An important problem for the petrochemical industry is the behaviour of materials in aggressive environments, when hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide and sand, which contribute to corrosion erosion of the surface, are present. Generally, the use of hard materials such as thermal sprayed tungsten carbide and chromium carbide reduces this problem. Cemented carbides are quite suitable for this purpose: they are composite materials of pure carbides with binder metal alloys of low melting point and high ductility; the selection of the binder metals depends mostly on its ability to wet the surface of the carbide particles to ensure secure coating adhesion. Among the cemented carbides, namely tungsten carbide cobalt-chromium based (WC/CoCr) is considered as the standard for application to ball valve bodies and seats in the petrochemical field, while chromium carbide nickel-chromium based (Cr 3 C 2 /NiCr) is suitable for particular applications. Inconel 625 is also used in this field and usually applied by welding. This paper addresses the characterization of corrosion behavior of HVOF coated samples of WC/CoCr, Cr 3 C 2 /NiCr and Inconel 625 in aggressive environments, and in particular ferric chloride test according to standard ASTM G48-92 and H 2 S/CO 2 test based on NACE standards has been carried out. According to the test results, WC/CoCr based coatings show the best behavior both in terms of corrosion, thus confirming to be very versatile and useful for the application in petrochemical field.

This research aims to investigate the effects of employing cryo-milled and milled MCrAlY feedstock powders on the oxidation behaviour of low-pressure plasma sprayed (LPPS) and HVOF-sprayed coatings deposited onto a Ni-based superalloy substrate. Commercially-available powders with three different chemical compositions were selected and sprayed both in standard condition and after milling and cryo-milling processes. The LPPS and HVOF coatings, deposited onto an Inconel substrate, were diffusion-treated at 1080 °C (according to the industrial standard) and subjected to isothermal and cyclic oxidation tests. The outcomes of these tests show that transient oxidation is suppressed in the coatings obtained from milled MCrAlY systems, whose overall resistance to cyclic oxidation (number of cycles to failure) is approximately two times greater than that of standard coatings. This difference is not related to the nanostructural features induced on the powder particles by the milling process, because, after the diffusion treatment, all coatings exhibit identical γ-β two-phase microstructure, with no trace of the original nanostructure. The improvement is ascribed to the fine dispersion of nanometric Al 2 O 3 grains within the milled powder particles: in the sprayed coatings, these nanometric oxides act as nuclei and favour the direct formation of an Al 2 O 3 oxide scale.

The current critical situation of the world economy pushes the companies to make themselves adaptable and to change their usual rigid behaviour in order to survive globalization of the market, to face the competition of the so called low cost countries (LCCs) and to overcame the current financial crisis. For the western companies, the possible way to face the movement of production to the LCCs, is to invest and increase the technological level of their products by means of effective R&D. This is even more valid for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and is particular valid for the power generation sector. This paper addresses the policies adopted by the Public Administrations in the different countries in order to support the companies. The Public Administrations have the interest to support the companies not only in order to promote their own growth but, above all, in order to support the development of the territory where the company is located with the growth of the job numbers and the increasing of the subsuppliers activities. A review of the financial instruments available for companies in order to obtain financial help for research and innovation is provided, advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The focus is placed to the energy sector. An industrial case study is shown, related to a thermal spray shop dealing with gas turbine components, where the efficient and effective use of research allows the set up and the development of the company and also contributes to the surrounding market.

Thermal barrier coatings (TBC) are normally based on yttria partially stabilised zirconia (YPSZ) coatings and are commonly used coatings in the high temperature, combustion region of gas turbines. TBC permit to increase the temperature of combustion, increasing the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine. Therefore, an engine equipped with TBC can produce a larger amount of energy over its lifetime. This increase in produced energy can be compared with the energy needed for the manufacturing and installation of TBC. The comparison can be performed in terms of the “energy return” (or “energy returned for energy invested”, EROI or EROEI). The qualitative analysis performed in the present study indicates that this return is large in comparison to that of other energy producing systems.

The current critical situation of the world economy pushes the companies to make themselves adaptable and to change their usual rigid behaviour in order to survive globalization of the market and the current financial crisis. A large quantity of people entering into the market created a sudden economic earthquake: the needs of goods and their way of production have changed with a subsequent unbalancing of supply and demand. The so called low cost countries (LCC) can offer a significant amount of goods at extremely low prices, with a high capability to “copy” the non-protected technologies. As consequence, it could be noted a movement of production from the rich western countries to the low cost countries, already established in several sectors (textiles, automotive, consumption goods, etc.) and in progress for higher technology sectors. The possible way to face this problem for European and US companies is to invest and increase the technological level of their products by means of effective Research and Development. This is even more valid for the SMEs. The help of the public bodies in funding R&D is crucial in order to make R&D costs acceptable for companies. This paper addresses the study of the financial instruments available for companies in order to obtain financial help for research and innovation: advantages and disadvantages are discussed. An industrial case study is shown, related to a thermal spray shop dealing with gas turbine components, where the efficient and effective use of research allows the set up and the development of the company and also contributes to the surrounding market.

Thermal barrier coatings have got considerable importance for the improvement of gas turbine efficiency. These materials are applied on the surface of gas turbine blades and vanes and are based on a layer of low-oxidation material (mainly MCrAlY alloys, where M stay of Co, Ni or a combination of both) and a ceramic top layer that acts as proper thermal barrier (normally Yttria Partially Stabilized Zirconia). Coating removal is an important aspect in the production of these blades and vanes. “Decoating” or “stripping” is needed during the production of new components as well as for the reconditioning of existing ones. The present paper is dedicated to a new removal method of the ceramic Zirconia layer, based on dry ice blasting. This method will not impact on the roughness and morphology of the bond coat surface, making it suitable for re-coating with TBC, without any further operation before TBC recoating. This possibility has an important impact on the stripping costs and time, avoiding all the operations related to the bond coat. The paper presents the process tests to get the process set up and the characterization of the surfaces comparing the stripped ones with the “original ones” coated by LPPS on new components, ready to be TBC coated. Optical and SEM microscopy, 3D profilometry have been used for characterization. Finally a Thermal Cycling Fatigue test has been carried out in order to validate the procedure of stripping and re-coating.