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EP-4735500-A1 - MULTI-COATING SYSTEM FOR COMPOSITE VESSELS

EP4735500A1EP 4735500 A1EP4735500 A1EP 4735500A1EP-4735500-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a multi-coating system operable to provide an impact protective coating and a fire protective coating to various substrates, such as a composite vessel. The multi-coating system generally includes an impact protective coating composition including a polyisocyanate component and a polyisocyanate reactive composition and a fire protective coating composition including an isocyanate component, an isocyanate-reactive hydrogen composition and an intumescent component.

Inventors

  • PRIEMEN, STEFAN
  • PRATELLI, Daniele
  • LEROY, DIMITRI

Assignees

  • Huntsman International LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240626

Claims (19)

  1. 1. A multi-coating system comprising: (i) an impact protective coating composition comprising a polyisocyanate component and a polyisocyanate reactive composition comprising one or more polyamines or one or more polyhydric alcohols or a mixture thereof; and (ii) a fire protective coating composition selected from an epoxy adhesive, a polyurethane elastomer, and an intumescent- containing composition comprising (a) an isocyanate component, (b) an isocyanate-reactive hydrogen composition including one or more compounds containing an isocyanate-reactive hydrogen, and (c) an intumescent component.
  2. 2. The multi-coating system of claim 1, wherein the polyisocyanate component comprises a semiprepolymer or prepolymer formed from the reaction of a polyisocyanate and a polyhydric alcohol.
  3. 3. The multi-coating system of claim 2, wherein the polyhydric alcohol is a polyether polyol.
  4. 4. The multi-coating system of claim 2, wherein the polyhydric alcohol is a copolymer of one or more of a polyether polyol, a polyester polyol, a polycarbonate polyol, and a polycaprolactone polyol.
  5. 5. The multi-coating system of claim 1, wherein the one or more polyamines comprises a polyoxyalkylene polyamine.
  6. 6. The multi-coating system of claim 5, wherein the polyoxyalkylene polyamine is a compound having the formula where Q' is a polyvalent residue of an isocyanate-reactive hydrogen-containing compound after removal of at least one isocyanate-reactive hydrogen, y' is at least 2, each R' is independently hydrogen, methyl, ethyl or propyl, and x' is from about 1 to about 40.
  7. 7. The multi-coating system of any preceding claim, wherein the impact protective coating composition reacts to form an impact protective coating having a glass transition temperature of less than about -30°C, preferably less than about -35°C, more preferably less than about -40°C, preferably less than about -50°C, preferably less than about -60°C
  8. 8. The multi-coating system of any preceding claim, wherein the impact protective coating composition further comprises an amine-terminated chain extender.
  9. 9. The multi-coating system of any preceding claim, wherein the isocyanate component comprises a prepolymer formed from the reaction of a polyisocyanate and a polyhydric alcohol having a molecular weight from about 400-5000 Da.
  10. 10. The multi-coating system of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more compounds containing an isocyanate-reactive hydrogen comprises a polycarbonate polyol, a polycaprolactone polyol, a polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) or a mixture thereof.
  11. 11. The multi-coating system of any preceding claim, wherein the intumescent component comprises at least one or more intumescent ingredients containing phosphorus, nitrogen and boron atoms with a weight ratio of phosphorus to nitrogen in the intumescent component being between 0.5/1 to 1.5/1 and the amount of boron being from about 1% by weight to about 5% by weight, based on the total weight of the fire protective coating composition.
  12. 12. The multi-coating system of claim 11, wherein the intumescent component further comprises an acid source selected from ammonium polyphosphate, melamine polyphosphate, magnesium sulphate, boric acid, a phosphorus containing polyol, dihydroxaphosphaphenanthrene oxide and an adduct thereof.
  13. 13. The multi-coating system of claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the intumescent component further comprises a gas source.
  14. 14. The multi-coating system of any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the intumescent component further comprises at least one nucleating agent.
  15. 15. A process for producing a cured impact resistant intumescent substrate comprising (a) applying a polyisocyanate component and a polyisocyanate reactive composition to at least a portion of a surface of a substrate, (b) allowing the polyisocyanate component and the polyisocyanate reactive composition to cure by allowing a reaction between the polyisocyanate component and the polyisocyanate reactive composition to proceed to form an impact protective coating on the surface of the substrate; (c) applying an isocyanate component, an isocyanate-reactive hydrogen composition and an intumescent component to at least a portion of a surface of the impact protective layer; and (d) allowing the isocyanate component, the isocyanate-reactive hydrogen composition and the intumescent component to cure by allowing a reaction between the isocyanate component, the isocyanate-reactive hydrogen composition and the intumescent component to proceed to form a fire protective coating on the impact protective coating.
  16. 16. A method of coating an external surface of a composite vessel for protection against damage from impact and during a fire situation comprising applying an impact protective coating composition on top of the external surface of the composite vessel and allowing it to from an impact protective coating and applying a fire protective coating composition on top of the impact protective coating and allowing it to form a fire protective coating on top of the impact protective coating wherein: (i) the impact protective coating composition comprises a polyisocyanate component and a polyisocyanate reactive composition; and (ii) the fire protective coating composition is selected from an epoxy adhesive, a polyurethane elastomer, and an intumescent-containing composition comprising: (a) an isocyanate component, (b) an isocyanate-reactive hydrogen composition including one or more compounds containing an isocyanate-reactive hydrogen, and (c) an intumescent component.
  17. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the intumescent component comprises at least one or more intumescent ingredients containing phosphorus, nitrogen and boron atoms with a weight ratio of phosphorus to nitrogen in the intumescent component being between 0.5/1 to 1.5/1 and the amount of boron being from about 1% by weight to about 5% by weight, based on the total weight of the fire protective coating composition.
  18. 18. A coated composite vessel made by the process of claim 15, or the method of claim 16 or claim 17.
  19. 19. A composite vessel comprising a surface, wherein at least a portion of the surface is coated with an impact protective coating and at least a portion of the impact protective coating is coated with a fire protective coating.

Description

MULTI-COATING SYSTEM FOR COMPOSITE VESSELS CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of EP23181639.8 filed 27 June 2023. The contents of the same are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD [0002] The present disclosure is generally directed to a multi-coating system with impact resistance and passive fire protection properties useful in various applications, such as providing external protection to a composite vessel. BACKGROUND [0003] Generally, pressure vessels are structures capable of containing a fluid, e.g., liquids, liquefied gases, compressed gases, and combinations thereof, under pressure. Exemplary pressure vessels include storage containers (e.g., fuel tanks, portable gas (e.g., oxygen) storage bottles, and accumulators) as well as pipes and other conduits that may be used to transport fluids at elevated pressures (e.g., hydraulic lines) and structures exposed to transient elevated pressures (e.g., rocket motor casings and launch tubes). [0004] Traditionally, pressure vessels were made of metal. While many factors affect material selection (e.g., thermal stability, corrosion resistance, and fatigue performance) decreasing the weight, improving the burst strength, and increasing the useful life have become significant factors for pressure vessel designers. These demands have led to an increased use of fiber-reinforced composites in the construction of pressure vessels. However, an important disadvantage of such vessels is that the fiber-reinforced composite materials can be easily damaged by impact and also do not perform well at low and high temperatures and are not resistant to fire. [0005] One approach to improve performance at low and high temperature is to coat the composite material with a protective coating and an intumescent coating for the protection to fire. Conventional intumescent coatings used for passive fire protection include water-based acrylic systems that perform well for fire protection but may have very long drying times and may exhibit no or very limited mechanical strength once they have dried. Therefore, such coatings may not form a protective layer against impact. Epoxy resin systems have also been used to provide fire protection properties. While performing extremely well in connection with fire protection requirements, they require several hours to dry, may need to be heated to accelerate the reticulation process and have limited low temperature flexibility. Because both systems suffer from less than acceptable mechanical properties, chemical product exposure may also become an issue if the coating is damaged due to impact thereby exposing the composite material's external surface to chemical attack from the atmosphere and foreign matter. [0006] Thus, there is a need for an inexpensive way in which to protect composite vessels and/or to produce composite vessels providing both impact resistance and passive fire protection. SUMMARY [0007] The present disclosure is generally directed to a multi-coating system capable of withstanding impact from extraneous objects as well as exposure to fire and high temperature, and as such can be applied to a composite vessel or other substrates to protect the composite vessel or substrate from impact damage, chemical exposure and fire. According to one embodiment, the multi-coating system comprises: (i) an impact protective coating composition comprising a polyisocyanate component and a polyisocyanate reactive composition; and (ii) a fire protective coating composition selected from an epoxy adhesive, a polyurethane elastomer, and an intumescent-containing composition comprising (a) an organic thermosetting component, (b) a curing agent for the organic thermosetting component, and (c) an intumescent component. In various embodiments, the organic thermosetting component may include, but is not limited to, an epoxy resin, a benzoxazine resin, an acrylic or methacrylic resin, an organopolysiloxane resin, a polyisocyanate (which can be the same or different as the polyisocyanates in the polyisocyanate component for the impact protective coating composition) or combinations thereof and the curing agent may include, but is not limited to, an amine, thiol, carboxylic acid, anhydride, and/or a polyhydric alcohol. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0008] The present disclosure generally provides a multi-coating system and its use in connection with the protection of composite vessels. The multi-coating system of the present disclosure is capable of providing both a passive fire protection layer and an impact protection layer, such layers being applied in series to the external surface of the composite vessel. Both layers are capable of curing/drying quickly (i.e., are tack free in less than about 10 seconds, or less than about 5 seconds, such as about 2 seconds, and develop about 80%-90% of their final properties within about 15-30 minutes) thus reducing manufacturing time as well as capital expenditure needs (e.