Pipeline Coatings

Project ID: 5733
Principal Investigator: Allen Skaja
Research Topic: Repair and Maintenance
Funded Fiscal Years: 2013
Keywords: pipeline coatings

Research Question

Which pipeline coatings and tape wraps will provide long term corrosion resistance?

Need and Benefit

Reclamation is anticipating 4 projects that will contain more than 500 miles of pipeline: Navajo Gallup, Arkansas Valley, Aamodt, and Navajo Hopi. We are currently allowing any coating system that meets the AWWA C222 standard. It is likely that some products will not be affected by the 2 years of atmospheric exposure, while others will be greatly affected by atmospheric exposure. Many of these products have only been in testing by the manufacture for only 2 years and there is no field data to back up their products.

One of the problems is that the contractors will order pipe and it will sit above ground for up to 2 years before being buried. The anticipated effects from the UV and thermal degradation includes chalking, stress cracking, and delamination prior to being buried.

The benefit of this research will reduce maintenance costs by determining the most durable coating systems that provide the longest service life.

Contributing Partners

Contact the Principal Investigator for information about partners.

Research Products

Bureau of Reclamation Review

The following documents were reviewed by experts in fields relating to this project's study and findings. The results were determined to be achieved using valid means.

Pipeline Coatings (final, PDF, 33KB)
By Allen Skaja
Report completed on May 02, 2014

The Research office provided a small amount of funds for seed money to develop partners to evaluate pipeline coatings. The Research office said there would be $100,000 available if we could get research partners. We had a meeting with Water Research Foundation in May 2013. With all the similarity in goals between Reclamation and WRF, they did not seem overly thrilled to conduct this pipe coatings research together. We have not heard back from them since the meeting.
Due to the inability to

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Last Updated: 6/22/20