Thermally sprayed WC/CoCr coatings are the most established coatings in the valve industry. However, due to the high wear resistance and as-sprayed surface roughness, the surface post processing costs are very high. Near-net-shaped fine powder coatings have the possibility to reduce the costs effectively. Due to the high specific surface to volume ratio of the powders, undesired phase transformations can occur during the spraying process. To avoid such phase transformations, the novel thermal spraying process Ultra-HVOF (UHVOF) is used in this study. An extensive parameter study is carried out on the influences of the process parameters on microhardness, porosity, as-sprayed surface roughness, phase composition and wear resistance. With suitable process parameters, near-netshaped and almost pore-free coatings can be applied. Compared to a conventional HVOF sprayed WC/CoCr coating, a wear reduction by a factor of three can be achieved in a pin-on-disktest against Al 2 O 3 at a load of F = 15 N. Due to the pore-free and highly wear-resistant coatings, significantly thinner coatings can be used for the protection against corrosion and wear in valves. In addition, the required surface quality of the near-net-shape coatings can be achieved by polishing only. Thus, the novel UHVOF coatings represent a cost-effective alternative to conventionally used valve coatings.

Thermally sprayed WC/CoCr coatings are established in the valve industry for wear protection. However, conventional coatings have to be cost-intensively postprocessed. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop near net shaped (nns) WC/CoCr-coatings with a high wear resistance in order to avoid the expensive grinding postprocess. For the development of the nns coatings a parameter study is used to investigate the influence of the stand-off distance and hydrogen volume flow rate in the HVAF process. The parameter study indicates the influence of the hydrogen volume flow and the stand-off distance on the porosity, microhardness and wear resistance of the coatings. The developed coatings exhibit a low porosity and high wear resistance. Through the correlation of the coating properties with the process parameters, promising parameter ranges for a further development of HVAF-sprayed nns coatings of WC/CoCr can be identified. With these results, first benchmarks for HVAF process parameters, hydrogen flow rate and stand-off distance, could be delivered, advancing the overall goal of reducing manufacturing costs of valves.

Gate valves used in oil and gas production undergo stringent qualification before going into service. During qualification there is no external lubrication, leaving contact surfaces susceptible to friction evolution and wear. The work presented in this paper was carried out to better understand the changes that can occur during qualification and where and when the limit for mild wear and stable friction is reached. Ni-Cr alloy gate valve components were coated with WC-CoCr by HVOF spraying and dry sliding wear tests were conducted in nitrogen and in air. The coatings were then evaluated by means of SEM, EDX, and XRD analysis, nanoindentation and surface roughness measurements, and compression tests on micropillars milled out by FIB. Similar tests and analyses were performed on gate valves returned from the field. Examination of the valves that had been in service revealed the presence of oxygen rich layers on polished surfaces due to opening and closing of the gate. Such layers were also observed in coating samples following tribological testing. Initial surface roughness was found to play a role in the development of the oxygen rich layers as well as friction evolution.

This work deals with the selection and deposition of wear-resistant coatings for ball valves used in coal slurry pipelines. Several NiCrBSi and WC-CoCr powders were deposited on stainless steel substrates by various methods, including atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) with and without post-process fusion, plasma transferred arc (PTA) spraying, and high-velocity oxyfuel (HVOF). The HVOF deposits had very low porosity and uniform carbide distribution in the metallic matrix. WC-CoCr coatings obtained by HVOF spraying were dense and well-adhered and experienced the least amount of mass loss in wear testing. As a result, they were recommended for testing in coal-water slurry pipelines and continue to perform well after more than two years.

This case study is the result of an investigation on HVOF Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr coating failure of on-off metal seated ball valve (MSBV) used in supercritical steam lines in a power plant and solution. HVOF Cr 3 C 2 -NiCr coating is used to protect thousands of MSBVs without incident. However, in this case the valves are challenged with exposure to rapid high pressure and temperature variation resulting in a unique situation where the coating experiences cracking and cohesive failure. A detailed investigation was undertaken by Velan, Kennametal Stellite, the National Research Council of Canada and the Ecole Polytechnique to determine possible failure cause and develop solutions in which highlights are presented.

Since its inception, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) program entitled, “Thermal Spray Processing of Nanostructured Coatings”, has produced numerous successes relating to military and industrial applications. Commercially available thermal spray processes have been used to apply ceramic coatings from nanostructured powders, producing dramatically improved wear performance over coatings from conventional non-nanostructured powder. The nanostructured alumina-titania coating has been instrumental in extending the life of a critical Navy need, the protection of the main propulsion shaft of mine countermeasures ships. The advancement in nanostructured oxide coatings has led to the development of the first industrial application of a thermal sprayed nanostructured coating. A nanostructured titanium oxide coating has been developed and successfully incorporated into severe-service ball valves used in hydrometallurgical extraction of gold, nickel, and cobalt. This paper will also present promising results from current development work relating to nanostructured coatings for thermal barrier, biomaterial, and reconditioning applications.

The appropriate selection of bulk materials and coatings of valve components, is an important factor for the economic success of oil and gas production activities in petrochemical field. Materials and coatings are important because particle erosion and surface wear is associated to corrosion by hydrogen sulphide during oil and gas flow. The wear of high pressure valves of gas system will lead to pollution, safety problem and cost increases. The most popular solution of these problems is the deposition of hard material like tungsten carbide or chromium carbide by thermal spray. Particularly these coatings are deposed by HVOF (High Velocity Oxygen Fuel) to obtain a very high hardness with excellent cohesion and adhesion. Tungsten carbide cobalt-chromium based coating, chromium carbide nickel-chromium coating as well as Inconel 625 are adopted actually in the specifications of the industrial petrochemical companies and their behavior and wear, erosion and corrosion properties are reported in literature. This paper addresses the study and surface analysis and characterization of alternative coatings such as NiAl and composite material WC / intermetallic compounds containing mainly Ni, Cr, Co and Mo. The best parameters to produce these coatings has been found by implementing a DOE and the obtained coatings have been systematically submitted to corrosion and functional tests based on the determination of the behaviour of the thermal spray coatings in an atmosphere of H 2 S and CO 2 [1] and to wear and erosion test according to ASTM G75-95; removed material weight and usured surface damages have been determined. Furthermore the coatings have been completely characterized before and after the tests from the point of view of the structure (porosity, coating cohesion and adhesion, hardness, wear) and of the surface properties by means of a prototype 3- dimensional stylus micro-topography surface analysis system. Their corrosion and functional behaviour have been finally compared with the behaviour of the above mentioned coatings applied at present as standard in the petrochemical sector. The results state that WC/intermetallic compound could be a good substitute of IN625 for certain kind of application where good antierosion behaviour is requested.