Durability of vitreous enamel coatings and their resistance to abrasion, chemicals, and corrosion: a review
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REVIEW ARTICLE
Durability of vitreous enamel coatings and their resistance to abrasion, chemicals, and corrosion: a review Stefano Rossi, Francesca Russo , Massimo Calovi
Ó The Author(s) 2020 Abstract Vitreous enamels represent a class of coatings with different technological properties, mainly appreciated for the protection they guarantee to the covered substrates. This review introduces enamel coatings, describing their production technologies and presenting the main properties affecting the enamel’s durability. Firstly, this review article introduces the most important studies regarding the improvement in abrasion resistance, highlighting both successes and failures. Afterward, the work reveals an outlook about the resistance to chemicals, underlining the good resistance of enamels toward acidic chemicals and discussing the results of studies aimed to improve their performances toward alkaline solutions. This review also considers the corrosion protection property of enamels, highlighting the high barrier effect they provide against the absorption of aggressive substances toward metal substrates. Finally, new perspectives and possible future research paths are presented, being aware that this kind of coating offers both good product protection and functional integrity over time. Keywords Vitreous enamel, Abrasion, Corrosion, Durability
Introduction Enameling has its origins in ancient times and can be considered the oldest technique used by ancient civilizations to decorate precious objects. The Mycenaean civilization was the first to employ this technique for decorative purposes about 4500 years ago.1 The decorative role of enamel became more and more S. Rossi, F. Russo (&), M. Calovi Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Trento, Italy e-mail: [email protected]
important in the following centuries, until reaching its climax around the fourteenth century, when its decline began. Only with the advent of the industrial revolution, in the nineteenth century, this type of coating began to be used also for technical purposes.2,3 Enamel coatings combine aesthetically pleasing colors and glossy finishing with excellent technical properties, such as corrosion protection and durability: this was the main reason for vitreous enamel success in many fields, such as household and industry.4–6 This vitreous coating still represents an extremely modern coating, with high-performance characteristics, mainly attributable to the glassy nature of the matrix. The vitreous enamel is obtained starting from many different raw materials found all over the Earth: quartz, soda ash, borax, and metal oxides.7 They are ground together in the appropriate proportions to make a fine powder, which is melted at temperatures between 1100 and 1450°C and rapidly quenched to obtain the most important component in the enamel making process: the frit.1,2,5 The frit composition is a key aspect to be taken under consideration as it determines most of the engineering properties of the coating. The
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