A number of tests are used by industry to evaluate protective coatings for buried pipelines. The connection between laboratory test results and performance in service is often not clear. Immersion tests and cathodic
disbondment tests are the most common to measure the durability of coatings for corrosion protection of the pipelines. Two important factors are examined in this work: (a) the effect of thermal gradient across the coated sample and (b) the combined effects of water soak and cathodic disbondment. Fusion bonded epoxy (FBE) coated steel was exposed at elevated temperatures with cathodic disbondment tests, water soak tests and combinations of the two. The implications of the results to better understanding of pipeline coatings performance in service are discussed.
Keywords: coatings, pipeline, corrosion protection, performance, accelerated tests, fusion bonded epoxy, cathodic disbondment, water soak, elevated temperature