PPG protects world’s largest airport terminal with fire-resistant, sustainably advantaged coatings

PPG’s interior and exterior coatings are enhancing protection, safety and sustainability for the new Beijing Daxing International Airport terminal building.

The terminal, which is the largest in the world at 7.5M square feet, was designed and constructed using green concepts.

It features four PPG products on its main structural steel and other metal components:

• PPG STEELGUARD™ FM 550 thin-film intumescent coating for fire protection;
• PPG PSX^TM 700 two-component, engineered siloxane coating for exterior protection;
• PPG SIGMADUR™ 2800 fluorocarbon finish for all-around weather resistance;
• PPG DURANAR™ fluoropolymer coating for exceptional durability.

PPG STEELGUARD FM 550 coating was applied to the terminal’s main steel structure, including the main hall, concourses and boarding gates.

The coating provides up to 150min of protection from cellulosic fires.

The high-performance topcoat system also extends a painted surface’s lifespan to 15 to 20 years, compared to five to eight years for traditional polyurethane topcoats.

"The PPG team successfully solved a number of challenges regarding the application of the cellulosic passive fire protection coating to the steel superstructure,” said Xin Cheng, PPG Passive Fire Protection Support Manager, protective and marine coatings (PMC).

"These included applying the coating in an exposed outdoor environment during winter and maintaining a complex and tight balance between stringent on-site safety management and control, construction quality management and project schedule control.”

Coating the structural steel before the roof was put on the terminal building was a major reason on-site coater RIC Red-Hendsel (Beijing) International Construction Co, Ltd, recommended PPG STEELGUARD FM 550 coating.

The coating provides protection from outdoor exposure for up to 12 months without a topcoat.

"Our country is paying increasing attention to safety and the standards are becoming stricter,” said Weiqin Wang, Managing Director, RIC Red-Hendsel (Beijing).

"Under this overarching premise, we worked with PPG’s technical team to solve engineering problems and win the owner’s approval with top-notch quality in both application and the coating product.”

PPG SIGMADUR 2800 air-drying fluorocarbon topcoat, which was used for the main steel structure of the airport terminal building, can maintain colour stability and self-cleaning properties under prolonged ultraviolet radiation.

It is resistant to cracking, corrosion and mechanical impact.

The steel grid structure of the airport roof is coated extensively with PPG PSX 700 topcoat.

This patented polysiloxane technology offers extended colour and gloss retention that outperforms typical polyurethane and has corrosion resistance equaling that of epoxy.

The coating has high solid content with low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and meets strict environmental protection regulations.

The roof’s golden exterior is protected by PPG Duranar fluoropolymer coating, which offers durable colour retention and exceptional performance against weathering in all environments.

The product meets AAMA 2605 performance specifications.

"In coating steel structures like those at the new Beijing Daxing International Airport, sustainability mainly is achieved in three ways,” said Wen Zhou, PPG General Manager, PMC, Asia Pacific.

"The first is reducing material waste and emissions and increasing safety through effective fire protection.

"The second is conserving resources by extending product life and reducing the frequency of repairs.

"The third is protecting people’s health and the environment through reduced VOC emissions.”