School mascots have long been considered a source of pride, excitement and a focal point for college and university students and alumni across the country. So when the City of Troy, Alabama, decided to use the local university’s Trojan mascot on a new 1.5 million gallon hydropillar water tank, engineers wanted a coating system worthy of their local icon. The design features a Trojan helmet that is identical to the one used on the official city website (www.troyalabama.com).
“The tank is located right in the middle of everything,” according to Tnemec coating consultant Robert Crumbaugh. “It’s clearly visible from Highway 231 and near the university campus, so the project’s aesthetics were important. The tank was coated in 1998, and it still looks good today. Everybody is as happy as can be.”
Engineers on the project specified the same Tnemec coating system they had used on numerous other water tanks, Crumbaugh noted. “They’ve been using Tnemec products since the mid-1980s and have been very satisfied with the long-term durability of Tnemec coatings.” Work on the tank began in the spring of 1998, starting with abrasive blast-cleaning in accordance with SSPC-SP10. PDM shop-primed both interior and exterior metal with Series 20 Pota-Pox, a polyamide epoxy primer, at 3.0 to 5.0 mils DFT. After the tank was erected on-site, the interior weld seams were blast cleaned and primed with one coat of Series 20 at 4.0 to 6.0 mils DFT. The entire interior then received a coat of Series 20 at 4.0 to 6.0 mils DFT.
A spot coat of Series 66 Hi-Build Epoxoline, a polyamide epoxy, was applied to exterior seams cleaned in accordance with SSPC-SP6, followed by a full coat of Series 66. Series 74 Endura- Shield, an aliphatic acrylic urethane, was applied at 4.0 to 6.0 mils DFT as the final coat. The topcoat, which is highly resistant to abrasion, wet conditions and exterior weathering, closely matched the mascot logo and colors: cardinal, silver and black.
Located in south central Alabama, the City of Troy has a population of more than 14,000 residents and is the county seat of Pike County.