Low Friction Amorphous Thermal Sprayed Coatings for Tubing Applications

Current wells are being drilled deeper and more horizontal in nature. In the exploration work, abrasion wear occurs and the durability and efficiency of the heavy weight drill pipe decrease. This abrasion wear is the result of friction between the heavy weight drill pipe with the inner surface of the casing or the open hole wall. Hence, there is a real need for drill pipes that can have greater wear resistance while reducing drag and torque downhole.

LMGH has developed coatings/claddings that are able to reduce friction and wear by being case-friendly due to the amorphous structure of the subsurface/layer in the contact area with the case. The coatings/claddings are either fully amorphous or generate a frictionally transformable metal alloy layer, thereby offering high wear resistance and low friction. In addition, this layer gets self-healed as soon as the outermost layer is exposed to a wear- or friction-induced environment.

Amorphous metallic coatings/materials are a new class of metallic materials that have a disordered, non-crystalline, glassy structure. Due to their unique microstructure, amorphous metals combine ultrahigh strength, high hardness, and ductility in one single structure.