The Effects of Humidity and (Dew-point) Temperature on Ambient Cure Epoxy Coatings

Why Are They Important?

In the Technical Bulletins, Crystallization of Liquid Epoxy Resins (Form No. 296-01652) and Amine Blushing and Blooming of Epoxy Binder Systems (Form No. 296-01656), we discussed some of the potential effects of temperature and humidity on liquid epoxy resins and binder performance. While it is obvious that laying an epoxy flooring or applying an epoxy coating cannot be done in the rain, there are some general requirements that should be considered with respect to the humidity and dew-point temperature. Failure to consider these parameters can result in severe coating defects caused either by condensation on the substrate before coating or condensation on the coating while it is still sensitive to water. With most formulated epoxy binder systems, the supplier normally provides operating guidelines and instructions that typically describe how to handle the material as well as requirements for the quality of the substrate and environmental influences. One might ask then, What are the operating guidelines in relation to temperature / humidity for the optimum curing of ambient curing epoxy binder systems? This question should be answered by the epoxy resin formulator. Most formulator recommendations indicate that the maximum humidity tolerated in the air will depend upon the temperature. It is generally recommended that the minimum application temperature should be at least 3C above the dewpoint temperature. This prerequisite generally ensures that condensation on the substrate and coating, which would result in severe coating defects, is avoided.

Temperature
The minimum (dry-bulb) air temperature at which an ambient curing epoxy formulation can be applied and still provide for a sufficient curing rate is an extremely important parameter. The reactivity of an epoxy binder system is reduced by lowering the cure temperature. The reduced curing rate not only slows down the coating job but also increases the risk of coating disturbances such as blushing or blooming. A commonly accepted rule of thumb is that the curing time will increase by a factor of 2 for every 10C decrease in the curing temperature. In practice, this means that a coating system which has a through film drying time of 6-8 hours under normal ambient conditions of 25C will have a drying time of around 24-32 hours (factor of 4) at 5C. This means that the coating job which typically could have been continued the next day would require at least one extra day.

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The minimum application temperature limit needs to be determined by the formulator and specified in his products operating guidelines. The recommended minimum temperature should take into account the minimum temperature to achieve cure and should also consider what will happen if initial cure takes place at lower temperatures and the coating subsequently recovers to regular ambient temperatures. Does the system recover completely and reach its full required performance properties? The rate of cure at a certain temperature is determined by the individual reactivity of the epoxy resin and of the curing agent. Although the key parameter in determining the minimum application temperature is the curing agent type, the selection of the epoxy resin can also play a role. Epoxy resins which are solely based on aromatic glycidyl ethers typically have a higher reactivity with amine-type curing agents than resins which contain aliphatic glycidyl ethers. For example, the gel time of a 100 gram mixture of D.E.R. 321 Liquid Epoxy Resin, an aromatic glycidyl ether modified bisphenol A epoxy resin, with a stoichiometric amount of diethylenetetramine (D.E.H. 20 Amine Hardener) is approximately 50 minutes. A similar mixture based on D.E.R. 324 Epoxy Resin, an aliphatic chain glycidyl ether modified bisphenol A epoxy resin, with D.E.H. 20 Amine Hardener would require around 80 minutes to gel. A wide variety of curing agents have been developed over the years to address several performance
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requirements. Typical commercial ambient curing epoxy binder formulations will have a recommended minimum application temperature of around 10C (mostly based on formulated epoxy-amine adducts). This is, in general, considered as the low(er) end of the working temperature range in ambient cure applications. However, several curing agent technologies, such as Mannich-based hardeners, have been developed which offer an extended curing range down to zero or sub-zero temperatures.

Table 1
Temperature (C) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Maximum Water Vapor (gr/m3) 4.8 6.8 9.5 12.8 17.3 23.0 30.4 39.6 51.1 65.0

Humidity and Dew-point

In order to explain and define the dew-point temperature, it is necessary to understand some basics about humidity and relative humidity. The amount of water vapor in the air is often expressed as absolute humidity. The total amount of water the air can hold is dependent on the air temperature. The absolute humidity indicates the amount of water in a certain volume of air at a certain temperature and is subsequently expressed in gr/m3 (@ X C). As the temperature of the air increases, the volume of water the air can hold also increases. See Table 1.

The more commonly used relative humidity is the amount of water in the air expressed as a percentage of the maximum amount of water the air can hold at a given temperature. The relative humidity is the ratio of the water vapor content (amount of water vapor actually in the air) compared to the water vapor capacity (maximum amount of water vapor the air can hold), at that particular temperature. Saturated air at a given temperature can be referred to as 100 percent relative humidity.

Water Vapor Content (gr/m3) Relative X 100% = Humidity (%) Maximum Water Vapor Content (gr/m3)

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horizontal scale and the bulk of the table indicates the relative humidity. The corresponding dewpoint temperatures are given in the vertical (bold) columns. For instance at a (dry-bulb) air temperature of 25C and a relative humidity of 50% the dew-point temperature would be 14C. If the relative humidity had been 78% at the same temperature the dew-point temperature would be 21C. A coating job can typically be performed only if the temperature is at least 3C above the dew-point temperature. For instance, at a temperature of 23C and a relative humidity of 65% the dewpoint temperature is 16C and thus we can continue fabrication. If later in the afternoon the temperature drops and approaches 19C (the relative humidity will increase), we will have to stop our application process because we will no longer operate at more than 3C above the dew-point temperature. If the initial relative humidity had been 83% at 23C, then the dewpoint temperature would have been 20C and thus fabrication could not have been initiated. Note that at a relative humidity of 85%, the lowest possible substrate temperature is equal to the room temperature. This means that in order to maintain the safety margin of operating at a temperature of at least 3C above the dew-point temperature, a relative humidity of 85% cannot be exceeded unless we warm the substrate.

If we say the relative humidity is 50%, this indicates that the air is holding half of its maximum possible amount of moisture at the given temperature. If we increase the temperature, the maximum amount of moisture the air can hold will increase. Since the actual water content will not change, this means the relative humidity will decrease. In case the temperature drops, then the relative humidity will increase ultimately to the level where the maximum concentration will be achieved; 100% relative humidity. Further reduction of the temperature will force the water to condense and water droplets (dew/ fog) will form and the dew-point has now been reached. The dewpoint, or the temperature at which condensation occurs, depends on the amount of water vapor in the air. The dew-point temperature is the temperature to which air must be cooled for saturation (100% relative humidity) to occur, provided there

is no change in water content. The dew-point temperature is an important measurement used to predict the formation of dew and fog. If the dew-point temperature and the air temperature are close together in the late afternoon when the air begins to turn colder, fog is likely to develop during the night. The dew-point temperature is also a good indicator of the airs actual water vapor content, unlike relative humidity, which is air temperature dependent. Since condensation occurs when the air temperature reaches the dew-point temperature, and condensation releases heat into the air, reaching the dew-point temperature halts the cooling process. There are some extremely complex equations used to calculate the dew-point temperature. A more pragmatic way to determine the dew-point temperature is to use the values shown in Table 2. The (drybulb) air temperature (C) in this table is represented by the

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Table 2
Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology Conversion Chart Dew-point to Relative Humidity
DEW PT C 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 100 100 93 100 100 93 93 87 87 82 100 100 94 100 94 100 94 88 100 94 88 82 94 88 82 77 87 82 77 72 82 76 72 67 76 71 67 63 88 82 77 72 67 63 59 100 100 94 100 94 88 100 94 100 94 88 94 88 83 88 82 77 82 77 73 77 72 68 72 68 64 68 63 59 63 59 56 59 55 52 55 52 49 88 80 83 78 78 73 73 68 68 64 64 60 60 56 56 53 52 40 49 46 46 43 100 100 94 100 94 89 94 88 83 88 83 78 83 78 73 78 73 69 73 69 65 69 64 61 64 60 57 60 57 53 56 53 50 53 50 47 49 46 44 46 43 41 43 41 38 40 38 36 100 94 89 83 78 74 69 65 61 57 54 50 47 44 41 38 36 34 100 94 89 83 78 74 69 65 61 57 54 50 47 44 41 39 36 34 32 100 94 89 84 79 74 70 65 61 58 54 51 48 45 42 39 37 34 32 30 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Dry-Bulb (C)
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 100 100 94 100 94 89 100 94 89 84 94 89 84 79 89 84 79 75 84 79 74 70 79 74 70 66 74 70 66 62 70 66 62 59 66 62 58 55 62 58 55 52 58 55 52 49 54 51 48 46 51 48 45 43 48 45 43 40 45 42 40 38 42 40 37 35 39 37 35 33 37 36 33 31 34 32 31 29 32 30 29 27 30 28 27 25 28 26 25 24 31 94 89 84 79 75 70 66 63 59 55 52 49 46 43 40 38 36 33 31 29 27 26 24 22 32 33 89 84 84 80 79 75 75 71 71 67 67 63 63 59 59 56 56 53 52 49 49 46 46 44 43 41 41 38 38 36 36 34 34 32 31 30 29 28 28 26 26 24 24 23 23 21 21 20 34 35 80 75 75 71 71 67 67 63 63 60 60 57 56 53 53 50 50 47 47 44 44 42 41 39 39 37 36 34 34 32 32 30 30 28 28 27 26 25 25 23 23 22 22 20 20 19 19 18

DEW PT C 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7

6 100 93 87 81 76 5 4 3 2 1 93 87 81 76 71 87 81 76 71 66 81 76 71 66 62 75 70 66 61 57 70 66 61 57 54

71 67 62 58 55 66 62 58 55 51 62 58 54 51 48 58 54 51 47 44 54 50 47 44 41 50 47 44 41 39

51 48 45 43 40 48 45 42 40 37 45 42 39 37 35 42 39 37 34 32 39 36 34 32 30 36 34 32 30 28

38 35 33 31 30 35 33 31 29 28 33 31 29 27 26 30 29 27 25 24 28 27 25 24 22 26 25 23 22 21

28 26 25 23 22 26 24 23 22 21 24 23 22 20 19 23 21 20 19 18 21 20 19 18 17 20 18 17 16 15

21 20 19 18 17 19 18 17 16 16 18 17 16 15 14 17 16 15 14 13 16 15 14 13 13 15 14 13 12 12

6 5 4 3 2 1

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Published December 2007

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Form No. 296-01667-1207X-TD