The objective of this work is to evaluate the coatings that have been used in the splash zone of steel piles located in Lake Maracaibo. Coal tar epoxy coating applied to piles was inspected and a special concrete mixture design with cathodic protection applied to other specially selected piles on a fuel loading/unloading dock. The evaluation was carried out by visual inspection, damage survey (delamination, cracks, etc.) and measuring potentials. Even though applied and inspected under the conditions recommended by the manufacturer, the
duration of epoxy-based coatings was short (2 to 3 years), instead of the expected duration (7 to 8 years). The concrete coating performed very well while the cathodic protection system was working normally. However, only the concrete coating with 1% ZnO has performed favorably
since the cathodic protection system broke down. The results, after six years, indicate the effectiveness of the concrete coating.
Keywords: piles, coatings, epoxy, concrete, inhibitor, cathodic protection