Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

AMBIENT
CONDITIONS
Humidity
Air Temperature
Substrate Temperature

Frosio 07 Ambient conditions slide # 1

Parameters influencing the corrosion speed.

Atmospheric corrosion

x Humidity
x Temperature
x Concentration of salts
x Amount of air pollution,
including acid rain, soot and dust particles

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Atmospheric corrosion rate depends on

humidity
Corrosion rate

0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative Humidity, %
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Atmospheric conditions.
Requirement during blasting and painting

Surface temperature of the

structure must be minimum
3 C above the dew point
of the surrounding atmosphere

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

ISO 8502 - 4
Estimating probability of condensation

Cold liquid inside hull and warm air outside causes

condensation
See how frames inside keeps the cold longer

B-24/2-4

4847-693

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Why Temperature & Humidity are

important
Condensation follows the contours
of the double-bottom tank

Frozen overnight
condensation, follows
the frames of the ship

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Purpose of climatic evaluation

Evaluate the likelihood of the

moisture in the air to form
condensation on a substrate

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Moisture / Absolute Humidity

When water evaporates, it forms water vapour or
moisture in the air
We may measure this moisture as gram water per
cubic meter air (g/m3)
The maximum amount of moisture that can be
contained in the air depends on the temperature of
the air
Warm air can contain larger amounts of moisture
than cold air
The maximum moisture that can be contained in air
at the various temperatures is called the Absolute
Humidity

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Absolute humidity

DEFINITION:

The maximum content of water vapour in

the air at a given temperature

The content will vary with temperature

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At 8o C, the
maximum moisture
content in the air is
8.28 g/m3 At 20o C, the
maximum moisture
content in the air is
17.31 g/m3

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Moisture / Relative Humidity

The Relative Humidity is a measure of how much of the
Absolute Humidity (maximum moisture) that the air
contains, expressed as percent.
If the air contains the maximum amount of moisture, it
will have a Relative Humidity of 100%
If the air contain half of the maximum amount of
moisture, it will have a Relative Humidity (RH) of 50%
If the air contain a quarter of the maximum amount of
moisture, it will have a Relative Humidity of 25%

Question: Will air with RH=50% at 8o C have the same

moisture content as air with RH=50% at 20o C?

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Relative humidity

DEFINITION:
The ratio of
The amount of water vapour present in a
given volume of air at a given temperature
and
The maximum amount of water vapour which
this volume of air can hold at that
temperature

RH is expressed as a percentage

RH outdoors will vary

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Relative humidity, RH
% R.H.:
Water vapour in the air as percentage of the total
amount water vapour the air can contain at the
same temperature.

Example
Air at 20o C can contain 17.31 g. water/m3, but the
actual content is measured to 15 g/m3. What is the
R.H. ?

15g x 100%
R.H. = = 86.65%
17.31g

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Humidity / Dew Point

Air at 20o C and 73% RH contains 12.64 g/m3 water (12.64
as percentage of Absolute Humidity 17.31)
If the temperature drops to 16o C, it will still contain 12.64
g/m3, but the RH will increase to 92.69% (12.64 as
percentage of Absolute Humidity 13.65)
If the temperature drops further to 12o C, what will happen?
At 12o C the maximum moisture content (Absolute
Humidity) is 10.62 g/m3. This means the moisture content
of 12.64 g/m3 is 2.02 g/m3 more than it can hold at this
temperature
The consequence is that the excessive moisture will leave
the air through condensation, ending up as dew on available
surfaces or as rain or fog
The temperature at which a given moisture content will
start to condensate is called Dew Point.

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Dew point
DEFINITION:
The temperature at which the air becomes
saturated with water vapour

At this temperature the RH = 100% and

water will condense

The chance of condensation is high when

the weather is changeable

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Dew Point / Substrate Temperature

On an early morning inspection we measure the air
temperature to be 8oC and the RH to be 83%
Due to cold over-night temperature, the steel temperature
of a structure to be painted was measure to only 4o C
Would this cause any problem?
At 8oC and RH 83%, the moisture content is 6.87 g/m3
Although the general air temperature is 8o C, the air next
to the steel surface will be cooled by the steel and perhaps
only be 4o C as well
At 4o C the max moisture content is 6.36 g/m3
This means that although we may not see it clearly, there
will be condensation on the steel
This is why Steel Temp. must be min. 3o C above the
Dew Point!

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Main rule for pre-treatment

and paint application:

Temperature of substrate should

be at a temperature of

min. 3oC

above dew point of the air in the

vicinity

Frosio 07 Ambient conditions slide # 17

Measuring ambient conditions

Electronic multi-function gauge
Electronic humidity gauge
Sling Psychrometer (Sling
Hygrometer, Dry and Wet bulb)
(Hair hygrometer, not suitable!)
Dew point calculator
Steel thermometer

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Electronic humidity gauge

Needs frequent
calibration.
Dependent on
batteries
Multi-function
models will measure
air temperature,
surface temperature,
relative humidity,
and calculate dew
point and 'T (*)
(*) difference between dew point and
surface temperature)

Frosio 07 Ambient conditions slide # 19

Sling Psycrometer
A dry and a wet thermometer put together in
one unit.

The difference in the measured temperatures

indicate the amount of humidity:

Large difference = low RH%

Small or none = high RH%

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 Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

ISO 8502-4
Measuring the relative humidity

Photo: Sling
Psychrometer for
measuring:
- Dry temperature
- Wet temperature
Measure the
temperature in the
vicinity. Cd-4932-88
Calculate the relative
humidity
Use together with dew
point calculator

Frosio 07 Ambient conditions slide # 21

ISO 8502-4
Dew point calculator

For calculation of dew

point
To be used together with
surface temperature
thermometer and sling
psychrometer.
Use this frequently during
pre-treatment, application Cd-4932-89
and drying of the paint.
Recommendation: Every 6
hours and when weather
conditions are changing

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

ISO 8502 - 4
Humidity
Guidance on the estimation of the probability
of condensation prior to paint application

1. Air temperature
2. % Relative humidity
3. Steel temperature
4. Dew point

Steel temperature min. 3 oC above the dew point

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Contact thermometer
Electronic instrument for measuring the steel
temperature
Other types of thermometers are also available. E.g.
magnetic thermometers

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

IX - diagram for
determination of
relative humidity
(%RH)

Example:
Measured values
Air dry temp.: 14.0 C
Wet bulb temp.: 10.5 C

Read
Relative humidity: 65 %
Dew point: 7 C
Air-water content: 6.3 g/kg

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Using the IX diagram

Draw a horizontal line at the

appropriate dry bulb temperature
Draw a 45o line at the appropriate
wet bulb temperature
At the intersection you will
determine the RH
Draw a vertical line from the
intersection point all the way to the
100% line
This is the dew point

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Ambient conditions, general

Painting should not be started when:

The relative humidity exceeds 85% (unless

the paint manufacturer consider it safe)

The substrate temperature is less than 3o

C above the dew point

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Ways to control the climatic conditions

Dehumidifier, reduces the actual humidity

in the surroundings
Heather, heat the objects (surfaces) prior
to application in order to reduce the
danger for condensation.
Forced ventilation is a must in order to
secure a proper evaporation of the
solvents from the paint film.

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Ambient Temperature and Steel Temperature

Is the temperature important ? YES !

Ambient Steel temperature

temperature will will affect:
influence: probability for
shelf life (storage) condensation
potlife (two-pack solvent evaporation
paints: time between speed of cure (drying
mixing and no longer time)
useable)
degree of cure
induction time (pre-
recoating interval
reaction before
application) service life of the
coating
viscosity/sprayability
Steel Temperature

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Ventilation. Good practice

Solvent vapours Suction from

are heavier lowest points
than air in enclosed areas

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Ventilation. Bad practice

Using an inlet fan Using an exhaust fan

Air flow Air flow

Solvent vapour Solvent vapour

Inlet fan, air through pipe

Air out
Solvent
vapours Air in

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Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Control of relative humidity

and temperature

Check the atmospheric

conditions before the
work starts
If required: Install
proper ventilation
Check the atmospheric
conditions while the
work is ongoing and
during drying / curing

Paint technology: Humidity_control1

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Temperature and humidity

of air used for drying.

Supply of heated air immediately after application

may lead to skin drying and entrapped solvents
Cold air will keep the film open longer and ensure
proper evaporation
Avoid high air temperature (especially epoxy)
High humidity will slow down the drying time
Exhaust from heating equipment using propane or
paraffin oil contain water and Carbon dioxide and
may create Amine sweating

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 Frosio course handout: Section 07 Ambient conditions

Blisters inside a tank due to poor ventilation.

Entrapped solvents

Blisters sometime
contain water
Rust will not be formed
inside intact blisters, due
to the high pH
As soon as the blisters
break corrosion will start
Cd-4934-68
Use cathodic protection
to back up the paint
system.

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