Greetings! My name is Adam. I work in the advertising industry as a brand developer. I also teach surfing lessons and spend a lot of time volunteering with an animal hospital. When I was on a gap year, I took a job in a pen factory. Through that experience, I learned a great deal about how pens were made, but I also learned a lot about industrial work and manufacturing in general. In this blog, I plan to write about all aspects of these topics, and I hope that this information is interesting and informative to you. Please, grab a tea and start looking around. If you like my blogs, share them. Thanks.
A subterranean drainage network of pipes and culverts is one of the most effective ways to achieve efficient, long-lasting ground drainage, and corrugated steel pipes are some of the best pipes to use to construct such a network. The great strength and durability of corrugated steel, however, does not provide much protection from the damage caused by corrosion, and to extend the lifespan of your pipes, you might consider having them coated, or purchasing pre-coated pipes.
However, you have a number of choices when it comes to choosing a coating for your pipes, and each coating has different properties that may make them more or less suitable for your needs than others. The most common types of corrugated steel pipe coating are listed below, along with their advantages and disadvantages.
Bituminous asphalt
A material similar to the kind commonly used for road making, bituminous asphalt can be applied to the interiors and exteriors of corrugated pipes to provide a durable shield against pipe corrosion. Coating pipes in bituminous asphalt is one of the cheapest ways to protect your pipes, and the relative simplicity of the coating process means that asphalt-coated pipes can be found at practically any corrugated steel pipe supplier. Asphalt coatings also provide extra strength against hydraulic forces found in high-pressure pipes, and damage can be repaired in the field without having to remove the pipe.
However, bituminous asphalt is not immune to corrosion. Instead it acts as cathodic protection, corroding to prevent the more valuable steel for corroding. As such, bituminous asphalt is not as durable as some other coatings with extremely long lifespans. Bituminous asphalt is also largely unsuitable for above-ground sections of drainage pipe, as it tends to perish in direct UV sunlight.
Galvanisation
Galvanised steel pipes are coated with a 'skin' of zinc, which is chemically bonded to the surface of the pipe. Like bituminous asphalt, this layer of zinc acts as a cathode for corrosion, and can protect a steel pipe for many years. Galvanisation adds minimal extra weight to your pipes, so it is an excellent choice for small-scale drainage projects where extensive use of heavy lifting equipment would be impractical.
However, over time, galvanised pipes can suffer blockages and loss of flow, as the mineralised deposits left over from the zinc corrosion process can collect, particularly in small diameter pipes. Galvanisation is also an involved process that cannot be replicated in the field, and in most cases, damaged galvanised pipes will need to be replaced rather than repaired.
Epoxy
Corrugated steel pipes can also be coated in plastic epoxy coatings, which provide an impermeable, waterproof coating that prevents corrosion without corroding itself. High grade epoxy-coated pipes are generally coated under special high-heat conditions, but the cheaper spray-coatings are just as suitable for drainage purposes without breaking the bank. Epoxy coatings have other advantages too -- their excellent resistance to salt damage makes them excellent choices for pipes laid in areas with high soil salinity, and they are capable of resisting enormous heat stresses during the summer months without degrading or warping.
Unfortunately, epoxy coatings react poorly to sunlight in the same way as asphalt coatings and are not suited to above-ground sections of piping. They can also be somewhat more expensive than less modern coating materials, and while damaged coatings can be repaired on-site, you will almost certainly have to hire professional help to do so safely and effectively.
For more information, contact Corrugated Metal Pipe Manufacturing PTY LTD or a similar company.
Share