The Evolution of Polyurea: From Aromatic Spray Polyurea to Polyaspartic Polyurea

Polyurea is an elastomeric substance produced through the reaction between an isocyanate component and an amine-based compound. It's differentiated into pure polyurea and hybrid polyurea, each possessing distinct properties. At its core, polyurea is recognized for its corrosion resistance, waterproofing, and abrasion resistance.

Polyurea's applications are vast. Its distribution in application sectors is as follows: 60% for concrete protection, 15% for truck wear-resistant lining, 10% for steel structure corrosion protection, 10% for roofing waterproofing, and the remaining 5% for other uses. As a protective technology, polyurea primarily serves four domains: waterproofing, corrosion resistance, abrasion resistance, and surface decoration. For instance, its application in pipeline corrosion protection was among the earliest and remains one of the largest sectors. Other applications encompass steel structure corrosion protection (especially dock steel pile protection), elastic collision materials (marine buoys, chord protection), nuclear power plant protection, defense and military (tank chassis, bulletproof helmets), swimming facilities, and more.

Polyaspartic Polyurea, a type of polyurea, represents the third generation of this material.

Over the years, polyurea has evolved through three generations: aromatic spray polyurea (first generation), aliphatic spray polyurea (second generation), and polyaspartic polyurea (third generation).

First Generation: Aromatic Spray Polyurea

Advantages

1. Spray polyurea technology allows for room-temperature application, a revolutionary “universal” coating technique. Due to its rapid curing, there's just a few minutes of interval between layers. It can be applied on vertical surfaces without dripping. For instance, 1000 square meters can be completed in just 6 hours and be ready for use in 2-3 hours.
2. Adhesion: With appropriate priming, spray polyurea exhibits robust adhesion, achieving strengths over 13.6MPA on steel components, comparable to epoxy materials.
3. It offers superior flexibility over epoxy materials, making it more resilient to alternating pressures.
4. Polyurea coatings exhibit tenfold abrasion resistance compared to carbon steel and 3-5 times that of epoxy resins. Hence, it's frequently used for heavy-duty industrial floors with regular human or vehicular traffic.
5. It boasts a good elongation rate, promising a longer life than epoxy.
6. Exceptional impact resistance and resistance to fatigue damage.
7. Outstanding water resistance, fatigue impact resistance, and corrosion resistance, particularly in harsh marine environments.
8. Polyurea coatings rely entirely on chemical reactions, resulting in a dense, seamless coating without defects like pinholes, bubbles, or shrinkage pores.
9. Superior resistance to cathodic peeling.
10. Heat-oxidation aging resistance: Post heat oxidation, polyurea coatings undergo further curing reactions, enhancing their strength.

Limitations

1. Susceptibility to yellowing, requiring specialized equipment for application, which is capital intensive. Moreover, aerosolized material during application can be harmful.
2. Rapid curing can sometimes compromise overall adhesion.

While the second generation made some improvements, it still fell short of expectations.

The discovery of the third generation, Polyaspartic Polyurea, addressed these challenges, simplifying the application process. Polyaspartic Polyurea is the result of a reaction between modified isocyanate prepolymer and polyaspartic ester (commonly referred to as polyaspartic resin).

Distinctive features of Polyaspartic Polyurea compared to aromatic and aliphatic polyurea

• Adjustable reactivity, with gel times ranging from a few minutes to several hours. This versatility expands the application domains of polyurea products and simplifies their application.
• Prolonged gel times improve the material's wettability on the substrate, enhancing its adhesion.
• The structural modification of the resin forms a coating with superior tensile strength, elongation at break, and abrasion resistance.

Benefits of Polyaspartic Polyurea

1. Exceptional weathering, aging, and UV resistance. It can remain exposed outdoors for years without aging or powdering. Even after 4,000 hours of QUVA testing, its performance retains over 95% of its original quality.
2. It can be applied by hand brushing, rolling, or spraying, ensuring ease of application.
3. Strong adhesion prevents coating detachment and failure.
4. The elastic layer of the Polyaspartic Polyurea system remains unaffected by temperature fluctuations, preventing cracks and maintaining consistent adhesion.
5. Outstanding low-temperature resistance, with the coating remaining intact even at -35°C.
6. It integrates waterproofing and decorative functions, achieving desired visual effects.
7. Strong resistance to acids and bases. When immersed in a 5% H2SO4/NaOH solution for 30 days, the coating remains undamaged.
8. It provides both protection against and decoration for surfaces.
9. It is environmentally friendly, safe, and free from harmful VOCs.

Feiyang has been specializing in the production of raw materials for polyaspartic coatings for 30 years and can provide polyaspartic resins, hardeners and coating formulations. Some of our polyaspartic coating formulations: Polyaspartic Coating

Feel free to contact us: marketing@feiyang.com.cn

Our products list:

• Polyaspartic Resin
• Isocyanate Hardener
• Special Chemical

Learn more polyaspartic knowledge: Polyaspartic FAQ