconditions
In general, more problems are encountered due to poorinterpretation, ignorance of
the above, orbyuseofcoatingswhich are notsufficientlytolerantoverawide range
ofconditions.
It is likely that most interestwill be with the "high" durability systems, i.e. thosewith
an expected life to first major maintenance of 15 years plus. With these it is also
likelythatthe following environmentswill be mostimportant:-
C4 HighCorrosivity
C5-1 Very High Industrial
C5-M Very High Marine
The C3 area ofmedium corrosivity will meet the 15 year requirements with most
reasonable 2ormore coatschemes, giving minimumd.f.t'sof150-200microns.
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ISO/EN 12944
When considering the actual schemes listed, the following points areworth noting:-
1. All coating systems, with the exception ofthose designed for immersion, are
very multi-coat in type. This would almost certainly lead to a request from
any contractor to reduce the number of coats and utilise higher solids
coatingswith higherd.tfs.
2. Some of the mixtures of systems, for example, overcoating alkyds with
chlorinated rubbers, are not normally utilised.
3. All specificationstend to be based on multiples of40 microns, whereasin UK
and many countries the multiples are of 25 microns, probably due to the
influenceofthe US and 1mil =25 microns.
Hot dip Galvanized
or Hot dip galvanized areas
BS EN ISO 1461: 1999 Hot Dip Galvanized coatings on fabricated iron & steel articles -
specifications & test methods! This standard specifies the thicknesses (minimum & average 80
Mic DFT zinc coat) that should be followed, sampling methods ,selection of reference areas for
testing & renovation methods etc. Then use ISO 10747 to issue quality certificates when ever
required by the customer.
Note The durability of the galvanized coating depends on the type of environment as classified
under ISO 129441 ISO 9223 ,& according to that in a rural environment the corrosion rate of Zn
is less than 1 micron. (suitable for environment category C 1, C2)
After galvanizing the total coating would be a combination of alloy layers (Fe & Zn) which is the
maj ority & pure Zn.
Surface Cleaning: Free of zinc salts, dirt, contaminations and fresh water wash down and by dry
When viewed without magnification, the mild steel surfaces shall be free from visible Oil grease
and dirt and from poorly adhering mill scales, rust paint coatings and foreign matter, moreover
the metallic substrate shall give rise to a metallic sheen. Dampness with salty finger prints not
Acceptable