ADVANCED METALLIC COMPOSITE NIOBIUM CARBIDE CLADDING FOR CORROSION, EROSION AND WEAR PROTECTION

Fireside corrosion and erosion are a serious concern when the low alloy ferritic steel components of energy converting systems aimed at generating steam and electricity from the combustion of coal, biomass, municipal and industrial wastes. An advanced metallic composite niobium carbide cladding applied by twin wire arc spraying was developed to protect power plant components from fireside corrosion and erosion. Cost effective feedstock materials were strategically designed to produce niobium carbide in the final cladding matrix. Aggressive corrosion and erosion testing were conducted on this cladding to evaluate its corrosion and erosion performance. The results of the corrosion testing revealed that this cladding performed 12X better than the uncoated steel under aggressive sulfidizing environment. Relative erosion ranking revealed that this cladding outperformed other competing products by 20%. Also, the cladding revealed no cracking when subjected to aggressive thermal gradients.