The Permeability of Coatings

The application of industrial coatings can lead to an enormous range of benefits - from solvent and weathering resistance to chemical resistance decoration and anti-corrosion properties. A common mistake is to measure resistance against the liquid form and neglect the permeability of the coating against the vapour. Sadly the barrier properties against liquids and vapours can be wildly different - and can offer a virtually impenetrable barrier to the one and virtually no resistance to the other (in much the same way as weatherproof coats keep out the rain, yet let you perspire freely)

The Versaperm permeability Meter can measure the vapour (vapour) permeability of most coating materials against most gases and vapours, including (water vapour, hydrocarbons, O₂, CO₂ etc).

It equipment is based around a range of highly accurate sensors including Mass Spectrometers, Photoionization, Infrared, Thermal Conductivity, Gas Chromatography and Flame Ionization.

The meter has a highly automated computerised control and can cope with several material samples or finished products at a time - and results are usually accurate to better than one part per million (with some samples accuracy can be measured in parts per billion (PPB).

A vast assortment of films and coatings can be used to protect, make vapour-resistant and enhance anything from a building to sunglasses and from paper to steel or plastics. Almost always the critical requirement is permeability, usually to protect against water vapour or hydrocarbons. A coating with the wrong permeability can cause products to fail and equipment to leak and under-perform.

Click here for a press release on industrial coatings

Click here for a press release on corrosion

Click below for other permeability measurement applications