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(1) A local South African company called Thermaspray successfully completed a difficult cladding process to apply a Stellite alloy coating to a ball valve made of a complex SAF 225 alloy. (2) This cladding process for the valves used at a Sappi mill will allow them to be used in highly corrosive environments and save the company significant costs. (3) Thermaspray also completed challenging thermal coating projects for Hydron Hydraulics and Anglo American Platinum.

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76 views4 pages

Hardfacing Articles (Buffer Layer)

(1) A local South African company called Thermaspray successfully completed a difficult cladding process to apply a Stellite alloy coating to a ball valve made of a complex SAF 225 alloy. (2) This cladding process for the valves used at a Sappi mill will allow them to be used in highly corrosive environments and save the company significant costs. (3) Thermaspray also completed challenging thermal coating projects for Hydron Hydraulics and Anglo American Platinum.

Uploaded by

monkeydluffy
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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3/26/2019 Engineering News - Local company successfully clads complex alloy

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/local-company-successfully-clads-complex-alloy-2014-
05-15

Local company successfully clads complex


alloy
30TH MAY 2014 BY: DAVID OLIVEIRA - CREAMER MEDIA STAFF WRITER

Local company successfully clads complex alloy Thermal spray


BALL VALVE CLADDING Stellite 6 (left) is notoriously difficult to apply as a
final layer, particularly on SAF 225 (right), owing to probable cracking service provider
Photo by: Thermaspray
Thermaspray is
expected to complete a Stellite alloy 6 ball valve, which will be laser-clad
to the SAF 225 alloy, allowing for the ball valves to be used in highly
corrosive environments at wood and paper pulp and paper-based
solutions provider Sappi’s specialised cellulose Saiccor mill, this year.

Thermaspray MD Dr Jan Lourens notes that to successfully clad the


Stellite 6 alloy to the SAF 225 alloy is a difficult process and there have
been many attempts globally to dimensionally restore ball valves made
of SAF 225, but with little success, owing to the complexity of the alloy.

“Sappi posed the challenge to Thermaspray, which, in turn, required the


involvement of our technology partner, coatings and surface technology
arm of Sulzer Corporation, Sulzer Metco. It was decided to restore the
ball valve with a laser-cladding process in two steps using the Haynes 25
as a buffer layer and the Stellite 6 as a final layer.

“Stellite 6 is notoriously difficult to apply as a final layer, particularly on


SAF 225, owing to probable cracking. The Haynes 25 and the Stellite 6

www.engineeringnews.co.za/print-version/local-company-successfully-clads-complex-alloy-2014-05-15 1/4
3/26/2019 Engineering News - Local company successfully clads complex alloy

layers, however, were applied with zero porosity and no cracking. The
success of this project enables Sappi to refurbish ball valves, which have
been previously replaced, resulting in a significant cost savings,”
Lourens explains.

The project started in April 2013 and is valued at R500 000.

Meanwhile, Thermaspray successfully completed the thermal coating of


an 8-m-long hydraulic cylinder with chrome carbide in December last
year for hydraulic engineering company Hydron Hydraulics using the
high- velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) process.

Lourens notes that the cylinder is applied in an aggressive sea-going


environment where conventional chrome plating would not provide the
required long-term life.

“The alternative to hard-chrome protection, in this type of application,


has routinely been the application of a chrome-carbide thermally
sprayed coating using the HVOF process. The biggest challenge with this
R450 000 project was the length of the hydraulic cylinder, as it was the
first time a component of this length had been coated and ground in
South Africa,” he adds.

He highlights that the cylinder was significantly more damaged than


initially expected and significant material had to be removed to ensure
dimensional integrity of the workpiece, prior to the rebuild and repair
process.

“The rod had been repaired before and the previous work was of a
particularly poor standard. Although no pinholes or cracks were
observed in the previously applied coating, it was clear that the coating
was not applied to virgin material, with a real chance, therefore, of
coating integrity being poor.

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3/26/2019 Engineering News - Local company successfully clads complex alloy

“The seal areas were preground and then coated with a chrome
carbide/nickel chrome coating, HVOF thermally sprayed and, finally,
ground to the required size and surface finish,” he enthuses, adding that
this is a big advantage for South Africa, as work of this magnitude had to
be sent to Europe, owing to a lack of local capability.

Thermaspray also completed application on an acid conversion project


for platinum mining major Anglo American Platinum in December 2013
to the value of R380 000.

During the project, the reactor u-tubes for the smelter needed a
mechanism to extend the service life of the reactor u-tubes. The project is
now in the evaluation phase, with various coatings being evaluated in
order to select the best coating for the application. Three very high-
technology coatings were applied in this application to determine what
would benefit the extension of the service life of the u-tubes.

The materials coated were a chromium (Cr)/molybdenum


(Mo)/tungsten/carbon/manganese/niobium/iron alloy, a nickel
(Ni)/Cr/titanium alloy and a Ni/Cr/Mo alloy.

“The three coatings are currently on trial, but they have been
scientifically assessed and have shown to enhance the service life of the
u-tubes – the issue now is to determine the maximum service life
extension,” Lourens points out.

He notes that gaining access to the coating area on site and transporting
the neces- sary equipment were particularly challenging during the
project, which started in June last year.

Phone: +27 (0)11 622 3744


Fax: +27 (0)11 622 9350
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.engineeringnews.co.za

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3/26/2019 Engineering News - Local company successfully clads complex alloy

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