# US 12,298,267 B2 · Coated structure with a monitoring system, a method for monitoring cracking of a coated structure, a coating system, and a monitoring system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,298,267 B2 - Document ID: US12298267B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/022,658 - Filed: 2021-08-31 - Published: 2023-10-12 - Granted: 2025-05-13 - Earliest claimed: 2020-08-31 - Assignees: Hempel A/S - Applicants: Hempel A/S - Inventors: Vadimas Verdingovas; Josep Palasi Bargallo; Stefan Urth Nielsen - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12298267B2 ## CPC - G01N 27/205: {in insulating materials} - G01M 5/0033: {by determining damage, crack or wear} - G01N 17/04: Corrosion probes - G01N 27/02: by investigating impedance - G01N 27/026: {Dielectric impedance spectroscopy (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for measuring corrosion G01N17/02)} - G01N 27/24: Investigating the presence of flaws - G01N 27/82: for investigating the presence of flaws - G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q) - G01M: TESTING STATIC OR DYNAMIC BALANCE OF MACHINES OR STRUCTURES; TESTING OF STRUCTURES OR APPARATUS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR ## Abstract A coated structure with a monitoring system includes a base having a base surface, a coating system having one or more layers of cured coat providing protection against surface degradation and being joined to the base surface in a base interface and extending in a thickness direction to an outer coating surface, at least one electrode made from a conductive material embedded in the coating system. The monitoring system is configured to generate an input signal in the at least one electrode and to read an output signal from the at least one electrode, and from the output signal, to determine cracking of the one or more layers of cured coat. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A coated structure with a monitoring system, the coated structure comprising a base having a base surface, a coating system comprising two or more layers of cured coat providing protection against surface degradation and being joined to the base surface in a base interface and extending in a thickness direction to an outer coating surface, at least one electrode made from a conductive material embedded in the coating system, and the monitoring system being configured to generate an input signal in the at least one electrode and to read an output signal from the at least one electrode, and from the output signal, to determine cracking of the two or more layers of cured coat, wherein the coating system comprises at least the two layers of cured coat joined in a coating interface and forming an adhesive inter coating bond strength, and wherein at least one of the at least one electrode is located in the coating interface and forms an adhesive electrode bond strength to both layers of cured coat, and wherein the adhesive electrode bond strength is higher or equivalent to the coating bond strength between the at least two layers of cured coat. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The coated structure according to claim 1, wherein said cured coat has been obtained by at least two applications of the same coating composition wherein one or more electrodes are embedded in between the at least two applications of the same coating composition. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The coating structure according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive electrode bond strength is lower or equivalent to a base bond strength between the base and the cured coat closest to the base. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The coated structure according to claim 1, wherein the at least two layers of cured coat are obtained from the same coating composition. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The coated structure according to claim 1, wherein the at least two layers of cured coat are obtained from different coating compositions. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The coated structure according to claim 1, wherein the cured coat bonded to the electrode exhibits a first elongation at break, and the electrode exhibits a second elongation at break, wherein the first and second elongation at break are essentially equal such that the electrode is configured to break essentially simultaneously with the cured coat during elongation of the base. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The coated structure according to claim 1, wherein the cured coat bonded to the electrode exhibits a first elongation at break, and the electrode exhibits a second elongation at break, wherein the first elongation at break is at most in the order of the second elongation at break such that the electrode is configured to break at the earliest simultaneously with the cured coat during elongation of the base. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The coated structure according to claim 1, wherein the cured coat has a temperature expansion which is lower than the elongation at break of the electrode. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The coated structure according to claim 1, wherein the conductive material has a thermal expansion coefficient being essentially equal to the thermal expansion coefficient of at least one of said two or more layers of cured coat. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The coated structure according to claim 1, wherein the conductive material comprises a conductive flexible polymer or polymer blend such as for example poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), Polypyrrole (PPy), polyphenylene vinylene (PPV), polyacetylene, or Polyaniline (PANI). ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The coated structure according to claim 1, wherein the conductive material comprises a non-conductive flexible polymer or polymer blend comprising a conductive dopant. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The coated structure according to claim 11, wherein the dopant comprises a metal such as silver, copper, aluminium, iron or zinc. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The coated structure according to claim 11, wherein the dopant comprises elements from the carbon family such as graphene, graphite, or carbon nanotubes. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The coated structure according to claim 1, wherein one of the at least one electrode forms a plurality of conductors extending individually between two connectors, and wherein a total resistance between the connectors is calculated based on a contribution from each conductor. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The coated structure according to claim 1, wherein the at least one electrode is bonded completely to the cured coat. ### Claim 16 A method of detecting cracking in a cured coat covering a surface of a base, the method comprising: embedding at least one electrode in a cured coat and/or between two or more layers of cured coat; generating an input signal in the at least one electrode; and using a monitoring system to read an output signal from the at least one electrode and based thereon to determine cracking of the cured coat, wherein the at least one electrode is designed to break at the earliest simultaneously with said two or more layers cured coat during elongation of the coated structure, wherein the coating system comprises at least the two layers of cured coat joined in a coating interface and forming an adhesive inter coating bond strength, and wherein at least one of the at least one electrode is located in the coating interface and forms an adhesive electrode bond strength to both layers of cured coat, and wherein the adhesive electrode bond strength is higher or equivalent to the coating bond strength between the at least two layers of cured coat. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method according to claim 16, wherein cracking is determined by determining an increased resistance caused by at least partial destruction of the at least one electrode. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The method according to claim 16, wherein said coating system comprises at least two electrodes, wherein cracking is determined by determining a changed capacitance between the at least two electrodes. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The method according to claim 16, wherein cracking is determined by EIS. ### Claim 20 A coating system for protecting a base, the coating system comprising two or more layers of cured coat, wherein an electrode is embedded in at least one of said two or more layers of cured coat or between at least two or more layers of cured coat, wherein the cured coat bonded to the electrode exhibit a first elongation at break, and the electrode exhibit a second elongation at break, wherein the first elongation at break is at most equal to the second elongation at break such that the electrode is configured to break at the earliest simultaneously with the cured coat during elongation of the coated structure, wherein the coating system comprises at least the two layers of cured coat joined in a coating interface and forming an adhesive inter coating bond strength, and wherein at least one of the at least one electrode is located in the coating interface and forms an adhesive electrode bond strength to both layers of cured coat, and wherein the adhesive electrode bond strength is higher or equivalent to the coating bond strength between the at least two layers of cured coat. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The coating system according to claim 20, wherein said coating system comprises two or more layers of cured coat, wherein a) an electrode is embedded in at least one of the two or more layers of cured coat, wherein the cured coat in which the electrode is embedded exhibits a third elongation at break, and the electrode embedded in the at least one of the two or more layers of cured coat exhibits a fourth elongation at break, wherein the third and fourth elongation at break are essentially equal such that the electrode embedded in the at least one of the two or more layers of cured coat is configured to break essentially simultaneously with or at the earliest simultaneously with the cured coat during elongation of the coated structure, and/or b) an electrode is embedded between at least two of the two or more layers of cured coat, wherein at least one of the two or more layers of cured coat exhibits a fifth elongation at break, and the electrode embedded between at least two of the two or more layers of cured coat exhibits a sixth elongation at break, wherein the fifth and sixth elongation at break are essentially equal such that the electrode embedded between at least two of the two or more layers of cured coat is configured to break essentially simultaneously with or at the earliest simultaneously with at least one of the cured coat during elongation of the coated structure. ### Claim 22 (depends on 20) The coating system according to claim 20, comprising a plurality of different layers of cured coat and a plurality of different types of electrodes, each layer of cured coat having an associated type of electrode such that the associated electrode when embedded in or between the two or more layers of cured coat breaks essentially simultaneously with or at the earliest simultaneously with the cured coat during elongation of the coated structure.