The Grainger College of Engineering
Applied Research Institute

Coatings and Corrosion Equipment

Coatings and Corrosion Equipment

Our coating and corrosion equipment allow us to work with our external properties to modify and characterize polymer coatings and to characterize their effectiveness at protecting metallic surfaces from corrosion.

Engineering Hall

The GAMRY Reference 600+ is used for  a wide range of applications in electrochemical corrosion, physical electrochemistry, fast cyclic voltammetry. It can measure fast and low current (60 pA – 600 mA) with a minimum current resolution of 20 aA. The maximum applied potential is ±11 V. We also have a paint cell to test the corrosion protection properties of paints and coatings.

The Q-FOG corrosion test chamber is used for accelerated corrosion tests at a range of environmental conditions such as salt spray, prohesion, and 95-100% humidity. The chamber can vary temperature from 20 to 70 °C. It can be programmed for a variety of ASTM, MIL and industry-relevant testing procedures.

The SpeedMixer is used for mixing viscous materials such as sealants, coatings, paints, and inks. It can efficiently mix dissimilar components such as viscous liquids, pastes and powders into homogeneous mixtures. Samples ranging from 1 g to 140 g can be mixed. The mixing speed can vary from 300 to 3500 rpm. The mixing time is from 5 seconds to 5 minutes.

The Discovery Hybrid Rheometer is equipped with diverse accessories that provides highly versatile capabilities for a wide range of materials and characterization.

  • Peltier Plate: Testing temperature range: -40 to 200 °C; 25 mm and 40 mm parallel plates, a 40 mm 1° cone, and an immersion cup.
  • Environmental Testing Chamber (ETC): Testing temperature range: -160 to 600 °C (equipped with a liquid nitrogen adapter); 8 mm and 25 mm (disposable) parallel plates.
  • Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA): Working with ETC; thin film/fiber tension, 3 point bending and dual cantilever.
  • UV Cure System: 365 nm UV light source and UV transparent disposable 20 mm plates. 

The Bruker Alpha II FTIR spectrometer is used to identify or verify chemical structures of a wide range of materials in liquid, solid, powder, semisolid, and paste form. The spectral range covers from 400 to 4000 cm-1 with a resolution of 2 cm-1.