Overview
ISO 18797-1:2016 provides minimum technical requirements for the external corrosion protection of risers in the petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries using elastomeric coating systems based on polychloroprene, EPDM or equivalent. The standard covers materials selection, surface preparation, application, inspection, testing, qualification and acceptance criteria for coated steel riser pipes used in the splash zone, including field joints and clamps/guides. It applies to new construction and pre-installation repairs; in-service maintenance and field repairs are addressed in ISO 18797-2.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Materials and handling
- Minimum requirements for elastomeric coating materials (polychloroprene, EPDM or equivalents)
- Packaging, transportation, storage and handling of pipes and coating materials before/after surface preparation
- Surface preparation
- Removal of contaminants and pipe imperfections
- Abrasive blast cleaning as a core preparatory method
- Coating application
- Priming and application methods for blast-cleaned surfaces
- Vulcanization and manual application for clamps, guides, bolt holes and flanges
- Procedures for coating of field joints and pre-installation repairs
- Inspection and testing
- Visual inspection, holiday detection, thickness measurement, adhesion (bond) testing, hardness testing
- Elastomer-specific tests: tensile, tear, elongation, compression set, abrasion, ozone resistance, specific gravity, cathodic disbondment, thermal conductivity and vulcanization characteristics
- Ultrasonic and sound testing for defect detection
- Qualification, documentation and quality
- Qualification of application and inspection personnel
- Test reports, batch certificates and acceptance/rejection criteria
- Requirements for handling and stacking coated pipes
Practical applications and users
ISO 18797-1 is intended for organizations and professionals involved in offshore and nearshore riser installation and fabrication:
- Corrosion and materials engineers specifying riser protection systems
- Coating manufacturers and suppliers of polychloroprene/EPDM systems
- Offshore fabricators and pipe coating contractors performing pre-installation application
- QA/QC and inspection teams performing coating verification and acceptance
- Asset owners and operators defining procurement and inspection criteria for risers in the splash zone
This standard supports reliability and asset protection by reducing external corrosion risks to risers exposed to cyclic wet/dry splash-zone conditions.
Related standards
Keywords: external corrosion protection, risers, elastomeric coating, polychloroprene, EPDM, splash zone, riser pipes, coating application, surface preparation, inspection and testing.