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October 1991

By: Louis MacDowell

Abstract

This report evaluates coating systems with increased chemical resistance as topcoats to protect inorganic zinc-rich primers from the acidic attack of solid rocket booster (SRB) exhaust effluent after 60 months of seacoast exposure at the KSC Beach Corrosion Test Site. KSC launch structures and ground support equipment are affected by the products of the solid rocket booster exhaust which include small particles of alumina (AL2O3) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) absorbed on the surface of these particles. For this higher resistance, this study focused on the high build polyurethane formulations with a high build epoxy tie coat to the inorganic zinc primer. These high build systems were directly compared to thin film counterparts for increased resistance to the SRB effluent. This report completes the exposure testing of the work started with MTB 268-86A and MTB 268-86B.

For additional information, a complete copy of this study is available as NASA Report 91-4821.  Send requests for copies to corrosion@ksc.nasa.gov.

To download a full copy of this report in Adobe's pdf format for local printing, click 91-4821.pdf.  (2.3MB)

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