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.

The present work has the purpose of comparing different thermal spraying techniques, namely axial plasma spray, standard air plasma spray and high velocity oxygen flame (HVOF), for depositing metal matrix composites, in this case chromium carbide nickel-chromium based. The quality of the coatings deposited by these three techniques has been assessed in terms of structural characteristics (porosity, oxide concentration, unmelted particles presence, etc.) and of mechanical characteristics (hardness, adhesion, etc.) as well as surface morphology. A specific efficiency test has been carried out to compare the three examined technologies. The results of the present study indicate that, against a slightly decrease in the quality of the film in terms of structural and mechanical properties, axial plasma sprayed coatings can be sprayed with a higher efficiency in comparison to the traditional technologies.

Thermal spray deposited Zirconium oxide (or Zirconia, ZrO2) is used in several industrial sectors for various purposes: as thermal barrier for turbine blades, as wear and corrosion resistant coating in industrial applications as well as biomedical applications. This paper reports the results of a study aimed at determining the relation between the plasma spray process conditions and the coating properties. A 24-1 fractional factorial Design of Experiments has been used and the coatings have been characterised in terms of chemical composition, crystal lattice structure and mechanical properties (morphology, porosity, roughness, hardness). Coatings with different characteristics have been obtained depending on the spray parameters combination. We found that it is possible to vary the spraying parameters in such a way to obtain dense, compact Yttria Partially Stabilised ZrO2 deposits which can be useful as wear and corrosion resistant coatings. In other conditions less dense and more porous layers can be obtained, useful for thermal barrier applications.

In order to be suitable for food processing application, besides having the usual characteristics as high adhesion, high cohesion, high compactness and maximum hardness and wear resistance, the thermal spray coating should not release foreign substances, as prescribed by the international standards. This paper defines a very strict procedure according to valid EC and FDA standards in order to test the compatibility of the coating with the food. It discusses the applicability of this test method, in which a contact is created between a food-simulating solvent and the thermally sprayed coating to be analyzed. The inert nature of the drawn migration cell, the adopted time-temperature conditions and the characterization of the coating before and after the migration test are discussed. Paper includes a German-language abstract.

A reliable measuring tool of surface degradation can therefore result in substantial savings in time and money for the development of machine components, lubricants, wear resistant coatings, surface treatments process, and for the control/optimization of components life time during production sites maintenance. For this purpose, Thin Layer Activation (TLA) has much to offer since it makes possible to monitor in situ very small surface material losses under real operating conditions, often without the need of dismantling the working equipment. In this paper, an overview of the TLA technology is presented, which enables wear to be measured under real operating conditions by monitoring the loss of substance caused by surface degradation. It emphasizes the benefits that this technique can bring through already tested applications in the automotive, energy, and machinery industry. Paper includes a German-language abstract.

Zirconia and Hydroxyapatite obtained by means of Plasma Spray deposition process are candidate coating materials for use in advanced industrial applications as in wear resistance and thermal barrier coatings and biomedical applications respectively. This paper deals with the test methodology for the analysis or evaluation of some physical and mechanical properties of zirconium oxide and hydroxyapatite coatings that have been applied by vacuum plasma spraying. Results of quantitative tests are presented based on the measurement of thickness, coating/substrate interface condition, porosity, coating microstructure, surface topography and microhardness. The main phases of the experiments, the choice of instruments and their application domain, the test methodology and procedure, specimen preparation and test conditions are discussed as applied to test cases. Paper includes a German-language abstract.

The decomposition of bioactive plasma sprayed apatite layers and the weakness of their interface with the metallic substrate limit the longevity of orthopaedic prostheses. Analysis of the coating and of the metal-apatite interface using EDS, XPS, and IR techniques indicates alterations of the apatite composition which can be related to several chemical reactions occurring either in the plasma or on the surface of the implant. EDS shows a calcium-rich layer on the apatite side of the interface whereas after dissolution of the apatite, XPS indicates that phosphorus atoms are incorporated in the metal surface. Depending on the rate of decomposition, calcium oxide may possibly form and weaken the apatite-metal interface. Fluorohydroxyapatite coating have proven to decompose less and differently and to be more effective than hydroxyapatite coatings.

The paper discusses the testing methodology and identifies the analytical protocols, with proper validation, in order to evaluate the compatibility of thermal spray coatings in the food production technology, according to EU and FDA applicable standards. A brief state-of-the-art analysis of the international standards on food additives and human health is given, namely on indirect food additives (as defined in 21 CFR 170.3(e)), that can migrate into the food during the process. An outline of the test protocols, based on contact between coating and food simulating solvents in a set time/temperature conditions, are presented, and the main phases for the proposed testing methodology, as the choice of the simulating solvent, the migration cell design and the time/temperature conditions, are discussed. Finally the proposed methodology and protocols are validated through a thermal spray coating for food process application test case.

As part of a characterization and mechanical research about hydroxyapatite (HA) plasma deposits for hip prosthesis, we addressed the problem of determining their crystallinity. A traditional normalization method employed by several laboratories is based on X-ray diffraction by a powder mixture of the investigated HA sample with a standard of crystalline powder, namely Al 2 O 3 . This method is quite unsatisfactory, as very often delivers unreasonable results. In order to overcome these difficulties we investigated some new methods for determining the crystallinity of HA sample, which are based on X-ray diffraction. All these methods provide reasonable results.