Amorphous Based PTA Weldings for Icy Surfaces

Prior developed and actually used drill bits have limited application under icy and severe conditions. Flame Spray Inc. has developed and applied with Plasma Transferred Arc (PTA) proprietary innovative amorphous metallic alloy coatings that are able to withstand the severe corrosive environment. Amorphous alloys and amorphous-based alloys, on the other hand, have the potential to bring a paradigm shift in materials science and enable components to reach their peak design performance. Amorphous-based alloys combine a weight saving design with high wear and low friction properties to get a new concept for drilling bits for extreme environments.

Amorphous metals are a novel class of 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 material. Amorphous Metals are more corrosion resistant compared to conventional metals due to the lack of long-range periodicity, related grain boundaries and crystal defects such as dislocations.

This presentation will highlight amorphous-based alloys applied by PTA, which have been tested at Texas A&M University regarding wear resistance and friction under cryogenic conditions.