Facility owners and coating manufacturers often evaluate the performance of newer formulations and candidate coating systems on a smaller scale prior to large scale installation on the actual structure. This is particularly important when newer technology coating systems are being considered for use, or when formulation changes are necessary to conform to strict environmental regulations. To facilitate these evaluations, candidate coating systems may be applied to the actual structure as test patches; however, this process can be time consuming and costly. Alternatively, the candidate coating systems can be applied to test panels that are either mounted on test racks in the field adjacent to the actual structure, mounted on test racks that are placed in industrial or marine environments, or installed into accelerated weathering or corrosion chambers in the laboratory. In this manner, the performance of the coating systems can be compared relative to one another after several months or years in the field, or after several months in accelerated weathering.

KTA Steel Test Panels:

• Are fabricated from hot rolled (HRS) or cold rolled (CRS) carbon steel, which is the primary type of steel used on industrial structures (hot rolled steel and cold rolled steel have different corrosion rates)
• Conform to ASTM D7055, Standard Practice for Preparation (by Abrasive Blast Cleaning) of Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Panels for Testing of Coatings
• Conform to SSPC-PA 15, Material and Preparation Requirements for Steel Test Panels Used to Evaluate the Performance of Industrial Coatings

Quality Control

KTA’s name is synonymous with quality, and the production of test panels for coating performance evaluation studies is no different from our other products and services. KTA has a formal procedure (IS-016) that covers the quality processes associated with:

• Solvent cleaning of the fabricated test panels,
• Testing the oil content and water-soluble contaminants of the abrasive media,
• Communicating the specified degree of surface cleanliness and surface profile depth to the blast cleaner,
• Verifying compressed air cleanliness,
• Abrasive blast cleaning of the fabricated test panels,
• Removing abrasive and surface dust from the prepared steel panels,
• Visually assessing and documenting surface cleanliness,
• Measuring and documenting surface profile depth, and
• Packaging for shipment.

A completed Test Panel Preparation Documentation Form (IS-016F) is sent with every order.