Heat, cold and rain: Stress test for paints

Ober-Ramstadt, 3rd November 2015 (DAW) - The independent Dr. Robert Murjahn Institute (RMI) was founded in 2005 as a research institute for coating materials, facade systems and healthy living. In the past ten years it has become a "flagship" for DAW SE and an initiator for innovations. When buying interior or exterior paints, the customer usually only concentrates on an appealing colour and good covering power so that he or she can avoid having to paint an area several times over. These are however only two of many criteria determining the quality of paints. In the last ten years the employees at the Dr. Robert Murjahn Institute in Ober-Ramstadt have dedicated themselves to the task of testing the properties of coating materials, facade systems, thermal insulation and building protection according to the state of science and technology – also with regard to a healthy living-space climate, environmental compatibility and sustainability. Many innovations have arisen from suggestions from RMI employees. The measurement of coating materials is a special capability of the RMI, which is accommodated in an office/laboratory building on the factory site of the Deutschen Amphibolin Werke (DAW SE). In the labs of the departments Analytics, Measurement Technology and Testing Technology investigative procedures are developed which form the basis of fair competition amongst the paint manufacturers. Predominantly, here new products from DAW are proven on the test rigs. The institute is strictly separate from the product development, but its employees are however close to practice and are very familiar with the interactions of product properties on one hand and raw materials, formulations and large-scale manufacturing methods on the other. Today, many companies in the building paints sector and the raw-materials industry have their products tested and assessed in this independent institute. The RMI is accredited according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005 for some of the testing offered. It elaborates coherent standards for product testing, mainly for the European region, but also beyond. All the participants profit from the co-operation with many expert partners, such as several Fraunhofer institutes, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). In addition, the RMI offers training sessions on testing coatings for expert assessors who are commissioned by the courts to assess damage on buildings. Advice to allergy sufferers, who can only use certain paint products, is given by the RMI's own specialists who also pass on their knowledge to external consultants, such as the Sentinel-Haus Stiftung e.V. Specialists at RMI support DAW in its assessment of the sustainability of its products, e.g. for certification systems of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). On 3rd November the established and recognised testing and research institute celebrates its tenth year. It is named after the chemist, Dr. Robert Murjahn, who founded the Deutschen Amphibolin Werke in Ober-Ramstadt and who developed the dispersion paint technology. Organisationally, the institute is a GmbH (company with limited liability) which is linked to the parent company, DAW SE. The institute, which was set up by the habilitated chemist Dr. Engin Bagda, has been managed for the last two years by Dr. Helge Kramberger. He has 35 employees, including four with doctorates - two chemists, one materials scientist and one building physicist. Currently, two students are also working on their bachelor projects in the research departments. The RMI has so far supported eight bachelor, master and diploma projects, one of which received the Max Buchner Research Trust award from DECHMA for Technical Chemistry at Universities of Applied Science. Over 120 different tests of chemical and physical properties are carried out in the labs and also in the outdoor area. These include investigations into wet-scrub resistance, thermal conductivity and bonding properties of various substrates. With the aid of gas chromatographs volatile organic compounds (emissions) are analysed which are not allowed to exceed certain upper limits in interior spaces. The RMI has high quality requirements and by testing at a high standard it supports manufacturers who put products on the market which are as free of solvent as possible and therefore harmless to health and the environment. To test the resistance of coating systems coated sample walls are subjected to artificial sunlight and heavy rain in a large room. In another test facility floor coatings, which have been developed for bridges and car parks, must demonstrate that they can withstand high stresses, also at high and low temperatures. In the measurement lab it is established, for example, which exterior coatings are long-lasting and durable and which also allow as much water vapour to escape through them as possible, but permit only slight ingress of moisture. Product safety employees at the RMI are currently working on a project – promoted by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) – for electronic interfaces for the automatic transfer of relevant data from safety data sheets of building products. Along the path from the manufacturer to the customer the classification and labelling of chemical products is always transparent and accessible. This is provides support in occupational and environmental protection and facilitates efficient product registration with trade associations and official offices. For the anniversary celebration on 3rd November employees, customers, together with representatives of research institutes and the coatings industry are invited. There will be stands presenting examples of investigation methods and research projects. The speakers are Dr. Ralf Murjahn, CEO of DAW SE, Michael Bross from the Association of the German Paint and Printing Dyes Industry (VdL), Jürgen Magner, Kiwa Polymerinstitut GmbH, and Dr. Helge Kramberger, Managing Director of the RMI.