An assessment of External Coatings and Coating requirements for Steel Pipelines Available to Purchase

Introduction It is well appreciated that the primary purpose of an external coating on a pipeline is of course to prevent corrosion and the coating system should possess appropriate physical and chemical properties which allow this function to be fulfilled. There are, however, additional mechanical requirements of a coating system if the material is to be effective during handling, construction, testing and operation and it is within the context of these latter requirements that current interest in external coatings has arisen.