There is a continuous demand for rapid curing coatings with less cost and a lower content of volatile organic compounds (VOC). Such systems have higher risk of crack formation and related mechanical coating failures. It is believed that test methodologies and measurement techniques used for composite materials and bulk polymeric materials as well as finite element modelling (FEM) can lead to optimized formulation principles. The objective of this FT is to study coating systems with different properties using e.g. nanoindentation, dynamic mechanical analysis, creep and fatigue testing during artificial weathering, in order to correlate the microscopic properties to the macroscopic mechanical performance. These results will be used to develop new coatings with improved mechanical properties.

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