Problems with corrosion and oxidation that energy equipment has to deal with
Problem with corrosion
There are often a lot of corrosive substances in the places where energy equipment works. Drilling fluid used in oil extraction has a lot of salt, acid, and microorganisms in it, which can seriously corrode drilling equipment. During the production of chemical energy, different acid, alkali, salt solutions, and organic solvents can react with the metal surface of equipment. This can make the walls of the equipment thinner, weaker, and even cause leaks. For instance, heat exchangers in refineries are exposed to corrosive compounds like sulfides and chlorides for long periods of time. This can easily cause pitting corrosion, crevice corrosion, and other problems that make it harder for heat to move and shorten the life of the equipment.
Problem with oxidation
One of the most typical operating environments for energy equipment is high temperatures. For example, boilers in thermal power plants and combustion chambers in gas turbines. When metals are in these hot settings, they react with oxygen to generate an oxide layer. As the oxide layer gets thicker, the material's mechanical qualities will slowly go worse. For example, it will become weaker, less robust, and potentially break and fail. For instance, when the turbine blades of a gas turbine work in hot gas, oxide scales will accumulate on the surface. When these scales peel off, they will speed up the wear and corrosion of the blades, which will lower the engine's performance and reliability.
Principles and ways to make metal 3D printing more resistant to corrosion
Improve the composition and microstructure of the substance
Metal 3D printing can precisely manage the makeup and microstructure of materials dependent on the type of energy equipment and the environment in which it will be used. Adding elements like chromium, nickel, and molybdenum to materials can make them less likely to rust. For instance, adding chromium to stainless steel will create a thick protective layer of chromium oxide on the metal's surface. This will keep corrosive substances from coming into touch with the metal substrate, which will make stainless steel more resistant to corrosion. Metal 3D printing technology can evenly spread out alloy elements, which solves the problem of component segregation that can happen in traditional casting and forging procedures. This makes the materials' corrosion resistance more robust.
Controlling printing parameters like laser power, scanning speed, layer thickness, and so on can also change the microstructure of materials in metal 3D printing. For instance, tiny grain structures can be made by fine-tuning printing settings. This can make materials more resistant to corrosion because grain boundaries are where corrosion tends to happen. Fine grains indicate more grain boundaries and a longer, more winding path for corrosion to spread, which slows down the pace of corrosion.
Making complicated structures that stop rusting
It is hard for traditional manufacturing methods to make parts with complicated anti-corrosion structures, but metal 3D printing technology can quickly make these kinds of structures. For instance, micro-nano structures can be used to make anti-corrosion coatings on the surface of equipment. These coatings can make it harder for corrosive substances to touch metal surfaces, which makes them more effective in preventing corrosion. You can also make parts with internal channels that can be preserved from corrosion by putting preservatives or coolant into the channels. For instance, metal 3D printing technology is used to make joints with internal anti-corrosion channels at the ends of oil pipelines. These channels may be regularly filled with anti-corrosion compounds to keep the joints from rusting.
Principles and ways to use metal 3D printing to make antioxidants work better
Creating alloys that are both strong and antioxidant
Metal 3D printing makes it possible to make new high-performance alloys that don't rust. Researchers can make and develop alloy materials with certain structures and compositions based on how well they work as antioxidants. Nickel-based high-temperature alloys, for instance, are very resistant to oxidation. Metal 3D printing technology lets you manage the amount and placement of different elements in the alloy very precisely, which makes it even more resistant to oxidation. You can also add rare earth elements to the alloy. These can make the grains smaller, clean up the grain boundaries, and make the alloy stronger at high temperatures and less likely to oxidize.
Making a gradient anti-oxidation coating
Gradient coating is a form of coating that has both compositional and structural gradient properties. This makes it better able to handle fluctuations in temperature and oxidation conditions. Metal 3D printing technology can make gradient anti-oxidation coatings with great accuracy. For instance, when developing gradient anti-oxidation coatings on gas turbine blades, the inner layer sticks well to the blade substrate, while the outer layer does a great job of preventing oxidation. The coating's structure and composition change slowly as the temperature rises to better protect the leaves from oxidation at different temperatures. This makes the leaves last longer and work better as an antioxidant.
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