The branch have secured continued commitments from all their existing 2018/2019 members and in addition have elected a new committee member, Mr. Jonathan Segynola (Corrosion Technical Authority of CNR)
At the AGM held on 28th May 2019, Stephen Tate and Nigel Owen, were elected Chair and Vice Chair respectively for the 20198/2020 session.
The successful May technical event was jointly organised between ICorr and NACE, and had 49 enthusiastic attendees from across industry and 3 very knowledgeable speakers.
Scott Maidman – Global Deployment Manager of Air Liquide, commenced proceedings with a detailed talk on the merits of Dry Ice Blast Cleaning, as an alternative method of surface preparation. This technique has been designed specifically for use in fabric maintenance in the Oil and Gas industry and similar applications, offering an alternative means of surface preparation and removal of coatings and corrosion. Further development of the equipment has allowed surface profiling through the addition of common abrasives to the dry ice flow. Its additional benefits include a reduced carbon footprint, less waste and post-blast clean up, when compared to other commonly used methods.
Graeme Kennedy – Manager Oil & Gas Downstream UK & Ireland for International Paint, continued with a complimentary talk on Cyclic Corrosion Testing on Surfaces that have been prepared by Dry Ice Blasting. International Paint collaborated with Dry Ice Global and NACE Aberdeen section to investigate the comparative performance of surface tolerant coatings systems when applied to corroded steel surfaces prepared by Dry Ice Blasting, with injected garnet abrasive. International Paint provided pre-rusted carbon steel panels which were blast cleaned and coated with two proprietary coatings systems and then allowed to cure prior to testing. These coated panels were then exposed to ISO12944-9: 2018 (formerly ISO20340 Performance requirements for protective paint systems for offshore and related structures) cyclic corrosion testing, as used in NORSOK M501, Edition 6. The coated panels were all scribed to expose the metal surface and tested for 25 cycles /4200 hours /6 months of alternate UV/condensation, salt spray and freeze to -20°C. The presentation considered the performance of common surface tolerant coatings systems applied over this method of surface preparation, and assessed the corrosion creep from the scribe, and adhesion values, as an indication of performance in the field.
Kennedy of International Paint, in an informative presentation entitled – Cyclic Corrosion Testing on Surfaces Prepared by Dry Ice Blasting.
Out-going chair Dr Yunnan Gao presents Certificates of Appreciation to the event Speakers – Simon Daly, Scott Maidman, and Graeme Kennedy.
Simon Daly – Oil & Gas Segment Manager, Hempel A/S, rounded off a very informative evening with a final presentation entitled ‘Evaluating the Effect of Surface Preparation Standard on Zinc Rich Epoxy Primers’. The presentation focussed on work carried out over an 18 month period with a view to creating consistent reproducible test panels for use in the evaluation of protective coating systems for corrosive environments. Additionally he presented a draft evaluation methodology for combining coating’s application characteristics and long term performance. Simon explained that historically, zinc rich primers have been associated with use as a primary means of corrosion protection on offshore assets at the new construction stage. His presentation investigated the risks and benefits of adopting zinc rich epoxy technology for the far more demanding maintenance phase, by considering/comparing different zinc systems under a variety of sub optimal surface preparation conditions, and the impact upon performance, the effect of the number of coating layers and coating type on system tolerance to salt contamination, 
a suitable means of providing consistently prepared test panels to recognized standards, other than commonly applied SA 2.5, and a test methodology for ensuring consistent levels of 
salt contamination prior to application and evaluation of 
coating performance.
This most interesting series of presentations generated many questions and proposals for future testing programmes.
The branch have secured a continued agreement from the Robert Gordon University (RGU) for use of their main Lecture Theatre (N242), as its venue the 2019/2020 evening events free of charge, and an excellent programme has now been compiled, which will be featured on the Institute website and circulated to all branch sponsors and companion institutes.
Looking ahead, the branch will be hosting its annual full-day Corrosion Awareness (CAD) course on 27th August 2019, (via key sponsor Rosen UK, at the Palm Court hotel), comprising of a number of lectures / presentations focusing on microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in pipeline systems. This year’s CAD programme will include talks by ROSEN specialists and other visiting speakers, on their MIC experiences from global operations covering – Sampling, Analysis, Monitoring of Pipelines for MIC damage, Chemical Mitigation / Cleaning Strategies and finally Inspection, Modelling and Monitoring approaches. Most certainly this event will provide a very comprehensive introduction, to this very significant and often troublesome area of Corrosion Control / Prevention.
Finally, It is with deep sadness that the Aberdeen committee have to report the loss of Alan Foxton, a past ICorr and TWI presenter, and Richard Waud, a valued and regular ICorr attendee, on the 9th and 10th July respectively. Our thoughts are with all their families, friends and colleagues.
As usual, full details of future branch events can be found on the diary page of the magazine and on the website, or by contacting: ICorrABZ@gmail.com
