Application of Amorphous Iron-based Coatings for Use in the Oil Sands Industry

The highly aggressive wear and corrosion experienced in oil sands mining results in significant scheduled and unplanned maintenance costs.  Novel, yet economical, coatings are continuously sought after in order to extend the life of production critical components. Amorphous phase materials offer potential due to their unique structure and resultant properties.  A low cost method of producing an amorphous iron-based coating has been developed by using flame spraying. The amorphous phase was significantly retained after processing. Abrasion resistance was evaluated using a dry sand rubber wheel testing configuration. The corrosion resistance of the new coating was measured using immersion and linear polarization rate (LPR) testing.  Comparisons to typical commercial materials will be included.