CUSTOMISED
WEAR SOLUTIONS
REDUCED
MAINTENANCE COSTS
INCREASED
COMPONENT LIFETIME
Some of the most demanding wear problems on our planet occur within the Oil, Gas & Petrochemical industries, where aggressive chemical corrosion and abrasion are an everyday occurrence, and where Welding Alloys have provided solutions for over 30 years.
Paddles are a part of agitators which are essential for the transportation of liquid suspended coal and the paddles constantly move the ingredients from one end of the tank to another. As a consequence, significant wear of these components occur during coal transportation, from the mine to the chemical company for the production of gas and other chemical products. This poses a major challenge and has become an area where Welding Alloys have built a reputation as global leader, in the provision of complete services within the Oil, Gas and Petrochemical industry.
This was again demonstrated when Welding Alloys France, was approached by a major, new customer who was experiencing significant wear on the paddles of their agitator, caused by very high levels of abrasion. The customer experienced drastically decreased efficiency of the agitator, because of the wear on the paddles that resulted in frequent repairs and associated costs, increased downtime and lower levels of productivity. They realised that their total cost of ownership has become unacceptably high and they were seeking a long term solution to resolve it.
When the customer reached out to Welding Alloys, they needed industry-specific technical expertise and right from the outset, the experience of our Welding Alloys Integra services team was a great match. They were looking for a supplier that met their specific procurement requirements, with a track record of success, including a set reference clients, which we were able to provide.
After the initial meeting, Welding Alloys France’s technical team conducted an in-depth assessment and analysis of the paddles and the working environment to establish the best possible solution for the specific type of wear the paddles were facing. In the end, we proposed a hardfacing solution which would not only protect the paddle blades, but specifically focussing on the edges and the inside contours where they were most severely affected by wear.
Welding Alloys Integra services team recommended using one of our specialist Hardface chromium cast iron wires for the project. The weld metal is highly abrasion resistant thanks to the chromium carbide deposit and it features a hardness of 58-64 HRC, making it the perfect wire to protect the paddle blades, increasing component lifetime and reducing maintenance needed on the agitator going forward.
Challenge
Excessive downtime and lower levels of productivity
Solution
Hardfacing of the paddles using chromium cast iron wires
Result
Reduction of maintenance costs and downtime
The proposal was accepted by the customer and because of the scale, we undertook to complete the work in our fully equipped Welding Alloys Integra services workshop in France. Despite the sheer magnitude of the job, Welding Alloys was able to arrange for collection and delivery of 198 paddle blades to the Integra services workshop within record time and without any hitches. The Integra team hardfaced each blade of 2500 x 650 x 35 in size, to a better-than-new condition using one of our own Welding Alloys specialist machines and upon completion, prepared the blades for shipment back to the customer.
By tailoring the hardfacing solution to the specific cause of wear and identifying the most affected areas of the blades, Welding Alloys successfully increased the lifetime of each of the blades resulting in reduced maintenance costs and downtime.
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