RUST: $2.2 Trillion damage a year
Testing for anti-corrosion and other coatings

Rust cost’s the world a staggering US $2.2 trillion a year*, which is over 3% of the world's GDP.  Surprisingly, neither industry nor governments seem to put it high on the agenda except in safety-critical areas such as pipelines and Aerospace.

In theory the solution is easy - anti-corrosion coatings.  Unfortunately not all of these work as well as they should, most prevent reactions with liquid water but allow water-vapour and oxygen, to seep through and react. Perhaps people just are a little rusty with testing!

Now, a new instrument from Versaperm can identify and help to resolve the issue.  The Versaperm Permeability meter can measure the amount of water, oxygen, or almost any other gas, that can flow through a sample of the coating to cause rust.  With some coatings you can get an answer in as little as thirty minutes, whereas with conventional Gravimetric techniques it usually takes days or more often weeks.

The permeability equipment is easy to use, requiring, at most, minimal training, yet it offers high precision and repeatability.  It is accurate in the Parts Per Million (PPM) range for many materials and gases, sometimes PPB.  It can optionally be configured to measure permeability under an extremely wide range of conditions and for most gases.  These include hydrocarbons, solvents, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, helium and water vapour.

An appropriate coating will dramatically reducing the oxygen needed to fuel the often rapid chemical and electrochemical reactions that cause rust and corrosion.

Versaperm also offers a comprehensive permeability and diffusive flow lab testing service for companies who don’t wish to purchase their own equipment.