Abstract
Ships' hull is typically protected by a combination of protective coating system and electrical cathodic protection system, which has been an economical and effective measure for ship's hull to date. However, ships' rudder and adjacent hull areas are known to be subjected to premature corrosion damages, which require more frequent coating repair than other hull areas. Conventional organic coating system for ship's hull has been known only to remain intact just for 2~3 months on the rudder and adjacent area, especially for the fast-going ships such as container carriers or naval vessels. In this study, special organic/inorganic coating materials, which are commercially available, were tested in terms of cavitation resistance as an alternative to existing rudder & hull protection system. Both standard ultrasonic tester and in-house developed ultra water jet test method were employed as a means to evaluate their performance against cavitation induced damages. Additionally, the overall cost evaluation and workability at actual shipyard were discussed.