Microstructured Particles for Microwave Activated Paint Removal
Open Access
- Author:
- Hricko, Patrick J
- Area of Honors:
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Mark Thomas Traband, Thesis Supervisor
Evangelos Manias, Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- paint removal
carbon black
zeolite
microwave - Abstract:
- Paint and coating removal and replacement is a necessary and significant aspect of maintenance of a variety of equipment and structures, including exposed structures such as bridges, sheet metal cladding, holding tanks, motor vehicles, air craft, and sea-faring vessels. Due to practical, ecological, and safety concerns, coating removal is often an expensive and time consuming challenge. Current technologies rely on either chemical or mechanical means to remove paint. Chemical, abrasive, and water-based technologies produce a high volume of chemical waste. Mechanical and abrasive techniques are extremely labor intensive. Because of these and other significant issues with conventional coating removal, improved coating removal techniques need to be developed. To effect more efficient removal, microwave absorbing paint additives are being developed as an aid in combination with, or alternative to current paint removal methods. The additives will convert the microwave radiation into heat or mechanical energy to remove the coating. Several microwave absorbing paint additives were tested in various industrial paints. Different additive materials have been tested, including zeolites, ceramics, and carbon, at a frequency of 2.45 GHz (the frequency used by most commercial microwave heating equipment). Rate of heating additives in bulk has been studied, as well as the physical effects of heating paint mixed with additives. Multiphase additives with a volatile phase absorbed to a porous particle have also been tested. Temperatures capable of pyrolysing paint have been demonstrated, but arcing, uneven heating, and thermal runaway still remain issues. Mechanical degradation of the paint was also observed in some cases, mainly due to large volume changes caused by thermal stress gradients and additive phase changes during microwave heating. Mechanical testing of coatings and materials before and after microwave heating reveals degradation of paint coatings from heating. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using microwave absorbing additives to aid in paint removal. Results of these experiments suggest more advanced, multi-phase or layered designs merit investigation.