Multiscale experimental approach for developing high-performance intumescent coatings

The goal of this work is to combine small-scale screening tests permitting, during the laboratory research phase of a development, the optimization of intumescent mastic coatings formulated to protect steel in the case of hydrocarbon fire. This type of coating, applied on steel plates, beams, or columns, is usually evaluated in large industrial furnaces. Such experiments are, however, expensive and time-consuming. The use of such tests, if they are essential since they give a good simulation of a real fire, is a break for the development of new intumescent high-performance intumescent coatings. The original combination of small-scale laboratory tests, such as thermogravimetric analyses and rheological measurements, provides, through a rapid screening of a large number of formulations, a very interesting preliminary tool for the development of new intumescent coatings. A statistical approach involving principal component analysis has been successfully used to correlate the results of the industrial furnace tests with those from the laboratory-scale analyses.