Metal Component Treatments to Reduce Wear, Improve Strength and Resist Corrosion: Wallwork Group – Offshore Europe, Stand 4D 83
At Offshore Europe, surface engineering specialist, the Wallwork Group, is showcasing a range of metal treatments to improve fatigue strength, wear and corrosion resistance of critical components. Treatments available are based on thermal processing or the application of advanced micro-thin coatings. Properties can be precisely customised to the needs of the application and the working environment.
For the internal coating of down bore pipes and similar hollow vessels, Wallwork offer InnerArmor, a process from Sub-One of California. This uses plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) to apply even, pin-hole free, thin films of highly resistive diamond like carbon (DLC), titanium carbide or other resilient coatings. These are resistant of abrasive wear, erosion and corrosion providing extended plant life and maintain smoother bores for improved material flow.
For the treatment of wear components, there is a complete family of nitriding processes. These include salt based nitro-carburising processing which diffuses nitrogen and carbon into the metal surface to impart wear resistance and fatigue strength. Subsequently, components may be quench-polish-quenched (QPQ) processed to improve surface finish and add an additional oxidised surface layer for enhanced corrosion resistance. Steel, iron and ferritic alloys can be treated in this way.
This nitriding process is also available under several trade names including Tufftride, Tenifer, Kolene, Nu-Tride and Melonite. Unlike gas nitriding there is no need for chromium or aluminium to be present in the steel, however, where alloy steels are used high surface hardness can be achieved and increased case depths.
Alloy steel components can also be surface hardened by gas nitriding to case harden to various depths depending on the needs of the application. This is commonly applied to steel alloys whose chemical composition contains nitride forming elements such as chromium. Gas nitriding is especially suited to the treatment of wear components in plant and machinery such as motors, pumps and compressors.
High vacuum heat treatment is also available from Wallwork using the latest generation of Seco Warwick furnaces. This clean, salt-free and non-oxidising process consistently produces components with a bright finish. There are now in excess of 20 vacuum furnaces in the Wallwork Group.
Operating from sites in Birmingham, Manchester and Cambridge, Wallwork provides a nation-wide service, with 24 hour turnaround available in many parts of the UK. Facilities all have comprehensive quality assurance procedures to validate treatments and certify processing to the required standards. Accreditations include AS9100, NADCAP and ISO1400; a full list of be viewed on the web at www.wallworkht.com.
More Information
Contact, Simeon Collins, Sales Director
Tel. +44 (0)161 797 9111 Fax. +44 (0)161 763 1861
E-mail: simeon.collins@wallworkht.com Web: www.wallworkht.com
Wallwork Heat Treatment Ltd, Lord Street, Bury, Greater Manchester, BL9 0RE
Images are on the web at www.ainsmag.co.uk/wa253/5136wa1a-offshore-europe.htm
July 02, 2013