Characterization of water penetration inside organic coatings by capacitance measurements

Knowledge of the solution of transport equations allows one to determine parameters which are needed to evaluate the protective properties of organic coatings, particularly the penetration of water inside the coatings. The form of equations representing the processes of transport and their usefulness should be verified by experimental results, The mathematical aspect of the problem is studied in the framework of the theory of partial differential equations, Various methods of solving the equations, the problem of their univocal character, their regularity and properties are considered. The form of a particular solution depends on the imposed problem. The method of determination of the depth of water penetration inside the organic coatings is based upon the solutions of the transport equation. The use of Boltzmann transformation allows the concentration profiles dependent on additional parameters (e.g., temperature) to be represented. The solutions of the diffusion equation for various limiting conditions as well as the methods of determination of diffusion coefficient are presented. The method of evaluation of the depth of medium penetration inside the protective coating in the case of a non-stationary process is described, The use of Boltzmann transformation made it easier to analyse the solution of the diffusion equation. The dependence of the water diffusion coefficient in epoxide-phenol lacquer coatings on temperature was determined and the applicability of Arrhenius' law was found in the temperature range from 303 to 363 K. Knowledge of the diffusion coefficients enabled the time of water penetration inside organic coatings to be determined. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.