ABSTRACT
DEAN M. BERGER Berger Associates, Inc . , Leola, Pennsylvania
INTRODUCTION
Liquid-applied linings are coatings that may be spray applied or troweled. They require the best surface preparation possible, Steel Structures Painting Council (SSPC) SP5 white-metal blast cleaning or National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) 1. The coatings should be applied under ideal conditions with full-inspection procedures employed. These requirements are universal for any tank-lining application, owing to the severity of constant immersion (or partial immersion) that the tank lining must resist. All other types of coating applications are less severe, because they will alternate between corrosive contact and periods of little or no corrosive contact, thereby providing a recovery or cleaning period for the coating surface. In a tank lining, there are usually four areas of contact with the stored product that may lead to different types of corrosion. These areas are the vapor phase (the area above the liquid level), the interphase (the area where the vapor phase meets the liquid phase), the liquid phase (the area always immersed), and the bottom of the tank (where moisture and other contaminants of greater density may settle). Each of these areas can, at one time or another, be more severely attacked than the rest, depending on the type of material contained, the impurities present, and the amounts of oxygen and water present.
