Pipeline Coatings

The chapter on pipeline coatings addresses the activities to be developed to properly select, specify, and apply coatings to a steel pipeline. The objective of the coating is to maintain the integrity of the pipeline during the design life of the project. In general, the coating is designed to operate in conjunction with the cathodic protection system. The input data for the correct coating selection is also described in this chapter. The coatings can be classified into two main groups, i.e., internal and external coatings. In accordance with the use, these coatings can be specified for an onshore or offshore pipeline. The chapter describes in detail the characteristics, the properties, and the application process of the internal coatings acting internally as anticorrosion, anti-friction, and as internal anti-adhesion coatings. The external coatings are specified as anticorrosion, to protect the pipeline against corrosion, or as insulation, to preserve the fluid temperature, or as anti-abrasion to reduce the friction between the pipe and the soil, or as a submerged weight coating to improve the weight of pipes for anti-buoyance purposes. Also, the field joint coatings are specified for internal and external application in accordance with the pipe coating and/or pipe laying method. Typical materials, properties, and application processes are described in all cases. The coating rehabilitation section includes the main characteristics, common materials used, application process, and properties of the final application. At the end the most common methods of inspecting a pipeline are envisaged, also considering a pipeline in an onshore and in an offshore environment.